ok im confused.. Whats Protestant Reformation?

Question

and like why did many christains call for church reform?

Answer 1

Short and Sweet - A group of Catholics protested against the Catholic Church - protested - protestant - same word.

Answer 2

If you want a simple answer it can be stated this way:

The Reformation was the breaking away fom the Catholic church because Martin Luther and others despised the practice of "selling indulgences ". Example: A rich burger had a son who was a parish priest. The burger, for a few thousand pieces of gold paid to the Pope, could have his son made a BISHOP or even a CARDINAL.

Luther posted these complaints on the church doors. The hierarchy excommunicated Luther but his followers joined with him to form the Protestant Church which exixts to-day, in sharp contradiction to ther Catholic church.

May I humbly suggest that, before getting answers from Yahoo you could have typed two word into your favorite search engine. The two words would be "The Reformation". You then have omitted the words "I'M confused" from your question.

Answer 3

The Protestant Reformation began in the 1500's, and had several advocates, two of the most famous were Martin Luther, and John Calvin.

Martin Luther was a Roman Catholic priest who was sent by his superiors to study the book of Romans, and it was there that he discovered that "the just shall live by faith." This was quite different than the doctrine the church taught at the time, which demanded works for salvation.

As he studied, he became opposed to the Roman doctrine of the selling of indulgences and the doctrine of purgatory. He then wrote 95 Theses in Latin, so only the educated could read them, and nailed them to the door of the Castle church in Wittenburg, Germany. He wanted to engage in debate about these 95 thoughts he had about the church, and reconcile the church to the Bible.

His doctrine made him an enemy of the Roman church, because he was causing those that donated money to reconsider. He ended up having to defend his doctrine before a council, which was known as the Diet of Worms. (Worms is a city in Germany.)

Ultimately, he escaped persecution, and his followers became known as Lutherans.

The rallying cry of the Reformers was "Sola Fide, Sola Gracia, Sola Scriptura" which means "Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Scripture Alone. (Which was against the existing doctrine of Church tradition and edict.)

Answer 4

The protestant reformation took place in the 1500s and was a protesting against Catholicism and the barbaric teachings that it was promoting. It was led by a number of men although and Martin Luther has been credited with being the leader of it or the beginner of it. It mostly protested the doctrine of salvation by works as opposed to salvation by faith and belief in Jesus Christ. True Christianity did exist all along from the time of Christ on but Catholicism called these people heritics and sought to kill them.

Answer 5

People within the church did not agree with church doctrine.

They PROTESTED issues (thus they were called "Protestants")
and attempted to make changes (REFORM.)

Some (like Martin Luther) merely wanted the church to make changes. Others thought that the way to go was to make a clean break with the church of the day and make a fresh start.

Luther never originally intended to break away from the church BUT...

The church said "We won't change."
Luther said "I won't change my mind."

And a break away was inevitable.

The straw that broke the camel's back had to do with how some people in the church (especially Johann Tetzel, in Germany) were raising money at the time.

Luther's famous 95 THESIS were issues that he wished to have addressed through open debate.

Answer 6

The first response is apt, but I'll give you a short response. It all began with Martin Luther, who objected to a number of practices of the Catholic Church, such as selling indulgences, and nailed a paper relating his objections to the church door some time around 1520. The Church, of course, paid little attention to this, and Luther went off and basically set up his own church. Subsequently, others did this also.

Answer 7

Catholicism had introduced MANY teachings which were opposed to the Gospel message. The reformation STARTED as an attempt to get the "church" BACK where it SHOULD BE...

Sadly, when the catholic "machine" opposed those who wanted to return it to its proper place, most of those who had called for the needed reform stopped somewhere short of "reestablishing" the church according to the pattern laid out in scripture and held onto some of those false teachings instead of beginning fresh with scripture alone...

Answer 8

You realize that this could have easily been answered by entering the words "Protestant Reformation" into yahoos search engine when you brought up the home page right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation

Answer 9

In understanding the history of Protestant Church and the Reformation, it is important to first understand that one of the claims that the Roman Catholic Church makes is that of apostolic succession. This simply means that they claim a unique authority over all other churches and denominations because they claim the line of Roman Catholic Popes back throughout the centuries, all the way to the Apostle Peter. In their view, this gives the Roman Catholic Church a unique authority that supersedes all other denominations or churches. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this Apostolic succession is only “found in the Catholic Church” and that no “separate Churches have any valid claim to it.”



It is because of this apostolic succession that the Roman Catholic Church claims a unique authority to interpret Scripture and to establish doctrine, as well the claim of having a supreme leader in the Pope who is infallible (without error) when speaking “ex cathedra”—that is in the exercise of his office as pastor and teacher of all Christians. Therefore, according to the Roman Catholic view, the teaching or traditions of the Roman Catholic Church as they come from the Pope are equally as infallible and authoritative as the Scriptures themselves. This is one of the major differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants, and was one of the foundational reasons for the Protestant Reformation.



Of course the Roman Catholics are not the only ones who try to claim unique authority through apostolic succession, or by tracing the roots of their church back to the original apostles. For example, the Eastern Orthodox Church also claims apostolic succession, although their claim is very similar to the Roman Catholic view. The split between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism did not occur until the “Great Schism” in 1054 A.D. There are also some Protestant denominations or groups that will try to establish a “Trail of Blood” that can be traced back throughout the centuries to the first century church and the apostles themselves. While these Protestants do not hold to apostolic succession in order to establish the authority of a “Pope” as an infallible leader, they still nevertheless look to that connection to the early church in at least some small degree to establish the authority of their doctrines and practices.



The problem with any of these attempts to trace a line of succession back to the apostles, whether it is Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant, is that they all are an attempt to derive or support the authority of what they believe and teach from the wrong source, that of some real or perceived connection with the apostles, instead of deriving it from the Word of God. It is important for Christians to realize that direct apostolic succession is not necessary in order for a church or denomination to have authority. God has given and preserved the supreme authority for all matters of faith and practice in His Holy Word, the Bible. Therefore, an individual church’s or denomination’s authority today does not come through some tie to the first century church and the apostles. Instead it comes only and directly from the written Word of God. A church or denomination’s teachings are authoritative and binding on Christians only if they represent the true meaning and clear teaching of Scripture. This is an important point to realize when it comes to understanding the connection between Protestantism and the Roman Catholic Church, and the reason that the Protestant Reformation took place.



In understanding the history of Christianity and the claims of apostolic succession, as well as the Roman Catholic Church’s claim to being the one true Church with unique authority, it is important that we realize a couple of key points. First, we must realize that even in the days of the apostles and the first century church, false teachers and false teachings were a significant problem. We know this because warnings against heresies and false teachers are found in all the later New Testament writings. Jesus, Himself warned that these false teachers would be like “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15), and that there would be both “tares and wheat” that would exist together until the day of judgment when He separates the saved from the lost, the true “born again” believer from those that have not truly received Him (Matthew 13:24-30). This is important in understanding church history, because from almost the very beginning false teachers and false teachings have been invading the church and leading people astray. Despite this, there have always also been true “born again” believers who held fast to the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, throughout all ages, even in the darkest period of the dark ages.



The second thing we must realize to correctly understand church history is that the word catholic simply means “universal.” This is important because in the early Christian writings of the first and second centuries, when the term “catholic” is used, it is referring to the “universal church” or “body of Christ” that is made up of “born again” believers from every tribe, tongue and nation (Revelation 5:9; 7:9). However, like many words over time, the word “catholic” began to take on new meaning, or came to be used in a new sense. Over time, the concept of a “universal” or “catholic” church began to evolve into the concept that all churches were thought of as forming together one church, not just spiritually, but also visibly, extending throughout the world. This misunderstanding of the nature of the visible church (which always has contained both “wheat and tares”) and the invisible church, (the body of Christ which is only made up of born again believers) would lead to the concept of a visible Holy Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. It is out of this misunderstanding of the nature of the universal church that the Roman Catholic Church evolved.



Prior to the Constantine’s conversion to Christianity in 315 A.D., Christians had been persecuted by the Roman government. With his conversion Christianity, became an allowed religion of the Roman Empire (and later became the official religion), and the thus “visible” Church became joined with the power of the Roman government. This marriage of church and state led to formation of the Roman Catholic Church, and over time caused the Roman Catholic Church to refine its doctrine and develop its structure in a way that best served the purpose of the Roman government. During this time, opposing the Roman Catholic Church was the same as opposing the Roman Government, and carried with it severe penalties. Therefore, if one disagreed with some doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, it was a serious charge that often resulted in excommunication, and sometimes even death.



Yet throughout this time of history there were true “born again” Christians who would rise up and oppose the secularization of the Roman Catholic Church and the perversion of the faith that followed. Through this church and state combination, over time, the Roman Catholic Church effectively silenced those who opposed any of its doctrines or practices, and truly became almost a universal church throughout the Roman Empire. There were always “pockets” of resistance to some of the unbiblical practices and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, yet they were relatively small and isolated. Prior to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, men such as John Wycliffe in England, John Huss in Czechoslovakia, and John of Wessel in Germany, had all given their lives for their opposition to some of the unbiblical teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.



The opposition to the Roman Catholic Church and its false teaching came to a head in the sixteenth century, when a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther posted his 95 propositions (or theses) against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the Castle Church door at Wittenberg, Germany. Luther’s intention was to bring reform to the Roman Catholic Church, and in doing so was challenging the authority of the Pope. With the refusal of the Roman Catholic Church to heed Luther’s call to reformation and return to biblical doctrines and practices, the Protestant Reformation began out of which four major divisions or traditions of Protestantism would immerge: Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, and Anglican. During this time God raised up godly men in different countries in order to once again restore churches throughout the world to their biblical roots and to biblical doctrines and practices.



Underlying the Protestant Reformation lay four basic questions or doctrines that these reformers believed the Roman Catholic Church to be in error. These four questions or doctrines are: How is a person saved? Where does religious authority lie? What is the church? And what is the essence of Christian living? In answering these questions the Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calivin, and John Knox established what would be known as the “Five Solas” (sola being the Latin word for alone) of the Reformation. These five points of doctrine were at the heart of the Protestant Reformation, and it was for these five essential Biblical doctrines that the Protestant Reformers would take their stand against the Roman Catholic Church, resisting the demands placed on them to recant of their teaching, even to the point of death. These five essential doctrines of the Protestant Reformation are:



1-“Sola Scriptura,” or Scripture Alone: This affirms the Biblical doctrine that the Bible alone is the sole authority for all matters of faith and practice. Scripture and Scripture alone is the standard by which all teachings and doctrines of the church must be measured. As Martin Luther so eloquently stated when asked to recant on his teachings, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."



2—“Sola Gratia,” Salvation by grace alone: This affirms the Biblical doctrine that salvation is by God’s grace alone and that we are rescued from His wrath by His grace alone. God’s grace in Christ is not merely necessary, but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. This grace is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.



3—“Sola Fide,” Salvation by Faith Alone: This affirms the Biblical doctrine that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. It is by faith in Christ that His righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice.



4—“Solus Christus,” In Christ Alone: This affirms the Biblical doctrine that salvation is found in Christ alone and that His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to God the Father. The gospel has not been preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared, and faith in Christ and His work is not solicited.



5—“Soli Deo Gloria, For the Glory of God Alone: This affirms the Biblical doctrine that salvation is of God, and has been accomplished by God for His glory alone. It affirms that as Christians we must glorify Him always, and must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God, and for His glory alone.



These five important and fundamental doctrines are the reason for the Protestant Reformation. They are at the heart of where the Roman Catholic Church went wrong in its doctrine, and why the Protestant Reformation was necessary to return churches throughout the world to correct doctrine and biblical teaching. They are just as important today in evaluating a church and its teachings as they were then. In many ways, much of Protestant Christianity needs to be challenged to return to these fundamental doctrines of the faith, much like the reformers challenged the Roman Catholic Church to do in the sixteenth century