The Reformation History Trivia

1. Where and when was Martin Luther born?

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: Eisleben in 1483

Luther was born on November 10, 1483 to thrifty, hardworking parents who brought him up with strict discipline. He was taught to fear God and to believe that heaven and hell are real places. On the outside, Luther was everything a good Roman Catholic was supposed to be. On the inside, however, he never experienced a sense that his sins were truly forgiven, and always felt only guilt and condemnation.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: 1517

The Reformation began on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Castle Church Wittenberg in Germany. Since about 1500, people's ways of thinking started to change, making men aware of the principles of individual liberty and responsibility before God.

From Quiz The European Reformation

Answer: How to deal with Church corruption

The Reformation occurred in large part because of widespread dissatisfaction with the corrupt practices that the Roman Catholic Church had allowed to exist. Over the centuries, the church, particularly in the office of the papacy, had become deeply involved in the political life of western Europe. The resulting intrigues and political manipulations, combined with the church's increasing power and wealth, contributed to the bankrupting of the church as a spiritual force. Abuses such as the sale of indulgences (or spiritual privileges) and relics and the corruption of the clergy exploited the pious and further undermined the church's spiritual authority. The Church itself recognized this and held the nine Councils in an attempt to resolve the issue of corruption and abuse of power. All of teh Councils failed to reach any resolution. There were other reforms though that attempted to stem the corruption, such as the reformations achieved by St. Francis, Peter Waldo, Jan Hus, and John Wycliffe, which addressed abuses in the life of the church in the centuries before 1517. In the 16th century, Erasmus of Rotterdam, a great Humanist scholar, was the chief proponent of liberal Catholic reform that attacked moral abuses and popular superstitions in the church and urged the imitation of Christ, the supreme teacher.

From Quiz Reformation Europe

Answer: indulgence

A practice that many Renaissance Humanists found objectionable was the use of indulgences as a source for church income.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: University of Erfurt

The University of Erfurt was the first German university to incorporate the new learning of the Renaissance and reject scholasticism, thereby keeping philosophy and theology separate. In this way, Luther had the chance to read and accept the Bible for just what it says.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: Movable type printing press

The movable type printing press was invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. Before the invention of the movable type printing press, printing was a tedious job, and as a result, literature was not very accessible to the public. Blocks were carved out of wood, and then discarded. Creating a technique that allowed setting individul letters together to print a page made printing books and pamphlets easier and less expensive. Because of this invention, people could more readily afford to buy more books. The first book to be printed from the movable type was, appropriately, the Bible.

From Quiz The European Reformation

Answer: Nailing a list of grievances to a door

The Reformation movement began essentially on Oct. 31, 1517 (the Eve of All Saints day) when a Martin Luther posted a list of grievances, called the Ninety-Five Theses, against the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Although he had become uncomfortable with many Church teachings, what fundamentally spurred him to action was an incident that occurred when a friar named Tetzel (who was selling indulgences issued by the pope, to acquire the finances needed in the building of St. Peter's) made his way to Germany. Luther took the offense against the Church's doctrine. In his Theses, he reviewed ninety-five points in which the Church had erred in its interpretation of the New Testament. He touched on major teachings of the Church, including the sacrament of Penance, transubstantiation, and papal authority. Luther claimed that what distinguished him from previous reformers was that while they attacked corruption in the life of the church, he went to the theological root of the problem--the perversion of the church's doctrine of redemption and grace. Luther, a pastor and professor at the University of Wittenberg, deplored the entanglement of God's free gift of grace in a complex system of indulgences and good works. He proposed an ethical and theological reform of the church: Scripture alone is authoritative (sola sciptura) and justification is by faith (sola fide), not by works. While he did not intend to break with the Catholic Church, a confrontation with the papacy was not long in coming.

From Quiz Reformation Europe

Answer: Pope Leo X

Upon the death of Pope Julius II, Giovanni de' Medici, from that wealthy and most prestigious family of Florence, followed him as Pope Leo X.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: He was struck by lightning

On a hot, summer day in 1505, a thunderstorm hit as he was on his way home on an open country road. Struck down in the rain, Luther's grasp of eternity became terribly vivid. Fearing for his life, Luther cried out, "St. Anne, help me and I will become a monk!". Because he was extremely serious about his salvation, Luther chose to join the most severe monastic order available, the Augustinian friars. His father was very upset. He had wanted Martin to become a lawyer and could not understand why his son chose to become a monk. While in the monastery, Luther struggled with the attempt to earn salvation for his soul and to make himself acceptable to God. He severely punished his body by going for days without food. He went without sleep, said many more prayers than the rules required, and confessed his sins over and over again. While in confession, Luther finally managed to confess that he hated God, because he knew that all he was doing before God was not enough. Due to his questions for salvation, Luther was advised to go back to university. He enrolled in Wittenberg University in 1508, and began a serious study of the Bible, particularly, the New Testament. It was in the book of Romans that Luther felt assured of his salvation when he read in chapter 1 verse 17 that "the just shall live by faith".

From Quiz The European Reformation

Answer: The Imperial Diet of Worms

In 1521, Luther was tried before the Imperial Diet of Worms. The Diet was presided over by The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was trying to gain control of a dangerous situation. Luther was excommunicated, but was engendering mass support amongst the general population and so Charles wanted to be the figure who settled the situation down. It is believed that Charles wanted to have Luther burnt at the stake as a heretic at the outset of the Diet, but was prevented from doing so by Luther's quick abscondance from the scene. The Diet of Speyer in 1529 was important as being the occasion when Protestantism was given its name. The Diet of Speyer also rescinded most of what toleration had been granted to the followers of Martin Luther three years earlier and set the stage for the violence that followed. The Diet of Regensburg, held in 1541, again presided over by Charles, was an attempt to reconcile the increasingly entrenched Protestants by offering major concessions. Both Luther and the Pope later rejected the concessions. The Imperial Diet of Augsburg saw the publication of the 'Interim,' a formula conciliatory to the Protestants but retaining the Roman Catholic ritual in general. Although Charles V believed that he had granted far-reaching concessions to the people and the Protestant authorities in this document, his main concern was to make the Protestants return to the Catholic Church.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: Tetzel

Albert of Brandenburg was a German aristocrat, who purchased the office of Archbishop of Mainz in 1517. Pope Leo X, in turn, sent Tetzel through Germany selling indulgences to reimburse Albert. Half of the money would go to Albert (which Tetzel failed to mention to the German people), and the other half would go to the pope for constructing the new St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Tetzel proclaimed to the people that any buyer would immediately be released from all punishment for his sins, and any relatives and friends in purgatory would be immediately freed to go to heaven. His slogan was, "The money rattles in the box; the soul from purgatory flies." His shameful selling tactics made Luther very angry.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: John Wycliffe

Because he lived before the Reformation began, John Wycliffe is called the "Morning Star of the Reformation". Born around 1329 and educated at Oxford University, Wycliffe was an outstanding scholar who could not accept the doctrines of the Roman church. He became the first man to translate the entire Bible into English. Wycliffe was harrassed by priests, monks, and friars, and his books were banned in England. Although he died in 1384, the Roman church condemned his beliefs and at the Council of Constance in 1415 ordered his writings be burned. Finally, in 1428 the pope ordered that Wycliffe's remains be dug up and burned.

From Quiz Reformation Europe

Answer: Anglican Church

The Church of England had no Protestant doctrines until after the death of Henry VIII, who had kept the church Catholic. The Church of England is often referred to as the Anglican church.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: October 31

It was the day before All Saints' Day, when the selling of indulgences was to be proclaimed again in Wittenberg, that Luther nailed his statement to the church door. He was not the first to challenge the Roman church. There were many others before him who had protested its practices; but compared to what was soon to follow Luther's protest, the earlier challenges were merely slight disturbances.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: John Huss

John Huss was born around 1374 to a poor family. Encouraged by his mother to get an education, he studied theology and philosophy at the University of Prague. Huss became a great preacher causing a movement for reformed Christianity to break out in Bohemia. Alarmed at the growth of support Huss was getting, the Roman church persuaded Huss to go to the Council of Constance in order to explain and defend his beliefs. Repeating his idea that the pope can make mistakes, he refused to recant his belief that the church meant all believers, not just popes and priests. Even though Huss had gone to Constance with a safe-conduct guarantee, he was condemned by the Council and burned at the stake in 1415. His last words were, "Lord, unto Thy hand I commend my spirit".

From Quiz The European Reformation

Answer: Eisleben

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony (now a part of Germany). His parents, Hans and Margarethe Luther, had moved to Eisleben from Mohra. They soon moved on again to Mansfeld, where Hans Luther worked in the copper mines, making enough money for his son's education. Luther was educated at a school in Magdeburg and at Eisenach, and then went on to University at the University of Erfurt, one of the oldest and best attended universities in Germany at the time. He attained his B.A. degree in 1502 and then his M.A. in 1505.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: Fredrick the Wise

Luther was summoned to Rome by Pope Leo X charging him with heresy and contempt of church authority. Luther knew that going to Rome with a charge of heresy meant either life imprisonment or death. Appealing to Prince Fredrick, Luther received a hearing on German soil in the city of Augsburg. He appeared before the pope's representative, who tried to get him to retract some of his theses, but Luther refused. He boldly said to the cardinal that popes can make mistakes, and that a papal bull (an official declaration by the pope) which was used by those who favored indulgences was contrary to Scripture and should be rejected. The pope's response was not favorable. He condemned 41 of Luther's "errors", ordered Luther's books burned, and gave Luther 60 days to submit. Luther did not submit. Instead, he held a bonfire outside of Wittenberg and burned many books that supported the pope along with the papal bull giving him 60 days for submission. Finally, on January 3, 1521, the pope excommunicated Luther.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: Desiderius Erasmus

Born about 1466 in Rotterdam, Erasmus lived and studied all over Europe. Either in person or through letters, he had come to know nearly every major scholar on the continent. In March of 1516, Erasmus printed the first edition of the New Testament in the original Greek, which opened the eyes of many to how much the Vulgate had distorted the New Testament. Erasmus lived to see the Bible translated into many different languages. He died in 1536 as the most famous figure by far of the Northern Renaissance.

From Quiz Reformation Europe

Answer: line of demarcation

Within a year after Christopher Columbus' voyage, Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain requested the pope to draw a line of demarcation to separate Spanish colonial territories from those of Portugal.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: Diet of Worms

In March of 1521, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, summoned Luther to a hearing in front of the diet that would meet in the city of Worms and gave him a safe conduct guarantee to and from the city. During the first day of his hearing, Luther freely admitted to the emperor and diet that he had written the books piled on the table before him and that he even had written others. On the second day, the time had come for Martin Luther to take his stand. He spoke first in German and then repeated his statement in Latin, saying, "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand; I can do no other. God Help me. Amen." The emperor stood and left in anger, and in May of that same year, he issued the Edict of Worms stating that Luther was a heretic. On the way back from Worms, Luther was intercepted by a band of men on horseback, and rumor spread throughout Germany that Luther had been killed. But contrary to the rumors, he was kept alive and hidden by Prince Fredrick in Wartburg Castle disguised as "Knight George". Though he was depressed by solitude and felt tempted and tormented, Luther still wrote about a dozen more books, and translated the New Testament from Greek into German using Erasmus's Greek New Testament text. When he was allowed to leave the castle and return to Wittenberg, Luther remained under Fredrick's protection even though he was outlawed everywhere else in the Holy Roman Empire. As time went by, more and more German princes and Free Cities took Luther's side. In 1530, the princes of Germany were given their opportunity to stand up to the Roman church and the emperor. Even under threat of execution, the princes defended their faith, and by 1555, won the right to choose whether their territory would be Roman Catholic or Lutheran. This truce was known as the Peace of Augsburg.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: Martin Luther

Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. Graduating from the University of Erfurt in 1505, he abandoned his parents' wishes for him to become a lawyer by becoming a monk. In time, Luther went back to school, earned a doctorate, and taught Bible at the University in Wittenberg. After a serious study of the New Testament, Luther began to protest the practices of the church, particularly indulgences. On October 31, 1517, he nailed the Ninety-five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg. After reading a copy of the Theses, Pope Leo X charged Luther with heresy and contempt for church authority. Luther's protest against the church's corrupt ways lead to the Diet of Worms in 1521, where he was put on trial in an attempt to force him to recant his writings and beliefs. Still, Luther took a stand and said, "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."

From Quiz The European Reformation

Answer: Jesuit

St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of Jesus (which became known as the Jesuit Order), noted for its educational, missionary, and charitable works, once regarded by many as the principal agent of the Counter Reformation and later a leading force in modernizing the church. The Jesuits have always been a controversial group, regarded by some as a society to be feared and condemned and by others as the most laudable and esteemed religious order in the Catholic Church. Loyola was a Spanish soldier who experienced a religious conversion during a period of convalescence from a wound received in battle. After a period of intense prayer, he composed the Spiritual Exercises, a guidebook to convert the heart and mind to a closer following of Christ. The society grew rapidly, and it quickly assumed a prominent role in the Counter-Reformation defense and revival of Catholicism. Almost from the beginning, education and scholarship became the principal work.

From Quiz Reformation Europe

Answer: Juan Sebatian de Elcano

Magellan set out to reach the Spice Islands of south-east Asia and claim them for Spain. In 1519 he left Europe, sailed across the Atlantic, and headed southward along the South American coast. Despite the loss of two ships, he persuaded his crew to sail through the strait at the tip of South America that still bears his name. For three months he was at sea before striking Guam. Ten days later he reached the Philippines. While there he took sides in a local dispute on Cebu Island and was killed. His lieutenant, Juan Sebastian de Elcano, took charge of the sole remaining ship and guided it back to Spain where it arrived in September 1522. Only 35 men returned safely.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: Katharina von Bora

Luther once said of wives, "They'll never give me one", even though he encouraged all clergy to marry which would advocate an end to the monasteries. Eventually, he set the example himself and married Katharina. She would take no other for a husband.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: Ulrich Zwingli

Born in 1484, Zwingli was appointed to the post of "people's priest" in the city of Zurich in 1519. He preached through the whole book of Matthew in the New Testament during a time when preaching of the Bible by a priest was unheard of. He also attacked many Roman doctrines. After a debate in which Zwingli defended his faith as stated in sixty-seven theses, the city council of Zurich decided to support the Reformation in 1523. However, not all of Switzerland agreed with this, and as a result, wars broke out between the Swiss Protestants and the Swiss Catholics until 1531 when both sides accepted that some areas of Switzerland would be Protestant and others Catholic. During the wars, Zwingli served the Protestant forces as a chaplain and was, unfortunately, killed in battle in 1531. Nevertheless, it was thanks to Zwingli's leadership that the Reformation had come to Switzerland.

From Quiz Reformation Europe

Answer: pluralism

Because the moral tone in Rome was so lax, it is not surprising that throughout Europe bishops imitated the popes in pursuing wealth and prestige. Pluralism, the practice of church leaders holding two or more bishoprics in order to collect additional funds, was common. (Simony refers to the purchase of offices in the church - something that happened at that time).

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 2 : Martin Luther

Answer: liberal arts

Luther strongly advocated the teaching of liberal arts because they liberate the mind making it free from dependence of dominant opinions and narrow minded views which actually hinder the study of the Bible. The liberal arts include languages, literature, philosophy, fine arts (music, painting, sculpture), history, mathematics, and science. Luther spoke against scholastism, which was the effort of the Roman church to combine Greek philosophy and Christianity.

From Quiz The Protestant Reformation Part 1

Answer: John Calvin

John Calvin was born in Noyon, France in 1509 and became committed to the Protestant faith by 1534. Having to flee France due to King Francis I's anti-Protestant law, Calvin put many ideas into practice in Geneva. He lived there for twenty-eight years while writing and preaching which influenced every aspect of the city's life. Calvin died in 1564. Today, he is known as the founder of the Presbyterian church as well as other churches that are called Reformed.

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