The Protestant Reformation

Why reform?

• The Catholic church was corrupt!• People were fed up!

–Indulgences (payment made to the Church by a person to release him or her from their sins)

-Spanish Inquisition: a court set up to punish anyone who spoke badly, or did not support the Catholic Church.

Why reform?

• As more people learned to read, they began to interpret the Bible for themselves, and stopped listening to priests and bishops telling them how to live.

• What invention caused an increase in literacy?

Martin Luther

• Translated Bible into the language of his people-German (vernacular)

• Challenged ideas of Catholic church-said only the Bible had religious authority, and not the Pope, Bishops, etc.

• Luther said that “faith and salvation was a gift from God” –not something one could pay for (indulgences)

Martin Luther

• What role did the printing press play in Luther’s writings and messages to people?

Excommunicated from the Catholic church in 1520, and exiled

Other Reformers

• John Calvin/Calvinists-believed in Predestination: the idea that humans can only go to heaven with God’s grace. God only gives that grace to certain people .

Guess what? It is time to debate!Catholics v. Protestants: Let’s get it on!• Team 1: You are the Catholic Church. Designate

one person to be the Pope. He or she is the spokesperson.

• Team 2: You are the newly formed group of Protestants. Designate one person to be Martin Luther. He or she is the spokesperson.

• NOTE: When debating, ONLY THE SPOKESPERSON CAN SPEAK. IF ANY ONE ELSE DOES, THEY ARE ELIMINATED FROM THE DEBATE AND RECEIVE A ZERO FOR THE DAY.

Debate

• Team 1 must argue why the Catholic Church is superior to the Protestants, and defend their reasons for indulgences, not allowing priests to marry, and for influencing Kings.

• Team 2 must argue against the Catholic Church, and in favor of Reformation. They must persuade the judges that the Catholic Church is corrupt and in need of reform.

While the two teams debate, the rest of the class are judges

• If judges are caught talking and not paying attention, THEY WILL RECEIVE A ZERO FOR THE DAY. SO PAY ATTENTION.

• At the end, the judges decide who won the debate. The Preachy protestants or the Kooky Catholics.

OPENING ARGUMENTS

• Team 1 goes first. Ya’ll have two minutes to read over your information and gather your thoughts-(figure out what you will say). Your spokesman or woman will have two minutes to talk and defend yourselves against the accusations of the Protestants.

• Team 2 will have one minute to “cross examine”-ask questions to the Catholic Church.

• Now it is Team 2’s turn to state their case. You have two minutes to read over your information and jot down ideas. Your spokesman or woman will get another two minutes to state your case against the Catholics.

• Team 1 will have one minute for rebuttal: their spokesman will get to ask questions against the protestants.

Closing arguments

• Team 1’s spokesperson will have two minutes to say their “last piece” and argue in favor of the Catholic Church

• Team 2’s spokesperson will have two minutes to argue in favor of the Protestants.

• JUDGES: Who won?