April 27th

Last week we spent time looking at reformers and the causes of the Reformation.  This week we will look at how the Church responded to to the Reformation.

As you learned, there were many people who had problems with the Church and I will test your knowledge on the four reformers that you studied in the book and your mini research project.

Martin Luther is associated with the 95 Theses.  He was studying for a law degree when he was struck by lightning.  He prayed to St. Anne, and then became a Monk.  Eventually he challenged the selling of indulgences.  He believed that people justed needed to believe in God and live by the Bible for their souls to be saved.  He also translated the New Testament into German.  He won the support of the nobles because the nobles did not want clergy to interfere with politics.

William Tyndale was the reformer who translated the Bible into English.  This angered the clergy of England who wanted him arrested.  Thomas More ordered that the translated copy be banned.  He had all copies of the translation purchased and burned.  Tyndale fled England, and with the profits from the sale of his translation, continued printing English versions of the Bible.

John Calvin taught followers that God knew who would be saved before they were born, this is called predestination.  Calvin moved to Geneva with his followers and hoped to make Geneva a Christian example for the rest of the world.  He stressed that people should live a good life and obey God's laws.  He banned many forms of entertainment such as playing cards and dancing to keep people away from temptation.

King Henry VIII challenged the pope's authority to give the Monarch commands.  He was very upset that the pope would not end his marriage, so he declared himself the head of a new church called the Church of England.    He broke from the church for personal reasons and thus did not make many changes in church practices.

All of these reformers set about a change in the way religion was practiced, and this eventually will set the stage for religious conflicts.  These conflicts are part of the reason people settled in the new world and many of these ideas shaped our county's laws.

April 20, 2015 Reformation

Imagine the Middle Ages were 85% of the population was illiterate.  Access to books was limited, and access to schools was even more limited.  Where do you turn for information and cultural beliefs. In Europe that was The Church.  More specifically the Catholic Church guided by the pope.

Then the world changes.  First tragedy, with The Black Plague killing off over 1/3 of the population.  Church leaders and local clergy were unable to explain why people were sick.  Could it be that God was angry?  Was it a twist of fate?  No one could explain the despair.  The Plague devastated the people of Europe, but it also started to put a crack in the foundation of The Church.

Then France squabbles with church leaders over taxes.  Low and behold, French cardinals elect their own pope and now there are two popes running around.  What were people supposed to think?

Finally, Gutenberg introduces The Bible to tens of thousands of people.  For the first time, common people could access The Bible and start questioning scripture.

These events lead to a Europe with not one church, but several different churches all with a common belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ, but with different interpretations on how to worship.  This event shifts power away from the pope and into the hands of monarchs.

The next 2 1/2 weeks we will learn about reformers and how their challenges to church authority changed the course of history throughout the western world.

April 13

Welcome back.  I hope that everyone rested and had fun over the break.  As we left we were learning about the Renaissance in Italy.  This week we will examine how Northern Europe was impacted by Renaissance ideas. We will also spend time collaborating on the PSA for diseases.