Church history class

Eras of Church History
The First Century Church (33 -100 A.D.)
The Apostolic Fathers (100 – 180 A.D.)
The Apologists (180 – 250 A.D.)
The Formation of the Roman Catholic church (250
– 787 A.D.)
The Growth of Papal Power (787 – 1517 A.D.)
The Protestant Reformation (1517 – 1800 A.D.)
The Restoration (1800 – Present)

The First Century Church (33 -100 A.D.)
Beginning
Organization
Worship
Membership
Rapid Growth
Warnings
Early Problems

The Apostolic Fathers (100 – 180 A.D.)
“One step removed from the apostles”
The New Testament was completed by 96
A.D.
Their writings were uninspired.
Their writings show that during this time
period the church was following the New
Testament pattern.

CLEMENT of ROME
The church at Rome had three elders Linus, Anacletus and
Clement.
The church in Corinth was having leadership difficulties
On behalf of the elders at Rome, Clement wrote a general
letter.
The letter
- two hundred scripture references.
- the church was governed by a plurality of elders.
- no distinction made between bishops and elders.

POLYCARP
A companion of the Apostles (close friend of John)
One of the Elders at Smyrna for 50 years
Martyred February 22, 156 A.D. (86 years old)
Letter to the church at Philippi
- quotes from the New Testament 60 times (34
times from Paul’s epistles)
- plurality of elders
Revelation 2:8 -11

The TEACHING of the TWELVE
APOSTLES
Author unknown
Also known as The DIDACHE
“Churches governed by a plurality of elders”
“Worship service still the same”
“The Lord Supper every Sunday”
“Baptism is immersion”
“Emergency Baptism”

SHEPHERD of HERMAS
Slave > Farmer > Sinner > Christian > Elder
Article written to correct false notion of no
forgiveness of sins after baptism
“Plurality of elders”
“No distinction between elders and bishops”
Baptism is for forgiveness of sins and is
immersion”

Summary
The best information on the church
of the first eighty years after the
death of the last apostles is found
in the works of these writers.

Summary
Through their writings we find that
the actual practices of the church
had changed little from that set
forth in the New Testament.

Summary
These writers give evidence of the independence
of each congregation and there is no reference
to the church at Rome having any preeminence.
Peter is neither mentioned as the Bishop of
Rome nor is there any mention of his having
been in Rome. Baptism is referred to by all as
immersion for the remission of sin.

The Apologists (180 – 250 A.D.)
During its early history the church was tolerated by the Roman
government as a sect of the Jews.
Roman officials began to regard the church as an illegal religion.
Official persecution of the church began with Nero in 54 A.D.
Driven to worship in secret, all manner of false accusations begin
to be brought upon Christians.
“Cannibals!” “Incest!” “The great fire of Rome!”
“Atheists and pagans!”
Leaders in the church began to defend Christianity by writing
what is know as the “Apologies.”
These “defenses” of Christianity give us a clear picture of what
the church was like during this time period.

Justin Martyr
“To the Emperor Titus Ælius Adrianus Antoninus Pius Augustus
Caesar, and to his son Verissimus the Philosopher, and to
Lucius the Philosopher, the natural son of Caesar, and the
adopted son of Pius, a lover of learning, and to the sacred
Senate, with the whole People of the Romans”
Justin urges the emperor to investigate Christianity and learn the
truth. Christians are not pagans or idolaters. Christ was a
fulfillment of prophecy.
But what is most significant is what he says about the worship
service at this time.

Justin Martyr
“But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common
assembly, because it is the first day on which God,
having wrought a change in the darkness and matter,
made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the
same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on
the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day
after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having
appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them
these things, which we have submitted to you also for
your consideration.”

Justin Martyr
Lord Supper every Sunday
No instruments of music
Baptism was for the remission of sins and was
immersion
All Christians were priests
Churches autonomous with a plurality of elders and no
distinction made between elders and bishops; clergy
and laity

Other Apologists
Tatian - Wrote the first harmony of the four
gospels
Melito (elder at Sardis) – Christianity and the
New Testament is God’s final revelation
and that the Old Testament was abolished
and was only a foreshadowing of the New
Testament

Persecution to Victory (54 A.D. – 325 A.D.)
Tiberius (33 A.D. – 37 A.D.)
The church grew rapidly. No persecution.
Gaius or Caligula (37-41)
No persecution but the groundwork was
laid when he declared himself to be god.
Acts 9:31 was written during this time
period.

Acts 9:31 (KJV)
Then had the churches rest throughout all
Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and
were edified; and walking in the fear of the
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost,
were multiplied.

Claudius (41-54)
He gave Judea to Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2).
Riots broke out in Rome involving the Jews and their hatred of
Christians (Acts 18:2)
Nero (54-69)
July 18, 64 A.D. fire broke out in the city of Rome, burned for 9 days.
Nero blamed the Christians to remove blame from himself.
Large number of Christians killed; James the brother of Jesus, Peter
and Paul died during his reign.

Vespasian (69-79)
No record of persecution of Christians but Jerusalem
was destroyed in 70 A.D. as foretold in Mt. 24.
Domitian (81-96)
Blood thirsty killer of Christians who thought he was a
god.
One could not hold property as a Christian
John banished to Isle of Patmos where he wrote the
book of Revelation

Trajan (98-117)
Emperor worship is now the norm.
Attempts were made to totally wipe out
Christianity (declared illegal).
Hadrian (117-138) – Persecutions died down
Antoninus Pius (136-161) – No written accounts
of persecution???

Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
Great persecutions again, many church leaders were
killed including Justin and Polycarp.
Falsely accused to steal property.
“Loyalty Oath”
(180-193) – Persecutions continued.
Severus (193-211) – Official law forbidding conversion to
Christianity.

Decius (249-251) – Devised plan to reveal identity of all
Christians.
Annual sacrifice to Roman gods where a certificate was
given without which no work, food, or property.
10 percent of Roman now Christian.
Valerian (253-260) – Continues Decius’s policies.
Various Rulers (260-284) – No persecution recorded;
Large church buildings were built.

Diocletian (284-305)
Committed to destroying Christianity completely.
Worst persecution in the history of the world.
All building burn, all scripture destroyed, all
Christians killed.
He built a monument to self as one who
destroyed Christianity.

Galerious (305-311)
Realize the failure of Diocletian and
acknowledge that Christianity would never be
destroyed.
On his deathbed issued the “Edict of Toleration”
Official end of Roman Government’s persecution
of Christians

Constantine issues the “Edict of Milan in 313
A.D.
This not only grants Christians the right to exist,
but Christianity is now encouraged.
Civil Court restitution cases
Christianity becomes the official religion of the
Roman Empire.

Even though persecution had stopped, a
great danger was ahead.
Christianity for hundreds of years had
know persecution but now it had suddenly
stopped!
With this new freedom, heresy and
unscriptural changes began almost
immediately.

The Development of the New Testament
A group of church leaders or councils
did not decide on the canon but each
congregation worked independently
and came to the same conclusion or
canon. The providence of God was at
work!

Later Apologists and Early Departures
Tertullian
Argues that persecution will never destroy the
church but increase it.
“We multiply whenever we are mown down by you;
the blood of Christians is seed.”

Irenaeus
Scripture should be the only authority!
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were the only
inspired Gospels
Isaiah 7:14 = “virgin”
Gives us a list of the bishops of Rome but Peter is
not named

Origen
The last great apologist and the first apologist to write in
Latin
At the age 17 he saw his father arrested and put to death
for being a Christian
He produced an Old Testament in six languages in parallel
columns (9,000 pages) and wrote a commentary for
each book.

Early Bad Influences
Greek philosophy lead to rationalism
Judaism lead to ceremony and ritual
The pride of men lead to the concept “I can improve on
God’s word and I know what is best.”

Early Departures in Church Government
“Chairmen or Presidents” = Bishop
By the close of the third century these bishops were
regarded as successors to the apostles.
Large city bishops began to oversee country churches,
then regions.
Bishops began to look to Rome for spiritual advice because
it was headquarters of the world.

Early Development of the Priesthood
Patterned after Judaism
Distinction between those who led worship
Lord Supper began to become a ceremony of pomp and ritualism
Original Sin and Infant Baptism
Tertullian (160-220) first to formulate the doctrine of original sin.
Cyprian (248-258) provided the obvious conclusion i.e. infant baptism,
but this did not become a general practice until the fifth century.

Early Observance of Easter
Christian calendar around the life of Christ that coincided
with pagan celebrations and Jewish feasts to make the
church more attractive.

The Formation of the Roman
Catholic church (250 – 787 A.D.)
The influence of Constantine
Why he supported the church
He was convinced that the God of the Christians
was the strongest supernatural force in the world.
In the west of the empire, there was very little
persecution… peace and prosperity was the result.
“The Vision of the Cross”
He saw the church as a tool of unity and culture.

How he supported the church (Edict of Milan)
He pushed Christianity as the state religion.
He returned all property back to Christians.
He built elaborate buildings.
He paid preachers from state treasuries.
He declared Sunday to be a legal holiday.

The Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.)
Dispute over the nature of Christ (persecution over).
318 bishops
Constantine headed the council (“Bishop of Bishops) and
made the keynote address even though he had not been
baptized or even claimed to be a Christian.
Issued the first man-made creed.
Decreed that all churches must observe Easter on the same
day.
Constantine declared all churches must obey the judgment of
the council giving the council the position of speaking for God

This active interest in behalf of the church led Christians
to exalt Constantine and rely on his decisions. The
church soon gave up her independence and began to
rely upon the Roman government for its organization and
authority.
The Irony
Constantine did not become a Christian until right before his
death.
He kept his position as Chief Priest of the pagan religion.
His life was not in harmony with Christianity, murdered his son
and wife.

The Rule of the Ecumenical Councils
The term ecumenical means universal.
As applied to church councils it refers to the first eight
councils to which all the Bishops were invited.
They claimed final authority!
Council of Nicaea, 325
First Creed
First Church Law
First Excommunication
First Promotions (Rome, Alexandria, Antioch)

Council of Constantinople, 381
Confirmed that the decisions of the first council was religious
truth – “Shall not be set aside but shall remain dominant.”
Confirmed the nature of the Holy Spirit.
Confirmed that Jesus was both Divine and human.
Council of Ephesus, 431
“Mary, mother of God”

Council of Chalcedon, 451
The Bishop of Rome (rule the West) and the Bishop
Constantinople (rule the East) were equal.
“Anathema to all who do not confess that the Virgin Mary is
the mother of God.”
To settle an argument…“Peter has spoken through Leo”.
Four councils after this but nothing was really
accomplished except the Council of Nicaea in
787 approved the use of “images”.

The Development of Catholicism during the
Time of the Ecumenical Councils
The Establishment of a Catholicity
Bishops recognized the New Testament as
authoritative, but they believe it needed an
authoritarian interpretation.
Organization was needed to demand conformity,
therefore, a pattern of doctrine developed
designated as “Catholic”.

The Development of Catholicism during the Time of the
Ecumenical Councils
Sacredotalism
A system of sacraments that provide the grace of God.
From the scriptural position of the priesthood of all believers
there developed a distinct priestly class.
As the priestly class developed and the priests began to things
for the common Christians that they could not do for
themselves.
The administration of the baptism and Lord’s Supper
became the sole privilege of the Bishop.
Grace is needed for salvation; Sacrament needed for grace;
Bishop could only administer sacrament, therefore…
CONTROL

Ecumenical Councils
Baptism
During this period – necessary salvation (remission of sins)
Only performed by an approved official
Performed only on certain days
Candidates were required to go through a period of training
An elaborate ceremony
Renounce the Devil
Salt sprinkled on head
Milk and honey consumed after baptism
Dressed in white robes and paraded home wearing crowns
Infant baptism became a common practice after 450 A.D.
Sprinkling was not practiced except in case of emergencies (Novatian 251)

Ecumenical Councils
The Lord Supper
Came to be viewed as an offering at an altar.
Members would bring bread and wine and give to Bishop who in
turn would offer to God and used in service.
At first it was considered a sacrifice of man unto God, but since it
represented the sacrifice of Christ, the service became an offering
of Christ unto God.
Cyprian added the idea that the service reenacted the offering of
Christ.
Transubstantiation was the result but argued against by most until
800’s

Ecumenical Councils
Increase of Sacraments
As infant baptism increased there arose the need for Confirmation
before first communion
It became the duty of the priest to determine whether or not a
member genuinely repented and was contrite. This led to a priest
absolving one from their sins establishing Penance.
In order to regulate who could became a priest the sacrament of
Ordination was instituted.
Marriage could only be performed by a priest
Based on James 5:14-15, the sacrament of Unction and Extreme
Unction (last rites) were instituted.
By the 600 A.D. all seven sacraments used by the Catholic church
today were being practiced.

The Development of Catholicism
during the Time of the Ecumenical
Councils
Special music introduced
4th
Century – special singers which lead to choirs
5th
Century – first record of instruments being used
by some. By the 8th
century worldwide

Ecumenical Councils
Monasticism
It began to be taught that in order to be truly spiritual one needed to be celibate
like the apostle Paul.
This was followed by an over emphasis of being separated from the world.
Lesson – to be truly religious one must be a hermit (250 A.D.)
4th
Century – hermits began to be organized into monastic groups.
Monks believed in exposing themselves to all manner of hardship in order to
make themselves more spiritual
All practiced the three vows – poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Benedict (480-543) a reformer of monks
Took the best leaders away.
Provided a valuable resource during the dark ages
(manuscripts)

The Theory and Rise of the Organization of Roman
Catholicism
“Christ left the church leaders all power and privileges that He had
while on earth”
Christ had a three-fold ministry – Prophet, Priest, and King
These functions must now be taken over by the church leaders
Prophet – teaching
Priest – bestowing the grace of God
King – final authority and rule

The Development of Catholicism during
the Time of the Ecumenical Councils
The Theory and Rise of the Organization of
Roman Catholicism
1. Teaching
Church had the same right as Jesus in deciding
what was true teaching
Result – unnecessary for church members to study
their Bibles; unnecessary for priests to study
Church services turn to ceremonialism apart from
instruction

The Development of Catholicism during
the Time of the Ecumenical Councils
The Theory and Rise of the Organization of
Roman Catholicism
2. Giving of grace
Sacredotalism
Salvation impossible without submission to the
terms of the priesthood
3. Rule
Based on the hierarchy of the Roman government
(pyramid)
“Canon Law”

The Theory and Rise of the Organization of Roman
Catholicism
The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church (pyramid)
POWER OF JURISDICTION
The Pope (College of the Cardinals and Curia)
Papal Legates
Archbishops (12 Bishops and his territory)
Bishop (over a specific territory or diocese)
Vicar General
Rural Dean (7-12 Parish Priests)
Parish Priest

Ecumenical Councils
The Theory and Rise of the Organization of Roman Catholicism
The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church
POWER OF ORDERS
Janitor (church rolls)
Reader (read scripture in services)
Exorcist (water bearer)
Acolyte (handle vessels and assist in Mass)
Sub-Deacon (ready for ordination)
Deacon (trial period after ordination)
Priest (five sacraments)
Bishop
Archbishop and Cardinal
Pope

The Chronological developments that led to this power
325 – All “bishops” were consider equal. Patriarchs or
Metropolitans were appointed (Alexandria,
Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem)
341 – Bishop of Rome argued that a dispute should be
settled at Rome – “the tradition handed down from the
blessed Apostle Peter.”
343 – Meet in Rome – “to honor the memory of Peter.”
376 – Bishop of Rome hires Jerome – “I think it is my duty
to consult the chair of Peter… the Rock on which the
church is built.”

382 – Valentinian the Emperor agrees to back up with
imperial forces the decisions of the Bishop Rome.
417 – The Bishop of Rome tells the African bishops –
“Nothing should be taken as finally settled unless it came
to the notice of this See, that any just pronouncement
might be confirmed by all authority of this See, and that
the other churches might thence gather what they should
teach.”
440 – Leo I, Bishop of Rome declares he has final
Apostolic authority

445 – Valentinian III decrees that the Bishop of Rome has
universal authority – “Inasmuch as the pre-eminence of
the Apostolic See is assured by the merit of St. Peter, the
first of the bishops… we decree… that nothing shall by
the… bishops… without the authority of the venerable
pope of the Eternal City.”
451 - Council of Chalcedon declares the Bishop of Rome
will rule the West and the Bishop of Constantinople will
rule the East. Both should considered equal in power.

741 – the Pope works closely with emperor Martel
to unify the Christian world to fight against the
Muslims
756 – Emperor Pepin makes the pope “Duke of
Rome” and gives “temporal” rule of the city
800 – Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne
962 – Pope and Emperor are consider co-regents
but the spiritual began to slowly ruled the
temporal

Factors that influenced the growth of papal
power
The prestige of the city of Rome
The early benevolence and sound doctrine of the
church at Rome
Church became to be regarded as being founded
by Paul and Peter “who sealed their faith”
Missionary work by church in Rome – “mother
church”
Close proximity to the emperors

Factors that influenced the growth of papal
power
Claims of Apostolic Succession
Rome took the lead in fighting heresy
Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
Scholasticism
During invasions in which imperial and church
administration broke down the Bishop of Rome
took over.
The weapons of excommunication, interdict and
illiteracy

The strong Popes of history
Leo I (440-461) first to claim papal authority
Gregory I (590-604) purgatory
Nicholas I (858) demanded obedience as the supreme head of the
church based on the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals
Benedict IX, who became Pope in 1033, created such a scandal that
he was driven from Rome and replaced by Sylvester III. Benedict,
however, managed to return to Rome and maintain his claim that he
was the rightful Pope. On the basis of his claim he sold the papacy
to Gregory VI. Gregory began to claim papal power, but Benedict
decided that he would continue in office, and so for a period of time
there were three men claiming to be Pope.
Leo IX (1053-1054) produced the split of 1054, between the east and
the west

Gregory VII (1073-1085)
“The Roman church was founded by God alone; The
Roman Pope alone can with right be called universal; he
alone may use the imperial insignia; his feet alone shall
be kissed by all Princes; he may depose the Emperor;
he himself may be judged by no one; the Roman church
has never erred, nor will it err in all eternity.”
Decreed clergy must be celibate
Innocent III (1198-1216) Most powerful of all (ruled the
entire known world)

Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
“Came in like a fox, ruled like a lion and died like
a dog.”
Priests would no longer pay taxes
“We declare, state, define and pronounce that it
is altogether necessary to salvation for every
human creature to be subject to the Roman
Pontiff.”
“Babylonian Captivity” - 70 years (King Philip;
Avignon)

The Catholic Church Splits (July 16, 1054 – Present)
The Issues
The power of the Pope
Marriage of clergy
Images
Mode of baptism
How they differ today
The Eastern church or the Greek Orthodox church…
4 Patriarchs of equal authority
Leaven bread
Immersion
Permits clergy to marry (unless you want to be a bishop)
Only flat pictures
No use of musical instruments in worship

Opposition to the Papacy and Catholicism
The Catharists (9Th Century) “pure”
Opposed the Roman hierarchy, accepted the scriptures as their
only authority, claimed to be the only true Christians in their
generation and lived puritanical lives.
Read the scripture aloud and had the Lord Supper every
Sunday; refused infant baptism, baptizing only believers;
rejected all human authority, had no formal creed or confession,
denounced the ignorance and vice of the clergy.
Thousands put to death as heretics
Chief mistake was they hung on the ideas of the early Gnostics
(Dualism, asceticism and celibacy).
Some scholars wonder, however, from the emphasis they
placed on the scriptures, that if some of the splinter groups
restored N. T. Christianity.

Arnold of Brescia (1100 – 1155)
From his study of the scriptures he…
Taught scriptural baptism and Lord’s Supper
Opposed the clergy.
He was hanged as a heretic, his body burned and the ashes thrown in the
Tiber River.
Peter of Bruys (? – 1130)
Priest
Denounce Catholicism, taking the N. T. as his only guide.
He gained great crowds of followers who under his leadership tore down
altars and images.
One Good Friday built a fire of wooden crucifixes and cooked meat to show
his contempt of Friday meat regulations.
Taught priests could marry and wanted worship to be like the simple worship
of the N.T.
Died in prison

Peter Waldo and the Waldenses (? – 1179)
Wealthy merchant of Lyons who about the year 1160 began to study the
Bible.
Persuaded a group of monks to translate the N.T. and certain teachings of
the Apostolic Fathers into French.
Organized the “Poor Men of Lyons” (sold all they had and went about
preaching the gospel and studying the Bible).
At first had no intention to leave the Catholic church but as they studied they
taught against –
Ordination of priests
Purgatory
Worshipping of saints
Sacredotalism
Any authority above the scriptures
Died while hiding in the mountains of Bohemia.

Albigenses
Catharists who converted the town of Albi.
So quickly was their number increasing the Catholic Church offered
special rewards to anyone who would leave his occupation for forty
days and fight against them.
Fifty thousand marched against the unprepared and unarmed town
and 23,000 were massacred, the city reduced to ashes.
Persecutions continued until nearly 2/3 of Southern France were
killed.
Large numbers escaped to the mountains where descendants still
live today as a Protestant group.
The Inquisition

The specific abuses that precipitated the Reformation
of the Sixteenth century.
Celibacy – widespread immorality among the clergy
Simony
One-third of the wealth of Europe in terms of real
estate belonged to the church.
Church taxed its members.
The clergy paid dues to the Pope to hold office;
priests reimburse themselves by charging exorbitant
fees.
Selling of church offices.

The specific abuses that precipitated the Reformation of the
Sixteenth century.
Indulgences
When one sinned satisfaction had to be made both in heaven
and on earth.
Penance – heaven
Indulgence – earth “Treasury of merits”
Purgatory – “As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, another soul
from purgatory springs.”
Salesmen – “A license to sin”
Hagiolatry
Saints and relics
Simple faith in the blood of Christ was gone.

Early Reform movements
Nationalism, individualism, democracy and the Renaissance.
William of Occam (1300 – 1349) taught the pope was not infallible and that
a General council was need above the Pope.
John Wycliffe (1320 – 1384) “The morning star of the reformation”
Translated the Bible into English.
Taught that there only two offices in the church – elders and deacons.
Referred to the Pope as the Anti-Christ.
Taught against –
Transubstantiation
Purgatory
Sacraments
“If there were one hundred Popes and all the friars were turned into
Cardinals their opinion ought not to be acceded to in matters of faith
except in so far as they based themselves upon Scripture.”
1428 – bones burned and ashes thrown in the Severn River.

John Huss (1373- 1415)
He strongly opposed the doctrine of indulgences and encouraged a
return to the study of the Bible.
Burned at the stake, but his death resulted in the Moravian church.
Girolama Savonarola (1452 – 1498)
Monk who preached from the Bible!
Taught God would destroy Catholic Church if it would not repent.
He was offered cardinalship – “I prefer a hat of blood to the hat of a
Cardinal.”
He was tortured, hanged and burned.

Ximes (1436 – 1517)
Head of the Franciscan order of monks.
Used his appointment by Queen Isabella of Spain, as
chief advisor, to clean up the church.
Published the first “Parallel Bible (Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin).”
Erasmus (1466 – 1536) “Laid the egg that Luther hatched.”
Study of the Church Fathers
First printed Greek New Testament showed inadequacy
of the Latin Vulgate

The German Reformation
The immediate cause for the reformation in Germany was an arrangement
between Pope Leo X and Prince Albert who was Archbishop of two Roman
provinces but was also eager to fill an additional vacant archbishop position.
The Pope and the Prince worked together to issue a law authorizing the sale
of indulgences in Germany.
John Tetzel – master salesman of the “Confessional Letter.”
Why Luther could succeed
The Renaissance had spread to such an extent that through a revival
of interest in study of the Scripture many people were aware of the
fact that the church of the New Testament was far different from the
RCC.
The corruption of the hierarchy was well known.
The rise of intellectual freedom cause people to think for themselves.
Secular rulers were willing to support opposition to the Pope.

Martin Luther
Born 1483 to a poor family but because of keen intellect
eventually got a Master’s degree and soon became a lawyer.
He became interested in his soul and in 1505 became a very
devout monk.
He never felt any satisfaction religiously and began to study his
Bible especially the writings of Paul.
His study revealed to him the grace of God and by the year
1508, he had come to the conclusion that the Catholic Church
and its system of “works righteousness” were contrary to the
New Testament.

October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his ninety-five theses on the church door at
Wittenburg, in which he set forth his opposition to indulgences and offered
to debate any who differed with him.
June 27, 1519 debated John Eck (bottom line – Pope vs. the scriptures)
1520 Luther was excommunicated but Luther burned the paper in the
middle of town.
Made use of the printing press to publish tracts that attacked the wrongs of
the church

1521 – Diet of Worms
“ 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. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise."
Translated the New Testament into German and continued to preach.
The Diet of Speier, 1526, 1529 (“protest”)
1530 – Augsburg Confession of faith

1546 – Luther died and the Lutheran church was formed
putting emphasis on conformity to the creed rather than
scripture.
1555 – The Peace of Augsburg
Luther laid down four basic principles of Protestantism –
Justification by faith
The priesthood of all believers
The right of the individual to interpret scripture
The final authority in religion is the scripture itself, rather than
the authority of the church.

The Swiss Reformation
Zwingli (1484 – 1531)
A parish priest in Zurich who began to study the Greek New Testament.
He spoke against indulgences and statue worship
Contrary to standard He began to preach just using his Bible
After reading the works of Luther, he resign his position as priest in 1520
and began to criticize the Catholic system.
Married Anna Reinhard
“Condemnation of all things not justified by scripture”
Began a series of debates with the city council as judge.
After the debates the church in Zurich…
Justification by faith
Simple Lord Supper
Sainthood of all believers
Clergy marry
Services in language of the people
No instruments of music

Almost joined forces with Luther but could not agree with Luther’s
“Consubstantiation.” (Mk. 14:22-25)
1525 wrote A Commentary on True and False Religions. (Here he
disagreed with Luther even more. Luther removed only what the Bible
condemns, but Zwingli would approve only what he found set forth in
scripture.)
Made great strides toward renewing N. T. Christianity
Killed in battle by the Army of the Catholic Church. His followers
merged with the followers of Calvin to create the Reformed Churches
of Switzerland.

John Calvin
Born 1509 to wealthy parents who thoroughly educated him.
1536 wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion
Calvinism – “T. U. L. I. P.”
“Presbyterian” form of government
1541 became dictator of the city of Geneva
Executed 56 men who disagreed with him and banished 76
Developed a spy system to totally regulate lives of the people.
Started the college of Geneva, which greatly influence the
world.
•

The Anabaptists
“Believers baptism”
Persecuted by both Catholics and Lutherans
Made major strides in returning to New Testament pattern, but
held false views on Holy Spirit, second coming of Christ (1533
at Strassbourg) and polygamy.
Nearly completely wipe out by execution in 1536
Small group that survive began following Meno Simons and
called themselves, “The Brethren.”
Eventually became know as the “Mennonite church” with
divisions forming the Quakers and the Baptists.
1559 – over three hundred thousand Protestants in France; the Bible
translated into French; the beginning of the religious wars

The English Reformation
The church of England
Henry VIII
William Tyndale burned alive (“open the eyes of the King of
England”)
Edward (1552 – The Second Book of Prayer)
“Bloody Mary”
Elizabeth
The “King James Version”
The rise of denominations in England
The Dutch reformers became the Congregational church.
The Scotch reformers became the Presbyterian Church (John Knox).
The Anabaptists became the Baptists (Thomas Helwys).
Followers of John Wesley became the Methodist church.

Roman reaction to the Reformation
Before the Council of Trent
Change corruption not religion
Study to disprove Protestants
Pope Paul III selected nine cardinals to survey and report on the true condition of the
church.
The council of Trent (1563)
Tradition is of equal authority with scripture.
The Latin Vulgate (including the Apocrypha) is the only authoritative text.
The interpretation of scripture is to be done by the church not the individual.
Justification is by both faith and good works.
All the sacraments are valid (Priests are still mediators).
Indulgences are to be sold but will be granted by performing meritorious service.
The existence of purgatory is reaffirmed.
Images are to be used as aids but not objects of worship.
Saints are mediators for special services.
Priests must now submit to a six-year course of study.
The imprimatur stamp.

Denominationalism transferred to America
Catholicism (1634)
The church of England (1607)
Jamestown, VA
William and Mary College (1693)
Puritans and Congregationalists (1620)
Presbyterians (1620)
Baptists (Roger Williams, 1633)
Methodists (1784)
Other religious bodies
By 1957, 315 different denominations.
From the Reformation until now the tendency has been to divide into more and
more denominations.
Unity proposals
Authoritarian
Interdenominational
Undenominational

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