In the prologue of the text by Bruce Shelly, Church History in Plain Language he writes, "Many Christians today suffer from historical amnesia. The time between the apostles and their own day is one giant blank." Tony Lane writes in his book: Exploring Christian Thought, "We need to read about the past in order to understand the present. People without a grasp of history are like a man without a memory."Without an understanding of our roots we miss out on important developments that shaped the beliefs we hold to be true today. These developments intertwine and incorporate every area of life; political; social; and religious. Often the lines that separate each area are blurred, but one cannot fully understand present events without investigating the motives impelled by the thinking of those involved historically.
To sum up centuries of Church history in a few sentences is hardly possible, but suffice it to say that the church begun in the New Testament times was far from the church that wielded its control by the sixteenth century. As is most often the case, an explicit vision begun by leaders in one generation is dimmed by the leaders in succeeding generations until there is little left of its original purpose. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in a study of Church history.
Long before the time of the Reformation sweeping changes took place in the ecclesiastical-political operations of the church in Rome that made the Reformation an inevitable necessity. Soon after the establishment of the papacy, the leadership position became one of absolute religious control and political power. It is a fact of human nature that power corrupts and it was no different in the Roman Church. Spiritual character and qualifications of the candidates vying for a leadership position became secondary to political influence. One simply had to pay enough money and he could buy it. This became known as Simony, named after Simon in the book of Acts, who wanted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit. When a church’s motive is financial, and political, and there is little concern with the truth of God’s Word, then there is no limit to the measure of abuses it opens up, both within and without. And the abuses by the Roman Church were many. The self-proclaimed papal authority and infallibility of council decisions ensured absolute unquestioning obedience to whatever standards were imposed by the Church. It was taught and believed that the Church had control over all spiritual matters, and it grew that obedience to the pope was necessary for salvation. Since you could not be in fellowship with the church if you were in disagreement with the pope, to be excommunicated by the church was considered to be a serious matter. This meant that not only would a person lose their salvation, but because the church owned large amounts of lands called Papal States, to be excommunicated was to have no citizenship as well.
Since a person kept in ignorance can be convinced of almost anything, the unity of ignorance and common belief has a strong hold on its adherents. Most of the common people could not read, and none were allowed the luxury of owning a copy of the Scriptures. Even many of the priests were ignorant of the Bible, and they would preach church traditions. This allowed for several financial ploys to be levied against the citizenry in the name of religion.
Besides the heavy church taxes imposed to build lavish edifices, and to pay for the Crusades, money was collected through pilgrimages to "holy sites" and the selling of relics, and by selling indulgences. Relics were religious artifacts claimed to be bones of saints, or pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified and the like, which were said to possess special powers. Indulgences were promoted by the church claiming to hold excess virtue of Christ, and that it could dispense this virtue to whomever it chooses. Indulgences were given to one doing good works benefiting the church. They were used for the forgiveness of sins, or for early release from Purgatory (which is another money making invention) for yourself or a relative. Eventually these indulgences were being sold out right for cash.
Since the Roman Church had become such a Goliath, and had such a strangle hold on every aspect of the lives of the people, any opposition was met with severe pressure to conformity. Thus the Inquisition was formed to determine religious beliefs, and to force conformity to the pope, and church authority. A sect of the Roman Church known as the Dominican Friars were used to oversee this "Kangaroo Court". They were given unquestioned authority to investigate, accuse, hold trial, judge, be the jury, and hand down a sentence without appeal. Anyone accused of heresy had to prove their innocence, and a guilty verdict meant a punishment of banishment, or the most inhumane torture imaginable and finally being burned alive at the stake. The Inquisition was such a powerful unrestrained office of the Church, that it struck fear in the hearts of most citizens, and even the nobles. While many may have disagreed with the condition of the church, and were dismayed at the corruption, they would do so silently.
John Gerstner in his course on Church History, states that two factors are necessary for a Reformation to take place. First is a dedication to the truth of the Gospel, and second is a willingness to die for that truth. One such man was John Wyclif. (1329-1384). Though he did not die defending the truth, as a central figure in opposition to the condition of the Roman Church at that time, he became known as the "Morning Star of the Reformation". Wyclif’s teachings laid the groundwork for the Reformation on many important issues including objection to the Roman Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation. Wyclif was declared to be a heretic, and because of the influence he had on John Hus who taught his doctrines, in 1428 his bones were dug up and burned.
John Hus (1369-1415) studied the Scriptures, and believed the Bible was the final authority for truth. He spoke against the traditions of the Catholic Church. He taught that Christ is the head of the Church; not the pope, and that Christians are members of Christ’s body. His followers became known as Hussites, and in 1410 Hus was excommunicated for teaching Wyclif’s doctrines. In 1415 after being promised safety to attend a church council in Constance, he was arrested, tried and burned at the stake for heresy.
Another influential figure prior to the Reformation whose lifetime intersects that of Martin Luther’s, is a Dominican monk from Florence named Savonarola. (1452-1498). Savonarola preached against the sin and corruption in the church, and pronounced judgment on Italy, and the pope and their practices. After being unable to silence him with the bribe of a cardinal’s hat, he was excommunicated in 1497 which he declared invalid! Not withstanding he was declared guilty of heresy and was tortured, hanged and then burned.
History claims these aforementioned men as signposts of the religious "powder keg" that was about to erupt in Europe and the world with the coming Reformation. These were not the only leaders, just some of the more prominent ones, and each leader had their own followers. The greater the darkness, the more significant is the light of a single match. These forerunners, along with a major change in the social structure of the times, helped to set the stage for God to send the right man at the right time to light the match that would ignite that powder keg and literally change the world through Reformation. Such a man was to be Martin Luther.
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