Block Day • Luther and Church reforms

• Group activities

• Video clips

• Should be a fun day!

CNN Student News• Warm-Up every day

• Write down 3 FACTS THAT YOU LEARNED from the current event news broad cast

• Will collect this for points at the end of the sheet

The Catholic Church in 1500 article• Read and Annotate the article• Answer the questions• Get ready to discuss the article with the class

Group Activity

Luther Starts the Reformation

Let’s remember….• What does reform mean?• To change something that is wrong, corrupt,

unsatisfactory• Why were people losing faith in the church?• Black plague, suffering, etc• What was the attitude of people during the Renaissance

period?• Enjoy life• Why did the invention of the printing press lead people

to criticize the church and clergy?• They could interpret the bible for themselves

Catholic Church highly criticized

• Although the Church in Rome dominated religious life in Europe, it had not yet won universal approval

• Members of clergy and rulers criticized Church practices

• Even though church leaders made important reforms during the Middle Ages, problems still lingered

Movement from Germany • A new movement for religious reform began in Germany and

spread to much of Europe

Problems in the Catholic Church

• Critics said the leaders were corrupt and that pope’s were spending extravagantly on personal pleasure• Pope Alexander VI

publicly admitted to having several children

• Many priests and clergy were so poorly educated they could hardly read scripture and prayer• Many made up stories or not

read from the Bible• Others broke vows by

marrying, gambling or drinking excessively

People Expect More

• People had come to expect higher standards of conduct from church leaders and priests• People like John Wycliffe and

Jan Hus had advocated for church reform in the 1400s and Christian humanists like Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More added to the voices of criticism

Indulgences

Relics

How the printing press changes EVERYTHING??• More books were printed

• Did not have to hand-write them- less mistakes • Sharing of information and knowledge- like the internet

• Books were now printed in the VERNACULAR • Everyone could read if they wanted• …

• Many people were reading religious works for themselves and developing their own opinions about the church

Luther Challenges the Church• Martin Luther was the son of a miner• Became a monk in 1505 after almost being struck by lightening• Taught scripture at University of Saxony• Goal was to be a good Christian- he didn’t intend to start a serious

revolution

• 1517 Luther decided to take a stand against the actions of friar Johann Tetzel• Tetzel was raising money to build St. Peter’s

Cathedral in Rome• He was selling indulgences- a pardon releasing

sinners from performing (penalty) prayers that priests impose for sins• Basically, gave the impression that buying

indulgences could get you to heaven

95 Theses• Luther was troubled, and wrote 95 Theses, or formal statements,

attacking the “pardon sellers” and posted them on the door of the church castle in Wittenberg

• He invited other scholars to debate him• The First Blog or Facebook!

Examples of his 95 theses…• http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/95trans.htm

Hot off the press!• Someone copied Luther’s words and took them to a printer• Quickly, Martin’s arguments and name became known all over

Germany

Results• His actions began the Reformation- a movement for religious

reform• It led to the founding of Christian churches that did not accept

the pope’s authority

Protestant churches (stemming from word protest) were just the beginning of many different Christian religions that would branch off, including Lutheran and Presbyterian to name a few

I got 95 Theses…• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt5AJr0wls0

Activity: Luther and His 95 Theses• Look at the selected readings from the 95 Theses• Answer he two questions• COMPLETE sentences

Martin Luther Music Video • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ3AFZXXX-k

The Reform of Luther

Luther Calls for Reform• Luther went beyond criticizing

indulgences- wanted full reform of the Church• His teachings were based on 3 things:

1. People could win salvation only by the faith of God (church said “good works” were needed for salvation)

2. Church teachings should be based on words of the Bible- not pope and Church traditions

3. All people with faith were equal and didn’t need priests to interpret the bible for them

Response to Luther• Luther surprised how

fast his ideas spread and attracted followers• Many had been

unhappy with the Church for political and economic reasons• Some saw Luther’s

protests as an excuse to get rid of Church control

Pope’s Threat• At first, the Church saw

Luther as a rebellious monk• Soon the pope realized

he was a threat• Luther even suggested

Christians drive the pope out by force

Pope’s Threat

• 1520, Pope Leo X issued a decree threatening to excommunicate Luther if he didn’t take back his statements• Luther held a bonfire and

students cheered as he threw the pope’s decree into the flames• Leo excommunicated

Luther

Holy Roman Emperor

• Charles V (also the king of Spain) also opposed Luther’s teachings• As the Holy Roman Emperor he

controlled lands including Germany• Summoned Luther to town of

Worms to stand trial in 1521 and was told to recant statements

Charles VCharles V

• Luther refused and stated:

“ I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me. Amen.”

Luther Stands Trial

Edict of Worms• A month after the trial, Charles issued the Edict

of Worms, stating Luther an outlaw and heretic, and no one should feed or shelter him, and all his books were burned• The ruler of the German state where Luther

lived, disobeyed the emperor• For a year, Prince Fredrick the Wise of Saxony

secretly sheltered Luther in his castle• While there, Luther translated the Bible into

German

The Edict of Worms

Wittenberg

• Luther returned to Wittenberg in 1522 and discovered many of his ideas put into practice• Priests dressed in

ordinary clothes and called themselves ministers• Led services in German

instead of Latin• Ministers were able to

wed

The Lutherans

• Instead of constantly seeking reforms in the Catholic church, Luther and followers became a separate religious group• Called themselves the

Lutherans

Peasant Revolt• German peasants excited by talk of

reform, demanded an end to serfdom• Bands of angry peasants went through

countryside raiding and burning monasteries

• This horrified Luther who wrote a letter urging German princes to put an end to the revolt• 100,000 peasants were massacred • Peasants felt betrayed by Luther and rejected his

leadership

Protestants• Princes who

supported Luther signed a protest against that agreement• Protesting princes

became known as Protestants• This eventually

applies to Christians who belong to non-Catholic churches

Martin Luther and the Jews• In 1543 Luther published On the Jews and Their Lies in which he says that

the Jews are a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth.

• " They are full of the "devil's feces ... which they wallow in like swine.• "The synagogue was a "defiled bride, yes, an incorrigible whore and an evil

slut ..."[15] He argues that their synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes razed, and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness, afforded no legal protection, and these "poisonous envenomed worms" should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time.

• He also seems to advocate their murder, writing "[w]e are at fault in not slaying them".

• See the book, “The Jews and their Lies”• http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/

Luther_on_Jews.html

I got 95 Thesis But…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt5AJr0wls0

• http://www.youtube.com/user/historyteachers#p/u/38/rZ3AFZXXX-k Martin Luther

Luther Activity: