A Sign from the Heav…Make that the Capital

More Reformation Stuff

Luther—the Devout Revolutionary?

We’ll hit some of the more specific points about Luther’s Protestant Reformation as we move through this, but I want to open with a question: ◦Was Luther more concerned with religion or the

political process?◦With God or with power?

Take 2.7 minutes with a partner near by and argue BOTH sides of this question

A Mighty Fortress

The unofficial battle hymn of the Protestant Reformation became “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”

This symbolized the want of the people, through Luther’s Teachings, to focus on the Bible rather than the Catholic Church’s interpretations of it (and their love of $$)◦ Standing alone are we undone, the Fiend would enslave us;◦ But for us fights a mighty One whom God has sent to save us.◦ Ask you who is this? Jesus Christ is He, Lord God of Hosts◦ There is no other God; He can and will uphold us

This song became an affirmation of Luther’s (and Lutherans’) belief in a personal connection and relationship with their God

However, that didn’t always sit well with everyone…

A Mighty Fortress is our Wallet?

Luther was quite successful spreading his version of the Word of God through sermons

However, while he may have talked about a religion spread to all people, the early reality was that those who converted were from the upper classes

With upper class connection, they could work with the ruling elites in the city

Early Lutheranism was an urban, upper class movement often rejected by poorer, more conservative, rural Germans

Having said that, if you’re only going to obtain one group off people, you’d want the rich over the poor

This is the basis for my question about whether The Reformation is about Religion or Power…

It almost definitely began as a religious movement, but politics make strange bedfellows (what a great line)◦ 1. What does that line mean?◦ 2. Why would politics force Luther towards a less idealistic stance within his

movement?

You Might Be Poor and Lutheran…or I Might Kill You (Through the Word of God)

But you know, the longer you listen to this abortion debate, the more you hear this phrase "sanctity of life." You've heard that, "sanctity of life." You believe in it? Personally, I think it's a bunch of s***. Well, I mean, life is sacred? Who said so? God? Hey, if you read history, you realize that God is one of the leading causes of death— has been for thousands of years. Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians, all taking turns killing each other because God told them it was a good idea. The sword of God, the blood of the lamb, vengeance is mine, millions of dead [people], all because they gave the wrong answer to the God question: "Do you believe in God?" "No." Boom! Dead. "Do you believe in God?" "Yes..." "Do you believe in my God?" "No." Boom! Dead.

-- George Carlin (Back In Town)

Why might I include that George Carlin joke?

You Might Be Poor and Lutheran…or I Might Kill You (Through the Word of God)

Because Luther invoked his own war against the peasants (creatively called The Peasants’ War) to put down their non-Lutheran believing ways in Germany

Gist: local lords were abusing their peasants and Thomas Muntzer rather than Luther rallied the peasants into a fervor

Luther, fearing a loss of support by the ruling classes, called on the German princes to “smite, slay, and stab” the stupid and stubborn peasantry

Luther did blame the princes and magistrates for helping cause the rebellion by their harsh treatment, but he knew they were his political allies

In Luther’s mind, if the Word of God was to be spread, he must put down the mutiny and maintain peace and order long-term

Transubstantiation (Titled thusly because it’s an awesome word)

Luther downplayed the good works in salvation so the sacraments had to be re-defined◦ No longer merit-earning works like in Catholicism◦ Now viewed as divinely established signs signifying the promise of salvation◦ This meant that only 2 of the 7 Catholic sacraments stayed: Baptism and the Lord’s

Supper (Communion) Luther denied transubstantiation, insisting the real presence of Jesus’s body and

blood in the bread and wine was given as a testament to God’s forgiveness of sin, not that bread and wine is transformed into the body and blood of Christ◦ I know it’s technical…sorry

The Bible was enough for Luther, thinking all who followed the Word of God were their own priests (meaning you didn’t need the hierarchal church the Catholics had)

Luther also reformed churches through princes or state authorities because he had little choice

If he didn’t, secular authorities in Germany would have stopped the spread of Lutheranism—as it was the Church was focused on Bible reading, preaching the word of God, and song

He also married, denouncing the Catholic church’s view of clerical celibacy

Let Me Announce To You Our Next Mediocre Ruler…Charles V

The Holy Roman Empire was constantly trying to expand but the Protestant Reformation kept getting in its way

In one of the greatest lines ever, Charles V talked of his possessions through his languages, “I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse.”

It reminds me of a joke (hey, it’s one of those days…)

European Heaven and Hell

Heaven and Hell Heaven Is Where:The French are the chefs

The Italians are the lovers

The British are the police

The Germans are the mechanics

And the Swiss make everything run on time

Hell is Where:The British are the chefs

The Swiss are the lovers

The French are the mechanics

The Italians make everything run on time

And the Germans are the police

Let Me Announce To You Our Next Mediocre Ruler…Charles V

As leader of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles’s goal was to preserve the unity of the Catholic faith throughout his empire

That would be difficult with all the craziness happening in Germany

He had four major problems◦1. The French◦2. The Papacy◦3. The Turks◦4. Germany’s Internal Situation

French and Papacy Issues

France’s king Francis I didn’t like being encircled by the Habsburg empire of Charles V, so he constantly fought

These were known as the Habsburg-Valois Wars and prevented Charles from concentrating on the Lutheran problem in Germany

Also, Charles believed Papal cooperation was forthcoming related to Lutheran heresy…but it didn’t

The Papacy was guided by political considerations not religious ones (pretty crazy when you think about it—because their entire job is to serve God)

In fact, a pope could act against his religious interests because of a political situation

Pope Clement VII joined Francis I in the second Habsburg-Valois War…it went horribly wrong and Rome was mercilessly defeated

This led to Charles V controlling much of Italy by 1530…but his focus was away from Luther

The Turks

The Ottoman Turks took over most of the Balkans in SE Europe and North Africa during this time, posing a real threat to European holdings

Also, the Turks killed King Louis of Hungary (Charles’s brother-in-law)

They then took over Hungary and moved into Vienna, Austria (the capital) before being sent back in 1529

The emperor and much of Christian Europe was safe (since most Turks were Muslim) but resources had been diverted from Germany

The German Problem

By the end of 1529, Charles was ready to deal with Germany but the internal issues in the Holy Roman Empire prevented it

The medieval development of Germany led to more independence than most countries and Germans had no desire to bow down to an emperor

An alliance formed amongst 11 Lutheran imperial cities and 8 princes called the Schmalkaldic League◦ All cities would help each other “whenever any one of us is attacked on account of the Word of

God and the doctrine of the Gospel.” Combined the alliance with a renewed Turkish threat and Charles needed to

compromise again Charles spent 15 years chasing the German problem, finally attempting to address it

in 1545 Luther died in 1546 and so did a peaceful compromise between Catholics and

Protestants Finally, in 1556 Charles abandoned German affairs to his brother Ferdinand, abdicated

all of his titles in 1556 and retired to his country estate…he died two years later The Peace of Augsburg was negotiated in 1555 marking the first time the division of

Christianity was formally acknowledged◦ Lutheranism now had equal legal standing with Catholicism◦ Additionally, the peace settlement accepted the right of each German ruler to determine the

religion of his subjects (not the right for the subjects to choose their own religion) The dream of an ideal united Catholic Empire was gone

Major Protest Counter-Movements

• Zwinglian Reformation• The Swiss Confederation was a loose association of 13 self-governing states

(cantons) part of the Holy Roman Empire, but virtually independent by 1499• Ulrich Zwingli, influenced by Christian humanism, led the growth of the

Protestant movement through public disputations (debates), where he defended his religion better than the Catholics and was allowed to continue preaching

• The state helped supervise the church• Relics and images were abolished• All paintings and decorations were removed from the churches• Scripture reading, prayer, and sermon replaced Mass• There was no music because it was a distraction to God• He sought an alliance with Luther because of fear from Catholic Cantons and

they nearly were ale to find common ground• However, the interpretation of the Lord’s Supper was a sticking point• “This is my body” and “This is my blood” should be taken symbolically

according to Zwingli—it was only a symbolic meal• Luther insisted upon the real presence of the body and blood of Jesus “in, with,

and under the bread and wine.”• There was no alliance, war happened, Zwingli was crushed by the Catholic

cantons, and his body was cut up, burned to pieces, and his ashes scattered…at least they weren’t overdramatic or anything…

Major Protest Counter-Movements

The Anabaptists◦This was attractive to peasants, weavers, miners, and

artisans who believed radical change was necessary◦Felt the true Christian church was a voluntary

association of believers who had undergone spiritual rebirth and baptized into the church

◦Advocated adult baptism◦No one should be forced to accept the truth of the

Bible◦Tried to return literally to the practices and spirit of

Christianity◦Believed in a complete separation of church and state

Other Issues—Your Turn

You are to summarize/bullet point/whatever your concept below. If we don’t get to this in class, these are concepts you need to know for tomorrow. Sorry, time is short, and we need to test tomorrow.

England during the Reformation -- Chris Calvinism (focus on Predestination) –Hannah K The Family during the Reformation --Alec Education in the Reformation --Abhishek The Catholic Reformation – Sam A The Jesuit Influence --Sarah Reform after the Renaissance Papacy –Hannah N The Council of Trent -- Jereme French Wars of Religion -- Dan Philip II and Militant Catholicism -- Dana The England of Elizabeth (make sure to mention all three

subheadings: religious policy, foreign policy, The Spanish Armada) -- Lauren