The Reformation

The Reformation took place because of Martin Luther's reaction to the indulgences. Indulgences caused many of the people in Germany to fall away from the Catholic Church and its teachings. Outraged, Martin Luther taught people to go against indulgences; eventually he made the 95 thesis and posted them on the door of the Catholic Church. (Koenigsberg 65)

Indulgences were used to raise money for the re-building of St.Peter's Church. The idea behind these indulgences was good, they were used to raise money, but what they actually stood for was not so great. They stood for the idea that all you had to get you or a loved on into heaven was get a little piece of paper and pray up a bunch of steps. That was not what Martin Luther believed however, and he made it known. He believed that to get to heaven you must first be saved and know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.(source)

While being a monk as well as a professor at Wittenberg University in Germany, Martin Luther taught about how much he disagreed with indulgences and the they served. Luther was very firm in believing that the only way you can get to heaven is through Jesus Christ. In response to the indulgenses Luther wrote the 95 thesis and nailed them to the door of the church.(Graham-Dixon 206)

The 95 Thesis.(source)

"On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther mailed the 95 Theses to local bishops that they might take action against indulgences. According to Luther's co-worker, Philipp Melanchthon, Luther also posted the Theses to the Castle church door on this same day, though that is the only source that we have that mentions it. It was customary to post public notices on the Castle church door."(source)

"After 1507, trade in Indulgences took a steep climb because both the Papal Court and Bishop Albrecht von Brandenburg Germany's representative for the sale of indulgence were in great financial trouble. In addition, the Dominican monk, Johann Tetzel, sold indulgences in the region around Wittenberg in a very ostentatious manner. Many stories started poping up about him such as, that Tetzel could redeem the sins of the deceased.Further sayings of Tetzel, such as, 'When the money clangs in the box, the souls spring up to heaven', also brought protests from Luther"(source)

"During the later centuries of the protestant reformation the church has been receiving layer after layer of restoration of the power and reality of God. The magnificent manifestations of the power of God in the first century church and in the Celtic church in the centuries before the reformation were lost and did not returned to the church in the early centuries of reformation.
The new revolution now coming forth is not a return to the pre reformation religion and not even a return to the first century church but does have some restored characteristics of the early church. Some of the supernatural miracles and spiritual manifestations of the first century church as well as the Celtic church of the pre reformation period are being restored. The mostly lukewarm powerless church that developed after the protestant reformation has in the past century received significant restoration of the gifts of God in portions of the church."(source)

Book 1- Koenigsberger, H.G., Early Modern Europe 1500-1789, Longman Inc., 1987, New York.
Book 2- Graham-Dixon, Andrew, Renaissance, BBC Worldwide, 1999, London.