Next, we turn our attention to some causes for the Reformation. It’s a misunderstanding of history to assume that the Reformation sprang entirely from religious motives. No, there were other things which would add to this; there were other concerns that people had, including such things as social, economic, and political causes. All of these, in addition to religion, would play an important part in the origin and the progress of the Reformation.

The Roman Catholic View of the Reformation

Roman Catholics frequently refer to the Reformation as the “Protestant revolt.” They look upon it as a revolt against the authority of the pope and the church and thus, in their view, a revolt against God. Well, certainly it was a revolt against Rome, but rather than a revolt against God, it was the beginning of a turning TO God from some of the evils and the corruption of the Roman system.

The Secularists’ View of the Reformation

Then, there was the Secularists’ view. Secularists are likely to look upon the Reformation as a freeing of men’s minds from domination by superstitions and religious authority.

There was a political motivation. It would have been a fairly strong motivation in that day. The rising power of new nations in Western Europe and many small German states caused them to seek independence from the international power of Rome. It was quite clear that several rulers of England and various German states gave their backing to reformers as much out of political motivations as religious motives.

Then, there was an economic motive, as well. By the time of the Reformation, the Roman church had acquired a very large land holding in various places around Europe, as well as outside of Europe. The Roman Empire, of course, was wide-spread, but the Roman Catholic Church had become something of a land baron. And there was a great deal of resistance that would develop from those who were living in northern and in central Europe to seeing monies continue to go to Rome. There was also a great deal of competition for lands, and it would happen that, in fact, some of the property that belonged to the Roman Catholic Church would end up being confiscated by some of these emerging nations.

Moral and Religious Motives of the Reformation

As learning became more prevalent across Europe and as the Bible and other religious matter—other religious material, and so on—became more available, men could see more clearly that there was a glaring discrepancy between the church that was revealed in the Scriptures and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Immediate Cause of the Reformation

All of these things, of course, would blend together and would be, in their own way, an influence upon bringing about the reform. But there was one…as we would say…“straw that broke the camel’s back.” That was something which occurred in 1517 AD. It is referred to as a “spark”—a spark that finally ignited the Reformation, and it was specifically tied to the abuse of indulgences in Germany.

Pope Leo X had embarked upon an elaborate building program in Rome. And this building program included the construction of St. Peter’s. We know it as St. Peter’s Basilica today. The program was quite expensive. It took a great deal of money, money that was not immediately available. And so, the pope had authorized the sale of indulgences as a means of providing income.

The practice of granting indulgences went far back into the Middle Ages, so this was not something that was new. BUT, when a Dominican monk named Johann Tetzel came into Germany with a very clever sales campaign, in which he made exaggerated claims about indulgences, this was more than a particular individual there in Germany in that time could handle. That individual’s name was Martin Luther. Thus, on October the 31^st, 1517, Luther posted on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, his famous Ninety-Five Theses, challenging this Dominican monk named Tetzel.