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REFORMATION ATTEMPTS

Lecture Objectives:

The student will consider further the abuses and moral corruptions that existed in the medieval church, and of efforts to bring about reform.

References:

This lesson will deal with: (A)abuses that caused some church leaders to cry out for reform, (B)some of the leaders of reform efforts, and (C)some principles which emerged from reformation activity which still have impact on the world today.

Questions for focus:

Suppose you were given some magical power by which you could change anything from what it is to what you would like it to be. List some things you might change at once. Would you like a stabilized ruble? Would you like pens, pencils, paper, computers for every student? Add to the list. It should be no surprise that such efforts (without magical powers) have been tried many times across many years. Right now, there are things we would like to change for the common good. Since the church is made up of people who make mistakes, it should not be a surprise that the church can also stand in need of reform. Read the letters in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 to see what our Lord told those churches to change.

1. DEFINING REFORM
   1. "Reform" suggests that something is bad, wrong, or corrupt and could be changed.
   2. From the last lesson we saw that after the first century the church made departures in organization and doctrine, creating also a celibate life-style for its ministers. The church adopted practices that caused a loss of respect among many people. As trade and travel widened between the East and the West, the level of learning and self-reliance increased. As many discoveries of old copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible came to light, more Bible study was evoked. Comparing the Bible with the medieval church brought some to see the corruption of both morals and teaching that had crept in through the centuries. It was starling to compare the church of New Testament days with the church of the 13th to 16th centuries. The call for reform grew from a few concerned voices to a crescendo heard throughout Europe.
2. CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION
   1. The misuse of wealth and power
      1. In some centuries of Europe, the church owned one third of the land. Its wealth was displayed in magnificent cathedrals and the lavish life-style of many of its leaders. All this sharply contrasted with the poverty of the common people. This unethical style of the church was based on corrupt means of raising money.
   2. The authority claimed for the Roman Pope
      1. Innocent III said that earthly, secular rulers must be subject to the pope and drive their powers from him. He said that as the sun was brighter than the moon, so the pope had more authority than any secular ruler. Note the arrogance of the statement called UNAMSANCTUM. Those are the first two words of an official statement issued by pope Boniface VIII against the King of France in 1302 A.D. "Furthermore we declare state, define and pronounce that it is altogether necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." This enraged King Phillip the Fair. He invaded Italy and put Boniface in prison. After the death of Boniface, Phillip put Clement V in the office of the pope. The papal office was transferred to Avignon in France, where it remained for seventy years. Later there was a period in which three men claimed to be pope, saying the others were "illegitimate." That schism was not resolved until the council of Constance in 1415 A.D.
   3. Vices of the clergy
      1. Wicked lives of Catholic clergy led Innocent III to say, "The prelates in southern France are the laughingstock of the laity." Other practices that caused rebellion against the church included.
         1. Celibacy of the priests - the requirement that ministers (called "priests" by the Roman church) must not marry.
         2. Simony - the sale of high church offices (bishops, archbishops, for example) to raise money for projects at the building of St. Peter's cathedral in Rome.
         3. Indulgences - promising the removal of a penalty for sin imposed by the church. Certificates of indulgence were sold to benefit both the living and the dead.
         4. Hagiolatry - veneration of the saints, often represented in church buildings by statues or images.
         5. The list could go on, but many people saw that the religion of the Lord Jesus had been replaced by something far different. They saw an authoritarian institution controlling the people through erroneous doctrine and practices of a priestly system that had lost the respect of the people.
3. REFORMATION LEADERS
   1. John Wycliffe (1320-1384) was called the "Morning Star of the Reformation."
      1. He rightly criticized the church of his time for its false teaching and immoral practices. Believing the church had left its Biblical roots, he opposed church authorities by wanting the Bible in English.

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Last modified: December 07, 2005