The most Important Legacy of Reformation for us Today - Essay Example

?The most Important Legacy of Reformation for us Today The most Important Legacy of Reformation for us Today The Protestant Reformation was the most important legacy of reformation for us to date. Protestant reformation was triggered by several factors that were considered controversial to the true Gospel of Christ as was practiced by the Roman Catholic Church in the earlier days. The protestant reformation started in Europe in the early sixteenth century1. The works of Martin Luther King’s activities that he carried out in the late fifteenth century informed the reforms. During such times, it was evident in the Roman Catholic Church that the pope had the powers to sale of penance letters to people following the fact that he was deficient of the authority to forgive sins. In those days, the priest was highly regarded more important than any other person. Therefore, anything that he did was highly regarded as of moral right and was subject to no rejection or question. In this regard, the Catholic Church considered priests more than other considered other people. Following the ever questionable issues noticed by Luther regarding the practice of the pope, Luther advocated for provision of the Bible to everyone to read for themselves. It is due to such ill beliefs and practice that forced Martin Luther to call an end to such practices. He gained many followers in various countries by inspiring many religious reformers to break away from the Catholic Church and develop their own ideas. As such, a strong movement was created that was meant to bring reforms to the Roman Catholic Church. Many Christians were strongly opposed to the practices that they saw in the church. They considered them false doctrines as well as malpractices within the church that deprived the Christian faithful from knowing the truth that was intended by the Creator. These involved the teachings and sale of the indulgences. These were termed corruption in the church. The other cause for protest that led to reforms followed the sale of church positions. This was known as simony. These sales were associated with lots of corruption issues directly linked to the church. This drew major protests amongst the faithful. The corruption was quite out-showing in those days and it followed the toll of religious hierarchy involving the Pope2. The reformations led to various religious wars that was termed the Thirty Years War. Christians believe in the ability of God to forgive sins since he has the power to do so. However, the notion that a person can influence God to forgive another is misleading. It is the idea of forgiveness of sins as well as the massive power accorded to the pope that led to the call to reformation. Reformation is an important aspect of human life. It is of crucial importance to highlight that different reformation always follow quests of justice with regards to certain matters that affect humanity. As such, people may always engage in protests with the hope of correcting a wrong where necessary. Such issues that always bring notable protests that mark the beginnings of reformations always arise from several sources. A major factor that may push for reformation may involve political factors. This may be evident where certain issues are considered oppressive to the general wellbeing of humanity. In addition, several protests championing for reforms may follow differences in religious views. As such, several religious societies may collude and strongly oppose a wrongdoing that may be evident in the society. Major reformations in history came with regards to the Roman Catholic church. The church in earlier days had several provisions and guidelines hat majority of followers considered oppressive. Such did not marry well with their beliefs and the faith they had in Christianity. Majority of such issues were being steered forth by the people of high ranks in the church. Such issues were considered oppressive to the faith and beliefs that were maintained by the faithful. This brought forth major reforms in the Roman Catholic Church as is evident to date. The existence of widespread corruption as well as the excess powers accorded to the Pope compromised the Christian faith. Most faithful were opposed to several issues that were associated with the powers of the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. The pope was given many powers and the way they were exercised brought major protests that led to major reforms in the religious history3. The pope was given the powers to forgive sins. This was quite controversial to the views of many faithful, thus drew lots of protests within the church. This follows that most faithful believed that the power of forgiveness of sins was only possible by God through Jesus Christ but not Pope. This brought major reforms that ensured many people separate with the Roman Catholic, thus forming protestant churches in existence to date. The power to forgive sins is only vested in the ability of God. There is no one, no matter the religious status, who can forgive sins. However, in regards to this, several Roman Catholic faithful were too adamant to accept this issue. They therefore shared different perspectives with regards to the issue of forgiveness of sins. This led to major protests that led to the legacy of transformation in the church. Consequently, the papal indulgence as well as authority to forgive one’s sins through sale of penance letters introduced massive corruption in the church. The issue of corruption is considered sinful in the church. Corruption is an essence of discrimination and favoring of one side. This is ethically wrong and religiously immoral. Corruption in church is a vice that deprives individuals of their rights. Therefore, it is of critical importance to ensure that such vices are dealt with in the most religious and professional ways possible. If there is to be a change in the way religious issues are conducted free of corruption, there was need for reforms. These reforms only took their place through massive protests and separation along religious lines. This led to several reforms. The issues of corruption were said to be highly linked to the sale of penance letters as well as church positions by the Pope and other church authorities. In this perspective, it was evident that the way in which the top religious leaders exercised their authoritative powers was contrary to several believers’ perspectives. This issue of corruptions exercised in this manner drew major protests by those who shared different and contrary perspectives on the issue. It is due to these corrupt practices that led to the emergence of Reformation movement led By Martin Luther (1483 – 1546). According to Martin, the pope had no power to sale penance letters to people because he lacked the authority to forgive sins4. Consequently, the Catholic Church considered priests more than other considered other people. Moreover, Luther advocated for provision of the Bible to everyone to read for themselves. It is due to such ill beliefs and practice that forced Martin Luther to call an end to such practice. He gained many followers in various countries by inspiring many religious reformers to break away from the Catholic Church and develop their own ideas. The movement was named the Protestant reformation. Martin Luther was following the footsteps of his predecessors’ John Wyclif (1328- 1384) and John Hus (1369 – 1415) both of who were theologians from England and Czech Republic respectively5. In summary, the issue of Catholic priests exploiting the people as well as misleading people in believing that outward works can save or purify a man is so bad. According to Luther, it is bad for the priests and the pope in general to exploit people by selling penance yet in real sense no one has power to do that. Further, the teachings of the priests concerning the ability of a person to be saved or made good because of outward appearance are wrong. This called for major reformations in the church that have made legacies even today. Bibliography Spielvogel, Jackson. Western Civilization. 8th ed. Vol. 1: To 1715. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. Wiesner, Merry E., Julius R. Ruff, and William Bruce Wheeler. Discovering the Western Past: A Look at the Evidence. 6th ed. Vol. 1: To 1789. Boston: Houghton, 2008. Read More