HELP! New Christian doing Bible studies. Church History Essay. Dont have a clue what to do. Please Help ME:-)?

Question

In order to graduate from my Bible Studies. Everything like apologetics, theology and Bilble related assignments Im ok with. Just really need help on CHURCH REFORMATION HISTORY. This is my essay topic:
1. Would the reformation have occurred without Luther?

2. Evaluate the claim that the English Reformation was a matter of compromise fron start to finish

3. Compare Calvin and Luther on Justification and examine the Catholic response to this doctrine.

4. Select and discuss one major area in which the reformation has influenced today's church in thought and practise.

Gota be 1500 words. Please Help me in anyway. I need links too. Ive tried doing this myself but im short on time and finding it really difficult.

Answer 1

>>Would the reformation have occurred without Luther?<<

YES. The Church was undergoing reform, having closed a reforming council (Lateran V) just months before the posting of Luther's 95 Theses.
http://www.piar.hu/councils/ecum18.htm

>>Compare Calvin and Luther on Justification and examine the Catholic response to this doctrine.<<

The Catholic response can be found in the documents of the Council of Trent.
http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct06.html

Answer 2

1. There is a book called "Lilly Among the Thorns", a Reformed book, don't know if it's in print anymore, but I remember reading that it most definitely would have occurred anyway.

2. Not sure what you mean by compromise other than that it was affected by many political and technological events (invention of the printing press, culture of the day, etc.).

3. I believe Calvin and Luther had different approaches to the Reformation. Luther's "justification by faith" was countered by Calvin's salvation by grace, a softer approach if you will that marked the Reformed faith as different from Lutheran.

4. Calvin's work focused man's inability to merit heaven, whereas Catholicism focused on man's ability to avoid hell. You may be able to find more information on this at the www.reformed.org web site.

Answer 3

Cheese and rice--you don't want much do you?

1. The Reformation was formulating before Luther--he definately helped popularize the teachings. Look up Luther and his pamphlets.

2. That one is too much for Yahoo Answers--but yeh, compromise was important.
3. Calvin: Justified by "predesitnation" or "election." You just ARE or are NOT. Not much you could do to change.
Luther: Justification by grace.

4. The practice of baptism.

Answer 4

An excellent book is "Introduction to the Reformed Tradition" by John H. Leith. It was published by The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh in 1977. That's the publisher of the Church of Scotland. I don't have their bookshop e-mail address, but you could try bookshop@freechurchofscotland dot org dot uk. If they don't have that, they'll have plenty others, and more recent too, though that is not necessarily a good thing!

Persevere with this subject, do, because learning about justification by faith alone is liberating. And, contrary to a previous answer, God has used men of astounding intellect to help teach people his truths. The apostle Paul was a brilliant scholar in his day, taught at the feet of Gamaliel the Pharisee, and - once converted to Christ - did a phenomenal job of laying the theological base for the Christian faith. Yes, the uneducated and the poor are called into the Kingdom of God, but so are intellectual people. We are to love God with our whole heart, soul and MIND! God bless you and your studies.

Answer 5

You're in the wrong Bible Study class...no class should test you like this. The bible was written in such a way that only humble people could understand it. Jesus praised God for hiding His words from the intellectual and haughty people. Best chance in understanding his accurate knowledge is receiving a study where you can talk one on one and for free and at your own convience, where no one will test you and see if you "qualify" to be a University teacher in the bible.

Answer 6

Your on your own