Comparing And Contrasting Protestant Reformers: Martin Luther, Henry Viii And John Argumentative Essay Examples

Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Henry VIII all had certain ideas in common during the Protestant Reformation, since they rejected the authority of the pope in Rome and thought that local rulers should be heads of national churches. Indeed, the Reformation could be described as a great impetus to nationalism as it spread through northern Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Scandinavia, England and Scotland in the 16th Century. They all thought the Latin Mass should be abolished, and had the Bible translated into the local vernacular languages. All Protestants abolished the old religious orders, permitted clergy to marry, ended the veneration of saints and relics and required church services to be held in the local language. Henry VIII was the only one of the three who actually ruled a nation, however, while Calvin controlled only the area around Geneva. Henry had also been reluctant to break with the Catholic Church and even condemned Luther at first, at least until his need for a divorce from his first wife to obtain a male heir led to a break with Rome in 1532. Both Henry and Luther also permitted bishops to continue to exist, while Calvinism abolished all these higher church offices. In addition, Calvin placed for more emphasis on predestination in his theology, which was the idea that god chose those who would be saved or damned from the beginning of time. Luther, on the other hand, argued that all who professed faith in Christ would be saved, but in general all Protestants rejected the idea that sacraments, good works or following church teachings and traditions would bring salvation.
Martin Luther was the first Protestant Reformer of the 16th Century, who began his life as a priest and doctor of theology but protested the abuses and corruption of the Catholic Church, such as the sale of indulgences to forgive sin and the purchasing of church offices (simony). He had no thought of breaking with the Church at first, but rather nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral demanding reforms. For several years, Luther and his followers engaged in attempts at dialogue with the Catholic Church authorities, but when these failed he was excommunicated in 1521. Living under the Protection of Prince Philip of Saxony, who became an early convert, Luther translated the Bible into German. As Protestantism developed, all converts, monasteries and religious orders were closed and clergy were permitted to marry, as Luther himself married a former nun. Instead of church teachings and traditions, Luther insisted that true Christianity should be as similar as possible to the 1st Century church, with only the two sacraments of baptism and communion, the Mass and veneration of saints abolished, religious services held in the local vernacular of the country, and church paintings, statues and decorations were destroyed. Luther proclaimed that the Bible alone was the true guide of all Christians, although he removed certain books that the Catholic Church believed were canonical. He also insisted that salvation came through faith in Christ alone, not be good works or charity.
King Henry VIII never had any intentions of breaking with the Catholic Church at first, and in fact wrote a book condemning Martin Luther as a heretic. His main desire was to obtain a divorce from Catherine of Aragon because she had not produced a male heir to the throne, and for this he needed a dispensation from the pope in Rome. He was under the control of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, however, who happened to be Catherine’s nephew, so no divorce was forthcoming. In 1534, he declared himself head of the church in England and ordered his Protestant chancellor Thomas Cromwell to begin the Reformation of the church. In response, the pope excommunicated him and his archbishop Thomas Cranmer. This idea that the prince or monarch should also be head of the church in his domain was also in keeping with Lutheran theology. All monasteries and shines were dissolved in 1536 while and English translation of the Bible was made available three years later. All clergy and bishops were appointed by the king after this time, and unlike Catholic priests were permitted to marry. Church services were conducted in English as well and the number of sacraments reduced from seven to two—baptism and communion.
John Calvin was originally trained as a lawyer and became a Protestant around 1530, shortly before he fled to Switzerland. His most important theological work was Institutes of the Christian Religion, first published in 1536. Like Luther, he recognized only two sacraments and thought that the Bible and church services should be in the local languages. Although both Luther and Calvin believed in original sin that could only be redeemed by divine grace, Calvin was much stricter in his view of predestination rather the free will, by which God alone decided whether a person would be saved or go to hell. His government in Geneva was also notoriously strict about enforcing Biblical laws against gambling, drunkenness, adultery and prostitution. During his time as head of the church there, other important Calvinist leaders were trained in the city, including John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church who introduced the Reformation to Scotland.
During the 16th Century, Lutheranism and Calvinism became the predominant religions in northern Europe, with the Lutherans controlling most of northern and eastern Germany and Scandinavia, and the Calvinists becoming the main religion in Scotland, the Netherlands and later the British North American colonies. Calvinists were also a large minority in France and Germany, and in the former suffered serious repression at the hands of the Catholic Church authorities. They also attempted to ‘purify’ the Church of England of any traces of Catholicism, and were frequently in conflict with the Stuart monarchs Charles I and James II. During the English Revolution and Civil War, the Puritans under Oliver Cromwell actually ruled England and attempted to reform the church completely along Protestant lines. Civil wars along religious lines occurred in many areas of Europe in the 16th and 17th Centuries, particularly in France and Germany, culminating in the Thirty Years War of 1618-48. Most of the areas of Europe that had broken with the Catholic Church under Luther and Calvin remained Protestant, however, and the authority of the popes was no longer recognized in these countries.