"In the long career of the church towards the universal domination, perhaps the most efficient instrument at its command was its control over the sacrifice of the altar. Through this it opened the gates of heaven to the obedient, and plunged the rebellious into the pit of hell; and the generations which implicitly believed in its authority over the world to come were necessarily rendered docile subjects in this world. Armed with power so vast and vague, it could intervene decisively in the dissensions between sovereigns and people, and subdue them both to its designs of highest state-craft, making each the means to humiliate the other; while, at the same time, it could control the life of the obscurest peasant, and bind him helplessly in blind submission to the behests of its humblest minister. This despotism, so absolute and so all-pervading, which dictated the action of kings, which interpenetrated every fibre of society, was based upon the religion of love, and self-sacrifice, and humility. Human history, so fruitful of paradoxes, scarce offers an example more notable of the perversion of good into evil. The divine precepts of charity, forgiveness, and self-abnegation, distorted by the ignorance, the passion, and the selfishness of man, became the warrant by which greed and ambition attained the fruition of their wildest hopes.
            To describe minutely the countless vicissitudes by which these results were reached would greatly transcend the limits of the present essay. I can only propose to present such a general view of the subject as may aid the student in tracing the origin of some of the moral and material forces which have molded our civilization, and which, in a degree somewhat modified, are still at work around us. The church is infallible; it draws its inspiration from above, and cannot rightfully be called to account by any earthly power for the use which it may make of the authority confided to it. Thus autocratic by the organic law of its being, uncontrolled and uncontrollable by any human power external to itself, even the observer of the present may find profit in contemplating what was its policy in the past, and the use which it has made of the supremacy conceded to it of old.¹
            Henry Charles Lea, Studies in Church History: The Rise of the Temporal Power, Benefit of Clergy, Excommunication, The Early Church and Slavery (first edition 1869) [Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea's Sons & Co., 1883]"

            Some of the most pressing theological issues during the Reformation era may seem petty and unremarkable today, in large part because the reformers won the hearts and minds of Christians every where on many of the issues. The issues included

Pope, God's Vicar on Earth

            What is the role of the Pope?

            According to Catholic theology, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God speaks to humanity through the Pope, God's personal representative on earth. As God's spokesman, what ever decision the Pope announces in the here and now will be sustained by God in the hereafter.

            To the reformers, each person could directly speak with God. On the day of judgment, each person would stand alone before God to answer alone for his sins. The Pope had no special access to knowledge about God or God's will.

Keeper of the Keys to Heaven

            Who was to judge whether or not a man would be admitted into heaven, who was "the Keeper of the Keys to Heaven"? Did the Pope hold the keys or did some one else hold the keys?

            Catholic theology taught that as God's emissary on earth, the Pope had the authority "to loose or to bind," to forgive sins or to cast the penitent into hell for eternity. The Pope, as God's Vicar on Earth, had the authority to delegate this power to his priests, so that even the lowliest, most humble parish priest had the power to loose and to bind. The Pope and his priests held the keys to heaven. Consequently, unless one wanted to spend eternity in hell, one had to stay on the good side of the Pope. In a superstitious age, this idea gave the church enormous power. Using fear of eternal hell-fire, the church could silence critics, create and command armies, and fleece the flock by selling indulgences for past and future sins either for oneself or one's loved ones.

            The reformers believed that each individual would stand before God on the day of judgment and would answer for his sins. No priest or Pope was necessary for the forgiveness of sins for no priest or Pope could stand in God's place as the arbiter of eternal judgment. A man was answerable to God alone for his sins: the forgiveness of sin was between God and the sinner. To the reformers, indulgences were worthless pieces of paper, absolution of sins by a priest was a waste of time, penance was a sham, intercession by the saints was useless, masses for the dead were a fraud, and the magic power of long-venerated relics was a hoax. To the reformers, each individual was his own priest with a direct link to God, an idea known as the priesthood of all believers.

Justification by Good Works/ Justification by Faith

            By what criteria is a man to be judged as a good and godly man? Is it enough that he believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior or must he perform good works to warrant salvation?

            According to Catholic theology, doing good works is an essential component of salvation, one must live a good and godly life performing good works to merit salvation. However, giving money to the church to perform these good works for you instead of troubling yourself to perform the deed is considered a good work and is sufficient to ensure one of eternal salvation. In practice, justification by works became a fund-raising mechanism for the church and a way for some of the faithful to substitute monetary donations to the church for moral living while penance came to be treated almost like a "sin tax" both to the clergy and to the laity. Price lists giving the standard price for the forgiveness of each sin circulated throughout Europe. Robbery? No problem. Murdered your mother? No problem. Had sex with your pre-pubescent daughter (or son)? No problem -- for the right price².

            Martin Luther developed the concept of justification through grace by faith alone. According to Luther, all men are born sinful and it is only with God's help and God's grace that one can overcome his sinful nature. Each person can have a very intimate and personal relationship with Jesus who was born and who died to save each of us from sin and for the eternal salvation for each of us. By putting our trust in God, we turn our soul over to Jesus who leads us away from the path of sin and toward the path of righteousness. Unfortunately, the concept of justification by faith alone has also degenerated into a caricature of what it once was: Robbery? No problem. Murdered your mother? No problem. Had sex with your pre-pubescent daughter (or son)? No problem -- as long as you take Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

            Together, by redefining the means by which salvation could be reached, the concepts of the priesthood of all believers and justification by faith allowed the Protestants to attack Catholicism to its very core. Since priests and masses were unnecessary, the "corporate monopoly" which the Catholic church held on men's souls was broken. No longer did men need to fear eternal damnation for not obeying the commands of the Pope. No longer did men need to fear eternal damnation for not believing every thing the church taught. The intellectual straight-jacket which had bound the faithful of Europe for centuries was broken.

            Only with the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) did the last of the great religious wars of the reformation come to an end. The Treaty of Westphalia reaffirmed the Treaty of Augsberg (1555), giving each nobleman the right to determine the religion which would be practiced in his domain and requiring mutual toleration between Catholic and Protestant. Only then did the struggle for each individual to worship God, to envision God, and to believe in God according to the dictates of his conscience, not the rules and regulations of the state, begin.

End Notes:

1. 
   
2. Lea, Studies, pp. 235-236
   
3. Lea, Studies, pp. 163-164
   
4. "Justification by Faith Alone" from http://www.civictrustwales.demon.co.uk/a205/luther/luther.html#5

               "Three ideas of Luther's were central to the development of the theology of the Protestant reformers:

               Faith has a personal reference - it is not just a matter of knowing the Scriptures but of believing and trusting that Christ was born for us personally and has accomplished the work of our salvation; this belief is unreserved and personal

               Faith concerns trust in the promises of God; it is not just a question of believing something to be true but of acting and relying on that belief - one must put one's trust in God's promises and His integrity and faithfulness in anundeviating outlook on life and a constant conviction that God is to be trusted

               Faith unites the believer to Christ as a bride is united to her bridegroom - Christ and the soul become one flesh by this mystery (Ephesians, 5.31-2). Faith is the response of the whole person to God that leads in turn to the real presence and personal presence of Christ in the believer. Faith makes Christ and His benefits of forgiveness, justification and hope available to the Christian.

               This does not mean that the sinner is justified because he believes. God everything man needs; man is passive, God active. The justification of the sinner is based on God's freely given grace, and is received through faith ("justification through grace by faith). God offers and gives; man receives and rejoices. God does everything needed by salvation; faith is a gift of God not a necessary or voluntary human action. Good works are the result of justification not the cause. Luther's academic conclusions had enormous consequences and triggered a schism that he probably did not anticipate."

               "Justification by faith" from http://www.reformed.com/pub/just.htm

               "When a man by faith lays hold of Jesus Christ and His merits, God imputes that person's guilt for sins past, present and future upon Christ on the cross. God also imputes Christ's perfect righteousness to that sinner. The Father then declares that man righteous or just in the heavenly court. Because Christ has removed the guilt of that man's sins past, present, and future legally before God, it is as though that man never committed sin. He is white as snow (Isa. 1:18). His record is perfect. Judicially, he is just as righteous and perfect as Jesus Christ. Since Christ's perfect obedience is imputed to him, he has eternal life because Christ merited it for him."

   References:

               Religious Wars of the Reformation

               Henry Charles Lea, Studies in Church History: The Rise of the Temporal Power, Benefit of Clergy, Excommunication, The Early Church and Slavery (1869) [Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea's Sons & Co., 1883]

   
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