1. Background of Reformation

2. Background of Reformation
Papal corruption & abuses
Avignon Papacy & Papal Schism
Renaissance popes
Buying posts, absentee priests, plural posts
Illegitimate children were appointed priests, bishops, abbots & abbesses
Parishioners lost faith in sacraments administered by immoral clergy

3. Early Reformers John Wycliffe (1330-84) Morningstar of the Reformation
Oxford educator; taught superiority of Bible; lectured through Bible
Wycliffe desired to place Bible in hands of people in their own language, so he & followers translated Bible from Latin Vulgate into English ( )

4. John Wycliffe: Writings
On the Church: Bible is sole criterion of doctrine to which no ecclesiastical authority may add; papal authority was not confirmed by Scripture (concurrent with Avignon Papacy & Great Papal Schism)
On Apostasy: Appeal to state to reform entire ecclesiastical order
On the Eucharist: Attack on transubstantiation – lost secular support

5. Early Reformers John Huss (1372-1415)
Priest in Bohemia (Czechoslavakia); popular preacher in Prague; Dean of School of Philosophy at University of Prague
1382, Anne of Bohemia married Richard II of England & invited Bohemians to study in England; they were influenced by Wycliffe & took his teachings back to Bohemia where they impacted Huss

6. John Huss’ Teachings
True church is composed of those chosen or predestined by God
Christ, not Peter, is Rock on which church is built
There should be no civil punishment for religious heresy
Bible is final authority for matters of doctrine
If pope or bishop does not obey Bible, he is not to be obeyed
Christ, not church, is only mediator between God & humanity
Only God can grant forgiveness, so for church to sell forgiveness through indulgences is to usurp God’s authority

7. Background of Reformation
Greek New Testament vs. Latin Vulgate
Renaissance & emphasis on humanism
Rise of nationalism
Gutenberg printing press

8. Types of Reformation Catholic Reformation
The Church has all necessary ingredients of Christianity
Leave structure untouched but cleanse it
Emphasis on moral & administrative reforms
Types
Episcopal (Cyprian)
Great leaders (Donatists, Lollards, Hussites, Erasmus)
Monastic (Benedict, Cluniacs, Cistercians)
Conciliar (Pisa, Constance, Florence/Ferrara/Basel)

9. Types of Reformation Magisterial Reformation
Church prior to RCC had necessary ingredients of Christianity
Alter structure & doctrine of church to condition prior to papal domination
Recreate church of first 5 centuries, NOT prior to Constantinian union of church & state

10. Types of Reformation Magisterial Reformation
Church to remain State-Church: magistrate initiates & supports reform & defends church
Reform included moral & administrative concerns but mainly theological & ecclesiological
Uniformity in doctrine still necessary
Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Reformed, England

11. Types of Reformation Radical Reformation
Only primitive, Apostolic Church provides true model
Reform the church to pre-Constantinian type, which is NOT a state-church
Reform was moral, administrative, theological, ecclesiological; emphasis was on primitiveness, voluntarism & separation of church & state

12. Types of Reformation Radical Reformation: Three Types
Biblical: Use Bible as ultimate authority for reconstructing primitive church; examples: Anabaptists, later English Baptists
Spiritualistic: Emphasize immediacy & primacy of revelation from Holy Spirit; new revelations come to God’s prophets that augment & even supersede Scripture; examples: Zwickau prophets, Münster
Rationalistic: Human reason is authority in determining sense of Scripture & primitive model; challenge to doctrines of Trinity, vicarious atonement; examples: Servetus, Unitarians