Reformation: Lesson 1

Overview

The Reformation: Why Reform Was Needed

The Reformation is often dated to 1517, when Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg. But reform is a process, not a single moment. The pressures that erupted in the sixteenth century had been building for centuries. Christ established His church and promised it would endure—built not on the man Peter, but on Peter's confession that Jesus is the Messiah Matthew 16:16-18. Yet because the church on earth is made up of sinful people, its history carries some genuine ugliness alongside the unstoppable power of God's Word. That ugliness does not diminish the church's mission; it simply explains why reform was needed.

Centuries of Brewing Tension

Several major fractures preceded Luther. The East-West Schism (1054) divided the Latin-speaking Western church from the Greek-speaking Eastern church over disputes including the filioque clause of the Nicene Creed (whether the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son), the authority of the Bishop of Rome over other patriarchs, jurisdictional fights, and differing liturgical practices (even down to whether the Eucharist should use unleavened bread). Then came the Western Schism: the papacy was relocated to Avignon, France in 1309 for roughly seventy years; after Gregory XI returned it to Rome, a contested 1378 conclave produced rival popes in Rome (Urban VI) and Avignon (Clement VII). The Council of Pisa (1409) tried to fix the problem by electing a third pope, Alexander V. The Council of Constance (1414–1418) finally restored a single line. All this unfolded against the backdrop of the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death—political turmoil, religious confusion, and plague at once.

When Church and Power Become Entangled

In medieval Europe, church and politics were deeply intermixed. Bishops and monasteries functioned as feudal lords, overseeing vast lands, towns, and economies. Kings and princes appointed family and friends to ecclesiastical office; clergy accumulated property in exchange for prayers for donors—often becoming a form of "social security" for the elderly, who deeded land to the church in return for care and intercession. Rome, having lost much of its financial base during the Avignon years, began selling church offices to stay solvent. The next step was a small one: selling assurances of salvation itself. Indulgences were marketed as a way to shorten one's own time—or a loved one's time—in purgatory, an alleged waiting place between death and heaven. Purgatory has no foundation in Scripture and cannot stand up under the Word. Yet for ordinary people, who had little direct access to the Bible and depended entirely on the clergy, the system seemed unquestionable.

Why This Matters for Us

The deepest problem behind indulgences is a confusion of the gospel itself: if Christ has truly secured our salvation, why would anyone need to pay for it? Scripture answers plainly—we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, "so that no one may boast" Ephesians 2:8-9. That single question is the seed from which the Reformation grew, and it remains the question every generation of Christians must keep asking. The church is always in need of returning to Christ and His Word. As we trace this history, hold this truth close: the gospel does not depend on the worthiness of human institutions. Even when leaders failed, God preserved His church, raised up faithful voices, and continued to call His people back to the Savior on whom that church is built.

Transcript

Good morning. 2s

Oh my goodness. 3s

It is so exciting to be here in person. 6s

I'm not staring at a camera. 10s

I get to actually look at you. 11s

This is really, really exciting. 13s

And also for those of you who forgot or haven't 16s

been in any sort of adult education with me, 21s

I love questions. 25s

I won't promise that I have the answers, 26s

but I do enjoy going back and researching and looking things up. 28s

So we are going to study the Reformation over the next five weeks. 32s

Before we begin, let's open in prayer. 37s

Lord, we thank you so much. 41s

We thank you for your church. 43s

We thank you for calling it into existence 45s

and for sustaining it throughout the centuries. 48s

Lord, we thank you for those you have called 52s

to keep it in check, keep it in line 54s

and to continue to maintain the sanctity of your word. 57s

Lord, as we dive into learning more about the Reformation 62s

over these next few weeks, we ask that your spirit would guide us, 65s

that you would open our minds, hearts, and spirits 69s

to where you would lead us. 74s

Lord, we lift all of this to you 76s

in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 77s

Okay, so the Reformation was a period in history 80s

that really challenged the religious, the political, 85s

the social norms. 89s

It challenged everything of its day 90s

and it really ushered in this new era of living 93s

that we experience even today. 96s

It has trickled out through or down throughout the ages 99s

and over the next five weeks, 102s

we're going to be studying the Reformation, the history of it. 104s

So we're going to be looking at the need for reform 109s

that's like what led up to the Reformation. 112s

We're going to look at the reformers 115s

who played vital roles in the Reformation. 117s

We're going to take a deep dive into the 95 Theses. 121s

So if you've never read them before, 125s

I will, my intention is to have a copy 128s

of the 95 Theses for you 131s

and we're going to go through those, 134s

not all 95 because that would take us longer 137s

than our allotted time here. 139s

But we will go through a few of the key ones 142s

and then we're going to look at the historical shift 146s

because the Reformation, 149s

it didn't just change church history, 151s

it really changed world history. 154s

And then we're going to look at the reformed life. 158s

What did life look like once the Reformation took place 161s

and how has it affected our lives since then? 164s

If the Reformation and the history of the church 169s

is something that sparks an interest 174s

or as we're going through these classes, 176s

if you want to learn more, 178s

there is so much great literature 180s

and so many learning opportunities out there 182s

the church history, the different reformers, 186s

Martin Luther, his cohorts 189s

and the Reformation itself and Lutheran doctrine, 192s

Lutheran teaching. 196s

So we're going to begin today with where it all began. 198s

And as we're going along, 204s

if you have any questions, you can either shout at me nicely, 206s

shout nicely, or raise your hand or something 211s

and we'll try to address it. 214s

Okay, so the Reformation is usually thought of 218s

as beginning in the early 16th century. 223s

In 1517, when Martin Luther famously nailed the 95 theses 225s

to the door in Vittenburg, you think about reform 232s

and reform isn't a once happening, right? 236s

Reform is a process of change, it's changing. 240s

And the Reformation didn't just pop up out of nowhere, 244s

out of the blue with this man named Martin Luther, 249s

with his posting of the 95 theses, 252s

but really it was a long time coming. 255s

There was a process of change within the church 258s

and within the world for a long time. 262s

Jesus established the church, yeah. 266s

And his apostles carried it through 270s

and it has gone through the centuries to today. 273s

But what happens with anything when men, 278s

and this is mankind, not just men, 282s

when men are involved, what happens? 284s

Yes, exactly, things get screwed up 288s

because man is sinful and we bring our sinful nature 291s

into everything we do. 297s

And so the church has a history of having some ugly in it. 301s

It has some ugly in it. 309s

And that doesn't take away from the efficacy 311s

or the transformative power of God's word, 314s

it also does not diminish the purpose 318s

and the mission of the church. 322s

What is the church built upon? 326s

Does anyone remember? 328s

What is the church built upon? 331s

Adam. 333s

Okay, yes, Jesus, yes. 335s

Yes. 336s

Yes. 337s

Yes. 339s

Yes. 340s

The confession of Peter, do you all remember that 341s

when Jesus is asking his disciples who do you, 344s

who do people say I am and then he says who do you say I am? 347s

And Peter says you are the Messiah, right? 350s

He confesses Christ as the Savior, as the Messiah. 354s

And Jesus says upon this, upon you, 357s

the church will be built. 361s

And it's not upon the man, Peter, 362s

that the church is built, it's upon that confession of Peter's, 365s

that Christ is the Messiah. 372s

So yes, the church is built on Jesus. 374s

I remember telling kids a long time ago that, 376s

if I ask a question, you can pretty much guarantee 380s

the answer is gonna be Jesus. 383s

So there you go. 384s

Although I will say one of my kids, I won't tell who, 387s

but snarkily we were working on math and that child, 391s

something like two plus two, what is that Jesus? 394s

Okay. 397s

So we're gonna look at a brief timeline 401s

just to kind of get to where we are 405s

when we get to Martin Luther. 409s

So that's what we're gonna be looking at today. 410s

And the next week we're going to dive into 415s

some of those reformers that informed Martin Luther 417s

and that really then took part in the reformation 423s

with and after Luther. 428s

So a brief timeline, so we have Jesus 430s

who was crucified, resurrected from the grave, 433s

the apostles and the disciples began to share the gospel. 436s

People were being converted into Christianity. 441s

They were following the way. 443s

And then when Paul was converted, 446s

he went forth continuing to share the gospel 450s

and it really started reaching out 454s

into all parts of the world. 457s

Now there were schisms and splits 461s

and various heresies that would rise throughout, 464s

but the church council, the church fathers together 469s

would come together and the church would remain the church. 474s

They would squash out these heresies. 478s

There were a couple of schisms that I wanna look at 481s

that were very instrumental in leading up to the Reformation. 486s

The first one is the East West schism. 492s

So throughout the early church or in the early church, 496s

the church recognized three bishops 502s

who were known as patriarchs. 504s

They had the Bishop of Rome, 506s

the Bishop of Alexandria and the Bishop of Antioch. 508s

And then they added in there the Bishop of Constantinople 512s

and the Bishop of Jerusalem. 516s

And these were all the patriarchs, 519s

or confirmed as patriarchs in the council of Calcedon 521s

in 451. 525s

So then you've got, and there's a lot of moving parts 528s

within the history. 532s

So while something's going on over here, 534s

there's also something going on over there. 537s

And so we're doing kind of a brief overview today of that. 538s

So you've got these different bishops 543s

and there are differences that arise among them. 547s

And there is this split that happens within the church, 551s

that splits between the Roman church 555s

or the Western church and the Eastern church. 558s

So not only they were split by Latin and Greek, 562s

which the Roman church, the Western church spoke more Latin 567s

and they did their religious services in Latin 571s

and they did their rights and their practices 576s

in a certain manner. 580s

Then you have the Eastern church that spoke Greek 581s

and they did their rights and their services 587s

a little bit differently. 589s

And so you had these two lines that ended up splitting off 590s

where you have that Western church in the way of Rome 595s

and the Eastern church with the Eastern Orthodox 600s

with the Greeks. 602s

And they were really naturally divided, 604s

but then they also were clashing with different tensions. 608s

So something that, or a few things that led up to this, 613s

the first being the Filioque, 617s

that Nicene Creed, when they came together 621s

to discuss the Holy Spirit and whether the Holy Spirit 624s

proceeded from the Father and the Son 629s

where he was subordinate to the Father and the Son 632s

and the Nicene Creed or the council they decided 637s

and they were led by the Spirit that indeed it is the triune God 641s

that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 647s

are co-equal and of the same substance and same essence. 649s

So that was one issue that the Greeks did not agree 656s

with that being made a part of it. 661s

And the Roman, the Western church said, yes, 664s

this is a triune God. 667s

So you've got that. 670s

Then you have some disputes over who had jurisdiction 670s

over the Balkans, Southern Italy, Sicily, 676s

was it the Western or the Eastern church 681s

that had jurisdiction? 683s

We're gonna get to the whole church, 685s

political aspect in a moment here. 688s

Then we also had disputes over the patriarch of Rome. 691s

The Pope was the Pope a higher authority 695s

than these other patriarchs. 699s

And there was this kind of tension over that. 702s

And then there was also this tying together 706s

of the political and the religious authority. 711s

And so there was a lot of tension 714s

and what is the thing that we've heard forever? 716s

The two things you never talk about, religions and politics. 719s

And here it is, this is causing a lot of tension 722s

because those two are being woven together really closely 725s

and then you've got also those different practices 730s

between the West and the East. 734s

Something I think that's interesting is that 737s

there was unleavened bread used for the Eucharist 740s

and that was very upsetting. 746s

Very upsetting. 749s

So, all right, so we've got... 750s

Okay, that is, this is like in 10, 755s

154 is when it's marked as the official split 759s

between the West and the East churches. 767s

But even that was brewing. 772s

As these church communities, 775s

as these faith communities were growing and building 777s

and recognizing different people in power, 781s

different people as religious leaders. 786s

There was a lot that was brewing 789s

and then also you've got the tensions 791s

and the issues between the churches of how exactly 795s

this works with the Holy Trinity 801s

and coming with those councils and making decisions 804s

and not everyone, as you know, 807s

when you come together with a group to make a decision, 810s

you don't usually walk away with everyone super happy. 812s

So there was a split with that. 817s

Another thing to... 820s

No, this is, okay, we're moving to the next one. 823s

So, okay, so we already have two lines of Christianity. 825s

We have the East and the West with the churches. 829s

And then we get into a weird schism 833s

within the Western church 838s

and this is all over the Pope. 841s

Or the Popes, as we'll find out. 846s

So there was... 849s

The papacy was moved from Rome. 851s

It was moved to France. 854s

It was in Evan Young, which if anyone speaks French 856s

and I'm mispronouncing that, I'm sorry. 859s

So it was moved to France in 1309 862s

and it was there for about 70 years. 866s

And Gregory the 11th was elected 870s

and he said he was going to restore the papacy to Rome. 873s

And he took it back to Rome. 878s

But then, right before he died, 880s

he said, well, I'm actually gonna go ahead and relocate it. 883s

I'm gonna make my way back to France. 886s

And so then all of a sudden, 890s

you've got these tensions again in the city of Rome 891s

and amongst all of these cardinals 896s

who had elected Gregory's replacement. 898s

So when they're electing a Pope, it's a conclave. 904s

That's the decision, the name of the decision happening. 909s

It's the conclave. 913s

And so as, when Gregory dies 914s

and these cardinals are in the conclave, 916s

voting on the next Pope, 920s

there's a lot of split, a lot of turmoil, 923s

a lot of tension, a lot of dissension. 925s

And they end up settling on Urban VI. 928s

He was appealing to the Roman masses 933s

because he was Italian. 936s

He served in Evan Young, 938s

so he was appealing to the French, 940s

but he was really volatile. 943s

And people didn't like him. 946s

And after he became Pope, 948s

the cardinals really regretted their decision. 951s

And they backpedaled. 955s

And they said, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, 956s

this was a decision made under duress. 958s

So we're gonna go ahead and hold a second conclave 961s

and we're going to elect a different Pope. 965s

And this is where they had Clement VII 968s

and he was residing in Evan Young. 972s

So now you've got Urban VI in Rome. 975s

You've got Clement VII in France. 980s

And you've got two popes that are not backing down 984s

that are saying, nope, I am the Pope. 988s

I'm the Pope, I'm the Pope. 991s

They both maintained that their elections were valid 992s

that he, whether it's Urban or Clement, 996s

that he was the rightful Pope. 999s

And so then there's this schism again. 1002s

There's this fight. 1005s

And you've got these two warring papacies 1007s

for a good bit of time. 1013s

Now, during this time, we have to remember 1016s

that England and France were engaged 1020s

in the Hundred Years War. 1024s

So they've also got this war going on. 1026s

And the whole papacy, the religious aspect of the war 1029s

is just another part of it all. 1033s

And so as you know, when you have a lot bubbling 1036s

under the surface, it doesn't stay 1039s

under the surface for very long. 1041s

And it comes right to the top. 1043s

And so they're dealing with this. 1047s

Along with the religious issues, 1048s

along with the political issues, 1053s

they're dealing with the black death, a plague. 1055s

I don't know if we could ever imagine 1059s

political and religious tensions 1062s

and a worldwide plague going on. 1066s

I don't know. 1069s

Can you imagine what that would be like? 1069s

So there is a lot of tension. 1073s

And it is not under the surface anymore. 1077s

Rome loses a lot of its monetary significance 1082s

or basis. 1089s

They lost a lot of their finances. 1090s

And they started selling the ecclesiastical offices 1093s

to maintain solvency. 1097s

Little foreshadowing of indulgences, 1100s

we're gonna get to that as well. 1103s

The French papacy in Evan Young, 1107s

they were retaining their fiscal solvency a lot 1109s

because the Roman papacy and all of the artifacts 1118s

were moved to France. 1122s

And so they were still fiscally fine. 1125s

They were fine. 1130s

So these two popes, 1131s

they thought that they should resolve it by military force. 1135s

I love this. 1141s

The Christian leaders are ready to solve it 1142s

by military force. 1145s

The peaceful decision or a peaceful decision 1147s

was not going to happen with these two popes. 1151s

They would not back down and they would not allow 1154s

for a peaceful decision. 1158s

So this is around 14, let's see here, 1163s

we're in the 1400s. 1168s

We're almost to 1409. 1170s

Okay, almost to 1409. 1173s

I will find dates. 1176s

I forget that people like dates. 1180s

And yeah, no, it's all good. 1182s

I appreciate that. 1184s

We will get dates. 1185s

I'm writing it down right now. 1187s

Okay. 1191s

Okay, so then there was this council of pizza in 1409. 1194s

So you can see there is a lot that's going on 1200s

in the church history, a lot of issues. 1203s

But again, why would there be any issues in the church? 1206s

Because mankind brings it in there with our sinful nature. 1210s

So you've got this council of pizza in 1409. 1214s

Several hundred pre-lates, theologians, secular rulers, 1218s

they all gathered and neither of the papacies, 1222s

neither urban nor, or a clement, neither of them 1229s

supported this council. 1233s

And so this council, Alexa New Pope, Alexander V. 1235s

So now we've got three, three popes 1241s

that all say that their papacy is the papacy. 1246s

So you've got three different papal lines 1254s

that the church is putting forth all very stubborn 1257s

and unwilling to bend or unwilling to, 1265s

to work with each other. 1270s

So the council of constants in 1414 through 1418, 1272s

so it was a four year council, 1277s

they eventually affirmed the Roman line. 1279s

So we have the Roman Pope, just crazy, 1285s

a lot of ego, a lot of greed, 1293s

a lot of power struggle happening here. 1300s

And this is all serving in the church, 1304s

which is supposed to be in a mission 1309s

of growing the kingdom of God, 1313s

of gathering all nations into and under the name 1317s

of the Lord, a lot of problems here. 1321s

So now we're gonna talk about the intermingling 1326s

of church and politics. 1331s

The medieval ages, church and politics were just intermixed. 1333s

They were intermixed and the church in Medieval Europe, 1339s

the church held land ownership. 1344s

And they were a part of the feudal system, 1350s

where the people then, for all intents and purposes, 1354s

were living and working to support the church 1357s

and under the power of the church. 1360s

And there was this hierarchy. 1364s

And when a bishop or a monastery functioned as a Lord 1366s

overseeing a specific plot of land, 1371s

there was thousands of acres of property 1374s

that was being overseen by this, 1378s

this bishop or this monastery. 1383s

And so entire towns on these acres and forests 1386s

and roads and waterways and all the economic benefits, 1391s

all of those were under the supervision of clergymen. 1397s

So that would be like if Pastor Eibel oversaw 1402s

all the commerce of DFW. 1408s

And he was in charge of it all, don't get ideas. 1412s

No, I'm just kidding. 1415s

So it would all come under one person or one monastery, yeah. 1418s

So if they had underlying political background, 1423s

I just have a touch on my Catholic faith. 1427s

They, they, the politicians basically joined the church, 1430s

but they were kind of understanding 1435s

they were the ones that had the army as a force that... 1437s

Yes, okay, so he's saying wasn't it the politicians 1441s

who would then join with the church 1444s

and they were the ones with the armies? 1447s

Right, yes, oh, so there is a lot of, yes, 1450s

this is overview and we are getting to that a little bit here. 1453s

So one of the things that's interesting is that it was doctrine 1458s

that the church would not, no one in the church, 1463s

the clergy would not spill blood. 1467s

But they would use a mace to beat people, to hurt people, 1470s

into submission, but they weren't killing anyone. 1476s

So they were making bargains with themselves, 1479s

with this power, and there were abuses 1483s

that crept into the church, 1487s

and I think this is what you're referring to. 1488s

Kings and princes would reward secular vessels 1491s

by giving them church property, 1495s

or making them part of the church. 1497s

So there was a lot of underhanded business happening 1501s

with the secular leaders and the church leaders, 1506s

or the secular leaders, kings and princes, 1510s

appointing their family, their friends, 1515s

to power within the church. 1518s

So another thing that's really interesting to me, 1522s

I think you'll find this interesting. 1527s

So the churches began to accumulate a lot of land 1529s

and there was no obligation in accumulating this land. 1533s

The only thing they had to pay was praying 1538s

for people who gave it to them. 1542s

They were guaranteeing prayer for those people. 1544s

They were immune from all outside interference. 1548s

So the churches, they would get this land. 1552s

Donna would offer to give me land if I would pray for her. 1556s

And then I am completely immune from outside interferences. 1561s

No one else or no one outside of my direct church 1566s

could say anything or do anything about it. 1571s

A really popular practice amongst the elderly 1575s

was to deed a property to the church or the monastery 1579s

with understanding that the church then would care 1584s

for that person in his or her old age and pray for them. 1588s

So they would exchange, it was their social security, right? 1593s

They would give their land in order to be taken care of 1598s

and prayed for by the church. 1602s

Does that sound anything like the indulgences? 1607s

Which if you don't want to know what indulgences are, 1611s

we're getting to that next. 1613s

Yeah, Neil. 1614s

So they also would give you something 1615s

to do their, it was just taking care of them 1617s

and they would turn it into a human. 1621s

Right, right, right, yes. 1624s

So they were, they were guaranteed, yes, 1625s

they would be taken care of here in their old age on earth, 1627s

but then they would be prayed for eternally. 1631s

So it really leads into the practice of indulgences. 1635s

Does anyone not know what indulgences are? 1640s

Or does everyone know what indulgences are? 1644s

Well, either way, we're going to talk about it. 1646s

So indulgences were guarantees of salvation 1648s

that were sold by the church. 1653s

So, now I hope just that very statement makes you go, 1656s

well, that doesn't sound right. 1660s

It's not right, it's not right. 1662s

And if you say, that doesn't sound right, 1664s

then you are a very good, very good Protestant. 1665s

So, I gotta check my time. 1670s

Okay, I'm good on time, good. 1671s

So the indulgences were sold to guarantee, 1673s

to guarantee salvation or to guarantee salvation 1678s

for a loved one. 1682s

So, and we're gonna get more into this 1686s

when we discuss the 95 VCs, 1690s

but first of all, I'm gonna back up a little bit. 1692s

You see all of the turmoil, the underlying turmoil 1696s

that's happening throughout the centuries, 1699s

really from the start of the church, 1701s

that's just brewing and brewing and brewing and brewing 1704s

and brewing until it's right at the surface. 1706s

There's tensions, we've got three popes, 1709s

we've got a lot of political issues. 1712s

We now have land being given to the church, 1714s

secular leaders appointing their friends and family 1718s

to the church leadership, church leadership paying 1723s

to have more power and gathering and accumulating more 1729s

and more wealth for themselves, more power for themselves. 1734s

So there's a lot brewing under there. 1741s

And then they begin to build and accumulate 1744s

a lot of buildings, the Basilica, the big church, 1748s

and they want to be opulent and big and fancy 1755s

and someone needs to pay for this. 1760s

And this is where we turn to the indulgences 1764s

where the church created something called purgatory, 1768s

which is this waiting period between earthly death 1774s

and getting into heaven, you have this waiting period. 1780s

Purgatory is not in scripture, it is not real, 1785s

it is not, no purgatory. 1788s

It does not stand up under the scrutiny of the word. 1792s

I don't even think that the word needs to scrutinize it. 1798s

It just does not stand up. 1800s

So you've got purgatory and the church leaders 1801s

are telling the people that their loved ones are burning. 1807s

They're burning and they are not getting any pardon from that. 1812s

They are not getting any relief from their time in purgatory. 1819s

They are suffering and they're going to continue suffering 1823s

unless you buy some of their time off of purgatory. 1827s

And they could buy these little pieces of paper 1833s

that would say, you know, 10 years off for this person 1838s

or this person is set free. 1842s

Or if you didn't care about your loved ones in purgatory, 1844s

you could pay for your own assurance or insurance 1848s

where you could pay for your future 1852s

so maybe you could skip past purgatory 1855s

or at least quicken your time in purgatory by paying off 1858s

and it's that working toward earning your way into heaven. 1865s

But if you can't work your way into heaven 1871s

in your time allotted here on earth, 1875s

then you're in purgatory, which I tell you what, 1877s

everyone ended up in purgatory amazingly. 1880s

They had to pay somehow. 1883s

So they are working their way off 1884s

or you could pay for some jumps ahead, 1888s

for some easier or quicker time in purgatory. 1891s

And that was kind of the final straw. 1897s

I mean, it wasn't a surprise that it got as blatant as that 1901s

as the church saying, okay, just give us money 1905s

and we'll let you get to heaven faster. 1908s

It's not surprising that it got as obnoxiously blatant 1910s

as that because you look at the past 1914s

and how the struggles and the land ownership 1919s

and all of these underhanded business dealings happened 1922s

that it seemed a natural progression 1927s

into just getting some money straight out and straight forward 1929s

to build the church and not build the church 1935s

in how we talk about building the kingdom of God. 1938s

No, it was building the building, 1941s

putting money into the church coffer 1945s

for the people in power. 1947s

And so with all of the tension, 1949s

with all of the splits, the frustrations, 1952s

not to mention all of the regular life difficulties 1957s

and this is coming right at a time 1962s

where the feudal system is starting to kind of die out 1964s

with Italy, you've got some the Renaissance starting 1969s

and you've got free thinking starting to happen 1975s

and people are starting to say something's wrong here. 1979s

And so there's a lot more personal thought going into this. 1982s

At this time leading into the Reformation, 1989s

people lay people, we're still really not allowed access 1993s

to scripture, to God's word, they did not have it, 1999s

it was the priest's job, but then they also saw a lot 2003s

of abuses from the priests, from the clergy. 2007s

And so it naturally came to a head 2012s

and something had to happen. 2016s

It did not start officially, 2020s

the rumblings were going on a long time 2024s

before Martin Luther nailed those 95 theses to the door, 2027s

but it was a long time coming. 2032s

So, all right, that's a very brief overview 2036s

of a lot of happenings in world history, 2041s

in church history. 2044s

Other than dates, what else do I need to be looking up 2046s

or what can I try to help answer? 2050s

Yes. 2052s

You know, did the Eastern Orthodox church 2053s

create virtualized zones, 2056s

all those things that should be rolling? 2058s

Oh, you know what, that's a good question. 2060s

I do not know a lot about the Eastern Orthodox church. 2062s

I know very, very little. 2065s

Oh, do you probably need to hear what the Eastern Orthodox is? 2067s

Yeah. 2070s

I don't remember that ever being mentioned 2071s

in Sunday school or in church. 2074s

Okay. 2075s

I don't know if 100% talking, 2076s

but I don't remember any of that many things. 2078s

Okay, so the question was, 2080s

did the indulgences and what else, 2083s

and purgatory, did that also run in the Eastern church, 2087s

the Eastern Orthodox, 2091s

and Donna grew up Syrian Orthodox, 2092s

which would be part of that. 2095s

And she said she doesn't remember any of that being taught 2096s

or talked about in her childhood. 2100s

I will look that up, 2104s

because that's a great question. 2105s

And I do not know a lot about the Eastern Orthodox, huh? 2106s

I'll start by bringing my prayer book. 2110s

She's gonna bring her prayer book, excellent. 2111s

Ha ha ha ha ha. 2114s

Can you go back and get it? 2116s

Ha ha ha ha. 2117s

Purgatory and indulgences, I'm gonna look that up. 2120s

Okay. 2123s

Any other questions? 2123s

Yeah. 2125s

The 14, 14 counts to one. 2126s

Pizza, P-I-S-A. 2130s

No, that was your two or two, no, no. 2132s

Constance, sorry, okay. 2134s

There you go. 2136s

Thanks for listening. 2137s

Ha ha ha ha. 2139s

Any other questions right now? 2141s

Yeah. 2143s

If they believe in Christ salvation, 2144s

why would they think they had to have pain in it? 2149s

Okay, if they believe in Christ's salvation 2154s

or in salvation through Christ, 2158s

why would they need to pay to get into heaven? 2159s

I want you all to write that down. 2163s

I'm not kidding, write it down. 2165s

Think on that one because that's exactly 2168s

what we're going to be addressing in the next two weeks. 2170s

It's a great question and I don't want to give it all up. 2175s

Right now. 2180s

So we are going to talk exactly about that 2182s

over the next two weeks. 2185s

The Reformation is a really exciting time. 2188s

Not only in church history, but in history. 2191s

It really shifted and changed and affected the whole world. 2195s

I did not grow up Lutheran, 2199s

but I did learn about Martin Luther 2201s

in my world history class. 2202s

It was really exciting to make those connections 2205s

once I learned that, oh, yeah, okay, 2208s

so this Martin Luther guy, he's, you know, churchy too. 2212s

So I want to thank you all for being here. 2215s

I am so, so much looking forward to the next few weeks 2220s

or four weeks that will be together 2225s

and continuing to reform. 2226s

Yay, okay. 2230s

Any questions? 2232s

Just let me know and we'll address them. 2232s

All right, God bless. 2235s