My First History Quiz

Answer:

The Protestant Reformation took place in the 16th century, in Europe. The Reformers believed that the Catholic Church was corrupt and strayed significantly from Biblical and early Christianity, thus creating the need for a reformation. Protestants have never been a monolith, and there are many different groups, such as Lutherans, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Puritans, and Anabaptists.

While Protestants have different viewpoints on secondary theological issues, such as baptism, Israel, and women in ministry, they all agree with justification by faith and grace alone, the Bible alone as authority (non-canonical sources and traditions are irrelevant or at least not on the same level as Scripture), Christ alone (they don't pray to angels or other saints), and the priesthood of all believers (Christians can go directly to God and there is no need for a high priest under the New Covenant).

Martin Luther (German) is considered to be the main founder of the Reformation. A Catholic priest, he created the 95 theses, a list of disagreements he had with the Catholic Church. The main, but not only, thing Luther disagreed with the Catholic Church about was their sales of indulgences. He thought that there was a lot of corruption and that it wasn't representing the true gospel. The Lutheran denomination is named after him.

Huldrych Zwingli (Swiss) disagreed with Luther and the Catholic Church about communion. Zwingli believed that the communion was only a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, and it didn't literally contain the body and blood of Christ.

John Calvin (French) greatly influenced the Presbyterian denomination and the controversial doctrine of Calvinism, also called reformed theology of predestination, which argues that God chooses who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.

Philip Melanchthon (German) was a collaborator with Martin Luther. Melanchthon wrote "Augsburg Confession", which became the basis for Protestant theology, especially Lutheran theology. He is considered the first systematic theologian of the Reformation.

Thomas Cranmer (British) helped to establish the Church of England, or the Anglican denomination, because he built the case for why Henry VIII should divorce Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VIII, the king of England, is considered to be a part of the Reformation. While not a theologian, he is the main reason why the Church of England split from the Roman Catholic Church. The changes that were brought onto the Church of England included breaking away from the pope (the king was made the head of the church instead), the promotion of the Bible in English, and "Book of Common Prayer", which Cranmer wrote.

William Tyndale (British) was inspired by Luther and other Reformers. He translated the Bible, or at least the Torah and the New Testament, into English. He wanted to finish translating the rest of the Old Testament, but he was captured and condemned to death for heresy before he could complete it. At the time, the Catholic Church didn't allow lay people to read the Bible in their own languages or on their own time (granted, not everyone knew how to read). People were supposed to hear the Bible read in Latin by clergy. Tyndale was a martyr for the faith that many people share today.

Thomas Müntzer (German) was rather radical in his theology. He originally worked with Luther, but then broke away due to differences. He rejected water baptism and believed that the only important baptism was baptism of the Holy Spirit. He also believed in prophecy, dreams and visions, and believed that the end of the world was at hand.

John Knox (Scottish) was the founder of the Church of Scotland. When Mary, Queen of Scots re-established Catholicism, Knox was forced out of his position. In Geneva, he met John Calvin, and then wrote "Forme of Prayers," which later became "Book of Common Order". Like other Reformers, Knox rejected the corruption of the Catholic Church and believed in the authority of the Bible, but he also believed in elders over the church, which is the basis of the Presbyterian denomination.

Martin Bucer (German) influenced Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed (Calvinistic) doctrines. Bucer was hopeful that Catholics would convert to Protestantism and originally wanted to unite Catholics and Protestants under a single German Church, but this never happened. Bucer served as a mediator between Luther and Zwingli, who disagreed about communion.

As for the others:

Francis Bacon was a philosopher who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor under King James 1 of England. While Bacon was an Anglican, he wasn't involved in the Reformation, mostly because he wasn't born yet. He lived in the 17th century.

John Nelson Darby was a British 19th century theologian. He is generally considered the founder of dispensationalism, which is a theology that advocates for a pre-tribulation rapture and a sharp distinction between Israel and the church.

Marie Curie was a Polish scientist. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She lived from 1867-1934.

Susan B. Anthony was a leader of the American feminist movement, and Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the American Civil Rights movement.