MCAFEE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

THE REFORMATION: ONE OR MANY? A PAPER SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR DAVID P. KING IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQIREMENTS FOR CHURCH HISTORY II CHH 622.202012S MASTER OF DIVINITY

BY LAVETTE DOW-JONES

ATLANTA, GEORGIA FEBRUARY 2012

2 Severe conditions taking place within the Roman Catholic Church during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries led to a much needed reformation. The Roman Catholic Church, riddled with improprieties ranging from; immoral church leadership to the abuse of Papal political powers to the selling of indulgences for the redemption of laity transgressions, was under extreme scrutiny. With the momentum of a general Protestant reformation taking place, many separate and distinct reforms took place as well, creating a landscape for radical religious, political, and social change. Each reformist movement had a mission and purpose that was specific to their theological goals. They sought to redefine the doctrines they stood behind and create a devoted following within the Christian community. Although these reforming movements had some theological similarities, their dissimilarities were vast enough to differentiate them from one another. Before the onset of the Reformation, there was solely the Roman Catholic Church as the means by which Christians worshipped and served God. Any contradiction to this form of worship meant the charge of heresy and torture or possibly death. The Roman Catholic Churchs doctrine began with the belief that Jesus Christ was the means by which a believer would receive salvation. It later progressed into a corrupt, political system of Papal authority and immoral practices as a means to rise as far up the Episcopal hierarchy as one could get. It is to that end that most reformists sought to restore Jesus Christ as the head of the church and excluded popes, monarchs and any other figures of authority as such. This was a prominent, common theme amongst reformist. Also, a need to return to scripture over tradition fueled reformist ambitions to return to a more New Testament, simplistic style of worship. That meant the removal of relics, idolatry or other secular practices not found in the Bible. Lastly, one of the leading and most significant similarities in the Reformation was justification by grace through faith. Through this theology, an

3 individual could do nothing to beget greater salvation for themselves because it was by the grace of God alone, through ones own individual faith, that salvation justified and given. The differences that the Reformist debated over are what clearly made the Reformation more befit to being that of several reformations rather than just one. Many came together against the Roman Catholic Church for an insistence on change, but the change was not quite uniform and consisted of varying theological views, some minute, while others are more radical in transforming doctrine and theology. For instance, during the onset of Calvinism, What actually distinguished the Calvinists from the Lutherans was their understanding of communion. (Gonzalez, 86) As with Ulrich Zwingli, the presence of God in the Eucharist was of grave importance and in opposition to what Martin Luther taught and came to be Lutheranism. While Martin Luther believed that the sacraments were the inner presence of Jesus Christ through the physical, outward practice of communion, Calvinist believed otherwise, that it was purely symbolic. All other things they may have agreed on succinctly, but it was this area of their theology that set them apart and obstructed the path of uniformity. Also, there was the issue of predestination, and whether or not it was more the rational thought process of God or merely a necessity in order to understand Gods grace. These were commons themes of differentiation during the Reformation. However, compelling in difference these may have been to the founders and followers; there were some crucial differences in other parts of doctrine that would characterize the Reformation as several rather than one. The Anabaptist did not believe in infant baptism at all. Becoming of sufficient age and knowledge of the gospel was the only way Anabaptist believed one was capable of baptism. They also believed that the church and its community of believers must be separated from the rest of society and live their lives in complete contrast to the world around them, especially in matters of war. This was vastly different to what Luther practiced as he

4 oftentimes advocated war when the political environment called for it. This vital difference became quite the controversy as many regions sought members of Christian communities to become soldiers in their armies. Concurrently, if Christians were to live separate from the rest of society, then they would not be expected to pay taxes, or adhere to the laws and guidelines of society but rather their own. This meant that the government would essentially be disintegrated while Christian communities would continue to grow in self governing power. Again, some reformist did not agree with this complete separation of church and state as it would expect the protection and funding from the government in order to sustain itself as likewise the government would expect patriotism and tax assessments in return. Although the Reformation was one overarching means to bring the Roman Catholic Church to an end, their differences were serious enough to create several reformations that meant the onset of different denominations for which we as Christians cherish to this day. The freedom to choose how to worship, interpret the Bible and direct your own spiritual life, would not be a current luxury of ours had the reformation not taken place. With it, we were able to say no to the uniformity that could have potentially caused another religious landscape such as that of the Roman Catholic Church and thereby been subjected to others dictating how we choose to believe and worship. Now we are free to choose for ourselves, and that is one of the greatest successes of the reformation, all in all.