Christian Reform in the 15th century

Luther, Calvin and Zwingli

Martin Luther
Well-educated, on track to become a lawyer as a teenager. When he was 21, he was traveling on horseback when he was caught in a terrible storm. He thought he was going to die, and cried out saying Save me, St. Anna, and I shall become a monk. He lived, and became a monk very soon. This displays his belief in a personal relationship with God, which was a major part of Lutheranism

Luthers disagreement with the Church

Luther entered into an Augustinian monastery The Order of Augustine was Catholic After being a monk for 13 years in the monastery, he publicized his 95 Theses

The 95 Theses criticized aspects of Catholicism not found in scripture Four years later, he was excommunicated

Luthers teachings
Despite his excommunication, Luther continued to lecture and teach at Univ. of Wittenburg, until a few months after his excommunication when he was placed under Imperial Ban While he was a wanted man he hid at Wartburg Castle, where he translated the New Testament into German. After one year he returned to Wittenburg and taught there for the remainder of his life

Zwingli
Lived at the same time as Luther Received a very good education, influenced by Erasmus (a humanist) Gave up his position of authority unlike Luther who was excommunicated

Zwingli and Luther

Even though the two agreed in some issues, they disagreed with each other as well Both wanted a simpler belief system, but Luther did not acknowledge Zwingli as a brother in Christ because:
Luther was more dedicated to a pious relationship with Christ They disagreed on issues about the Lords Supper

One generation younger than Luther and Zwingli Luther and Zwingli broke the ice and Calvin continued to make reforms in the church Had a Humanistic education (like Zwingli) Calvins essay Institutes of the Christian Religion defended his beliefs, which were similar to Luthers, and met much less resistance than Luther and Zwingli encountered.

The Effects of the Reform

Indulgences were abolished Lutheranism and Calvinism split off from the Catholic church and became very popular Because of Luther, Scriptures became available to common people and were not exclusively for the church authorities

Bibliography
http://www.newadvent.org/ (pages about Luther, Calvin and Zwingli) http://www.ccel.org/l/ (pages about Luther, Calvin and Zwingli)