Who started the reformation and why did they see a need for change?

Answer 1

Seminally Martin Luther. Martin Luther had aired a list of grievances with the catholic church' most notably the principle of salvation by faith alone or "sola fate". Other European countries saw an opportunity to use these arguments in order to gain wealth from the catholic church which posessed approximately one- third of the world's wealth at the time. Well thats the very short of it.

Answer 2

Martin Luther didn't set out to start the Reformation.

He nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg in the accepted manner to debate the issues, and he was very disturbed over a number of things he saw in the Catholic Church of his time--after all, he was a monk.

One of the things that bothered him the most was the sale of indulgences, by which a person could, essentially, buy some time off a stay in Purgatory, either for him or herself or for another person. Luther also had problems with what he perceived as an emphasis on works, by which many thought that they could somehow earn salvation.

Needless to say, things didn't work out the way Luther had expected, and he found himself excommunicated for his beliefs. Since he wouldn't back down from them, he turned to translating the Bible into German, since he had become convinced that it was vital for Christians to be able to read the Bible for themselves, rather than having it explained to them by someone else. His own Biblical studies had convinced him of this necessity.

Eventually he married a former nun, Katherine von Bora, who, along with several other of her sisters in religion, left their convent (smuggled out in empty barrels) after studying Luther's teachings. Luther often called her "Master Kate," for her managerial skills, and she was the first woman to preside over a parsonage. They had, I believe, six children, and Luther showed his supreme confidence in her when, in his will, he appointed her his heir. He felt that she had been such an exemplary wife and mother that he felt that their children should look to her for support, rather than that she should look to them.

I'd recommend the movie Luther, which is an excellent biographical picture (Joseph Fiennes plays the title role).

Answer 3

Martin Luther because he saw corruption within the Catholic church.

Answer 4

the church was being bossy