Martin Luther Misuse Of Power

The church in the Medieval era, however, was incredibly powerful and mostly unopposed. Salvation, to the religious, was and remains the most important aspect of faith. Religion without a fate after death is almost entirely hopeless and borders on nihilistic. The Catholic church used this incessant fear to fuel their political vendettas. This is made evident by the attempted squelching of the Reformation sparked by Martin Luther as well as the expulsion of the Moriscos, Jews, and Protestants from Spain. The church had successfully convinced an entire continent that the only true way to attain eternal life was through the doctrine of the church. This gave the Pope authority, power, and uncontested control over the Christian people, for a

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

During the 1500’s a movement away from traditional Catholicism started to take hold. The most notable figure during this time was Martin Luther. He had ideals that, at the time, were extremely radical. As Gerald Strauss put it, “His doctrine of the two realms- the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the world, derived directly from Augustine – entailed the strictest segregation of things spiritual and things material” (22). He did not believe that the people of the church had any right to control the population at large. He believed that they were meant to be spiritual guides, not rulers, and that they wielded way too much control over the common people. One of the most radical things that he did, which was also the most influential

Martin Luther faced many criticisms within the church. It was noticed that the popes were too concerned with worldly affairs rather than focusing on their church responsibilities and duties. Some had children, which were breaking the vows. Some popes in addition, were poorly educated. Without this proper education, they wouldn’t have a reliable source of knowledge and could

Throughout the time frame between 1450 and 1700 the Catholic Church had power over all European countries because the main religion everyone followed was Catholicism. One main priority

However, Martin Luther believed that if a person felt that a law is unjust, then that person has the moral responsibility to defy it. He believed that if a person did not stand up for what he believed in and stood by and did nothing, then he is actually doing an injustice. MLK believed that if a law was out of place with the law of God particularly the Ten Commandments, then that law was unjust. He also believed that civil disobedience was a tool for having a say in negotiation. Evidently, MLK believed that the act of civil disobedience should be introduced by some form of inequity. A democratic society could not claim to be democratic if some of its civilians were being handled differently under the law. According to MLK, segregation was wrong

From the time we are children and throughout the duration of our lives, we are told to abide by certain sets of rules. In most situations this is a perfectly acceptable expectation; speed limits, remaining quiet in libraries, and waiting until the age of twenty-one to drink are all reasonable things to ask of people. After all, these rules and laws are put in place to ensure a peaceful and safe society. However, when these rules begin to infringe upon the rights of certain groups, some citizens turn to civil disobedience as a form of protest. While some may argue that civil disobedience is nothing more than a violation of the law, it has also proven to have a positive impact on society, in more ways than one. Used by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin

Alongside the Black Death, a diminishing view of the Church’s performance contributed heavily to the disappearance of medieval society. As early as 1324, Marsilius wrote in his Defensor Pacis, “the truths of the holy Scripture… which explicitly command or counsel that neither the Roman bishop called pope nor any other bishop or priest… ought to have any rulership… over any ruler, community, group, or individual…” He informs the reader that Christ in fact did not come to the material world to rule over men, and even excused himself and his religious seats of power from coercive authority. Moreover, Marsilius goes on to question if all this is true, then why does the pope have so much power. This question led to many others, including Petrach,

Martin Luther was highly upset with the Christian Nobility. That same disappointment drives him to unapologetically pen the letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation of 1520. This letter is one of the three doctrinal defining documents that Luther uses to explicitly state his stance on the "priesthood of all believers.” The letter is addressed to Rev. Nicholas von Amsdorf, with the intent that von Amsdorf will distribute Luther’s arguments and suggestions among those within the prestigious Christian Nobility. It was Luther’s intent to call attention to the problematic and hypocritical excess of authority held by the papacy and Pope.

The Pope took on the power, rule and authority over the Christian Church, over the Holy Scriptures and over the Word of God. Martin Luther talked about the enemies of the Pope, some such as Henry VIII, the King of England, Prince Georg of Saxony, Satan and the King of Denmark. By having these enemies it caused the Pope to lose power. It also stated that the Pope believed one thing but really that is not the truth.

In the 11th century, the Church held a lot of power, so it wasn’t about to bow down and let the secular kings walk all over it. A power struggle soon broke out between Pope Gregory VI and Henry IV. Both sides launched a propaganda war and distributed pamphlets on the nature of power and where it comes from. There were numerous arguments – that power comes from God and is given to the Pope. That power comes from the people who elect their King.

This law, rooted in religious teachings, regulated many facets of daily life, including morals and marriages. During the later Middle Ages, the law of Europe was governed by the Church. An entire jurisdiction was exercised by the church which protected the widows, orphans and helpless and also dealt with offenses. Popes of the Middle Ages eventually had a power over all rulers, even kings and emperors. The pope was the leader of a bureaucratic structure of churchgoing men in charge of church-related business. Based in Rome, the pope was the medieval Church's leader. Church leaders such as bishops and archbishops sat on the king's council and played leading roles in government. Bishops, who were often wealthy and came from noble families, ruled over groups of parishes. The Roman Catholic Church was the supreme power during the Middle Ages. It was the stabilizing force in everyday life which kept the community framework together. The laws and rules of the land, public policies and governance of the people were all affected by religion during the Middle Ages. Any attempt at threatening Christianity by other religions was met with force and all measures were taken to spread the religion in other parts of the

Never before or after the dark ages did the church have so much power. The period of political enlightenment ushered in a new era in which the church lost vast amounts of its previous power. The common trend in philosophies was to move power away from the predefined ways of governing and into the hands of the people. As previously mentioned, the rise of rationalism led a transition into a more secular continent. The whole church structure was questioned because before this time, there were no questions.

People faced the rise and the fall of the Catholic Church during the medieval time. The Popes used to hold the final authority for the church and over the state. Pope Gregory VII asserted the Pope had granted the divine power from God because Saint Peter was the first of getting this

During the Medieval Ages the Catholic Church was able to rise to one of the most powerful institutions in Europe. After Rome subsequently