The Reformation

What was the main cause driving the Reformation? This question was briefly discussed in the text, but is a question that still can lead to many possible answers. It seems to me that there is not merely one cause leading up to the Reformation, but several. One obviously main reason, probably the most central of them all is once The Bible started being interpreted by individuals instead of the church, there was found to be many inconsistencies in the way the Catholic church interpreted it. For instances, the church at the time, taught that the pope was the mediator between God and men, where as Scriptures make it clear that Jesus Christ His Son was the mediator between men and God. Also, the act of justification wasn't a continual process of rituals of forgiveness as the church taught, but a once and for all act of grace by faith, where one repentance of all sin as an act of faith was satisfactory for all sin committed past, present, future. Both of these concepts pointed toward something that people were starved for; a personal relationship with God, a way for them to have a personal connection with God beyond the church. This is what Luther was inspired by, this is what led him to post his 95 thesis on the door of the The Castle church in Wittenberg, Germany. Upon examining the Bible for himself, Luther found many inconsistencies with what the Bible said and with what the church said the Bible said. Un-intentional or not, it doesn't matter, the fact of the matter was there was much mis-interpatation going on in the Catholic church. Because men such as Luther, were granted the ability and the chance to read the Bible for themselves, they were inspired to reach the conclusion that a relationship with Christ was so much more than a set of rituals, it was in fact a relationship. This concept led way to the desire for that relationship and furthermore inspired people such as Luther and Calvin to break away from the church therefore leading way to the Reformation.