The Reformation of the Catholic Church Throughout History

The other day, I told a friend that I am not Catholic. He response was "So, you're protestant, then." I denied this, but later found out that being a Lutheran means that I am indeed protestant, whether I knew that or not. The reasoning behind this is that Luther was once Catholic but since he decided to reform the Catholic church as a protestant, those who follow him, Lutherans, are also protestant. During the time leading up to and following the Reformation, there were many schools of thought brought to light by different men.

Zwingli, Calvin, and Luther are the men we hear about most when talking about the Reformation. These are the men that were not afraid to speak up or fight for what they believed in. They were even willing to put their lives at stake. While Calvinists and Lutherans are common, we do not hear about "Zwinglians" at all. These three men had similar ideas, but there are still some major differences between their teachings and the things their followers believe in.

Zwingli and Luther are similar in that they both believe that the Bible needs to be obeyed exactly since it is the Word of God; however, they have very different ideas about the sacraments of holy baptism and communion. Zwingli does not believe that baptism saves or that communion is actually Jesus' body and blood while Luther believes the opposite. How can one possibly think this if they believe that the Bible is the whole truth? The reason that Luther and Zwingli differ is because of their interpretations. Words are everything when it comes to understanding the Bible. Something else that amazes me about Zwingli is that he managed to convert the Catholic government to his way of thinking. Luther, unfortunately, was not this successful and eventually ended up having to hide in his friend's castle in order to escape persecution. The fact that mere men could influence the minds of entire governments proves how much religion played a role in the state.

The way to define Calvin's theology is to think of the acronym TULIP. Total depravity and Unconditional election are the two aspects of this idea that we as Lutherans agree with. The final three, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints are the ones we do not agree with. Let me explain. Total depravity means that we cannot do anything to be saved; Jesus has done all we need to be accepted as children of God. Unconditional election means that some will be saved while others will not be. Along with Luther, we believe these to be true because they line up with scripture. Romans 9:6 states, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel”. Luther's biggest problem with the Catholic church was that they were not sticking to scripture. Limited atonement, which is not stated anywhere in the Bible, means that there is a set number of people allowed into heaven, like what Jehovah's witnesses believe. Irresistible grace just means that humans cannot keep the Holy Spirit from entering their hearts, but they really do have that ability. Finally, perseverance of the saints just has to do with the saints playing any part in our salvation. Lutherans do not worship the saint, so that is why this idea is thrown out.

The fact that the government went back and forth on Catholicism and their many beliefs just shows how connected church and state really were during the time of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and the Reformation. People were not sure what they could really trust regarding religion, so it is a good thing that these men took action to figure out what was really the correct thing to believe.