The Reformation: A Captivating Guide to the Religious Revolution Sparked by Martin Luther and Its Impact on Christianity and the Western Church

by Captivating History

If you want to discover the captivating history of the Reformation and why it occurred, then keep reading... Free History BONUS Inside! Most of us have probably heard the story of how a German monk named Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of a church. These Ninety-five Theses were essentially ninety-five complaints lodged against the Catholic Church. In those days, the Catholic Church was the big guy on the block when it came to religion. Those who dared question Catholic doctrine were inevitably said to be in error, and if they did not immediately correct their “errors,” they would be labeled heretics. And it wasn’t that good to be a heretic in those days since it usually meant a one-way ticket to getting burned at the stake. The Catholic Church had kept its solid grip on church dogma for well over a thousand years, yet Martin Luther dared to stand up and raise his voice in objection. Martin Luther not only managed to survive his stab at religious dissidence but also sparked a larger movement in which many more people began to protest what they perceived as abuses of the Catholic Church. More commonly known as Protestants, these reformers came from all walks of life yet had one thing in common—they wanted to read the Scriptures for themselves and draw their own interpretation. This book follows the initial outburst of reformatory thought, first carried forth by Martin Luther and other primary reformers, and then goes on to follow the life and work of notable Protestants such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli. These bold reformers dared to question the status quo, and they forever changed the world with their protestations. This is the history of the Reformation. In this book, you will The causes of the ReformationThe key participantsThe conflicts that occurredThe religious groups that were formedAnd moreDon’t miss this opportunity to learn about the Reformation, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction

98 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2021

Reviews

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.75]
This book was quite an impressive chronology of the Reformation! For it's short length, it is surprisingly detailed, impressive, and comprehensive. This is certainly a great introductory read for folks looking to learn more about the reformation period and various political and ecclesiastical conflicts.

Shifting across multiple countries, the timeline of events is relatively chronological (sometimes events at later dates were covered before earlier events in different countries, but this is very clearly done in order to focus on a specific series/sequence of events within a country at one time), and captures well the shifting back and forth dynamics between reformers and the Catholic Church.

However, a barrage of names being thrown at the reader is quite a common occurrence; no doubt due to the numerous important figures regarding this complex conflict— but it is worth noting, as sometimes names were mentioned for short sentences and then never discussed again. Following to this, I would have loved to read more direct citations and references to other material, particularly when individuals were only briefly mentioned. This would have been very beneficial in order to further dive deeper into individual denominational histories and discourses after concluding this read. Of course, there are many seminal publications mentioned, specifically ones which directly caused upheaval. I mention this point here as it would have been stellar for this text to expand in this way, but the amount of sources & references throughout this read were nonetheless quite comprehensive.

Towards the end of this read, it did feel a bit like the author lost a bit of gas, as the last few period summaries were essentially comprised of, ' X party published this, Y party didn't like the response, so they killed a whole bunch of people. X didn't like being killed by Y, so X started killing Y instead' (clearly paraphrased).

Overall, I really took a lot from this read, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the historical detailing of the reformation period. Perhaps another source would be better if one is only looking to focus on doctrinal discourse and theological disagreements, but this text is overall a great comprehensive historical guide.

[Nihal · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The world doesn't want to be punished. It wants to remain in darkness"

Martin Luther didn't want to create a massive revolution of The Catholic Church. He just wanted to reform. Who knew the future of the reformation, when it turned into a massive war between two believers. Lasting for almost 2 Centuries, this reformation created a great change in the modern Church. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and many others were ready to sacrifice their lives at the hands of their God.

This book explains all the events that took place in the Reformation in just about 100 pages. The Church, the people, the rulers, and the beliefs, all had changed in the Reformation. And all of them were explained briefly. The number of Protestants killed in the Reformation was almost equal to the number of Jews murdered during World War II.

[Carolina Casas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best introduction to the Protestant Reformation

This would be the introductory book that educators give to their students and newbies to this era should pick up. Everything, minus one important factor, is on point. Unlike the perennial books about this subject that offer a simplistic view - one where it bottles down to the Protestants being the good guys and the Catholics the baddies.
This book doesn't pull back any pouches. Neither does it sugarcoat the awful violent acts committed by both sides, as well as the infighting between many Protestants.
The only big mistake this book makes is the same one made by several others. It attributes the Renaissance to the Protestant Reformation. This is a direct contradiction to what was written at the beginning. But aside from this tidbit, this remains the best introductory book on the Protestant Reformation.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first two paragraphs of the introduction to this book are impressive; they explained Christianity for the first 1500 years in stark clarity. I just finished listening to 36 classes on the popes of the Catholic Church and the crises they faced. This book is very well-researched and dove-tails with the lessons I recently learned about Martin Luther. That is an astute observation that Luther was as much a nationalist as a religious reformer.

This book makes intelligent observations that Martin Luther was indeed in danger of his life because of his teachings and beliefs. It was very important that Martin Luther translated the Bible from Greek and Latin to German. One of his main tenants was in regard to individuals having a personal relationship with God. How could he do so if he only learned of God through an emissary (the priest)? By being able to read the Bible, people could come to their own understanding of God.

This book takes the reader through the more interesting branching of the Reformation movement. It reminds the reader that the reformers were just as likely to kill their opposing religious zealot group, once they got sufficient power, as the previous religious group in power.

Finally, the conclusion was an informative tying up of loose threads into one neat bow. They showed how the Reformation still reverberates today in America. Excellent information and writing.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Catholic Church had held dominance over politics and people for a very long time but finally a man named Martin Luther objected to some of the things the church was doing and posted his objections on the door of a church. This was in 1517 and he had 95 points he made.

He didn't do this to start a major problem, though. He just had things he wanted to point out that were problems he felt needed to be worked on.

Never poke a wasp's nest.

One thing he said was that scripture should be the ultimate authority and not the clergy. He was against the giving of indulgences (you could literally buy your way out of religious trouble).

The church opposed those and declared him a heretic which was, in those days, a possible death sentence. More and more people learned of his writings, though, and began to question the way some things were being done by the Church.

This ended up leading to violence. Meanwhile in England there was a problem with Henry VIII who ended up declaring himself the religious authority and the Church became secondary which, again, the Church didn't take kindly to.The book goes into the consequences of this, the problems with Bloody Mary, the position Elisabeth I took and how there were even more deaths related to religious disagreements.

An interesting thing on Reddit notes that some 195 million people have died because of religious violence.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to find such a comprehensive coverage of Reformation in so few pages. The book provides details of what is generally known and not-so-known about this seminal movement. It also brings forth in simple language how and why this movement started as also the internal differences within the movement. The author also correctly points out that "the sad irony all throughout the Protestant Reformation was the fact that once the previously prosecuted reformers gained enough power., they in turn were ready to actively persecute others"

[Bill Hooten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a real easy, short read; that did a good job of hitting the high points that I need to be touched upon. The only problem that I had was that I thought there were a couple of times there were errors about the theological subjects. I needed a guide to help me outline, the direction I follow when I teach this. If you are looking for detailed study, there are much better ones. If you are looking for a skeleton outline to build on -- this is what you are looking for.

[Nicole Spindler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to follow, overview of The Reformation that wasn’t too complex. At times it did feel like the writing style was being paraphrased especially with all the key people and beliefs being thrown the readers’ way. Nonetheless, it was still the right amount of information to spark my interest in this movement and gear up for my pilgrimage all centered around the Reformation in the United Kingdom.

[Bradfor Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book series

I really enjoy the captivating history books. These books are fun to read and are quick. They literally keep you captivated and give you some great information in a fun way. If you are looking to get some great knowledge and fun facts that you can share with your friends and family pickup on these books. You will not be disappointed!

[tony custodio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I

I have always been interested in history especially church history. It's nice to see how different religions got their organizations and who helped stop them.

[josette ringuette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I really liked this short version of this piece of history. It gave me a better understanding of the difference in the religious beliefs during this time.

[shane m sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Really enjoyed this book. Lots of facts without going off topic. Recommended to anyone who wants a basic understanding of the reformation.