Posted: February 8th, 2015

Humanities

Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Welcome to the Discussion Board for Chapter 22. In this chapter, we move back to Europe. Watson introduces us to such characters as Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and criminal who took selling “indulgences” to a new level (he was infamous for this). Indulgences, of course, are tickets into Heaven, as such. Given such sales, Protestant thinkers as Martin Luther,and denied that the Catholic Church had any special access to God, and were corrupt anyway. Luther held that our own “consciences” will lead us to God, although he was not always consistent here. As Watson notes, Luther said we should use our conciences, but was happy to use violence and murder when people disagreed with him. John Calvin was another story. Instead, although he to was no fan of the Church, he was a dictator. Concience did not matter to him. When he managed to wrest control of Geneva, he persecuted and murdered all that disagreed with his version of the faith. Now, as Watson notes, the Catholic Church did not take such Protestant insurrection and changes lightly. Indeed, the Church persecuted and murdered anyone who might disagree with their authority and encouraged people to inform on others (and rewarded them with the victims land). Moreover, the Church censored and burned books (inventing lists of banned books, which still exist today), and murdered William Tyndale for translating the Bible. Indeed, this was a time of religious intolerance and war. Still, as Watson notes, this period sparked the Baroque style in art. Given this, the time had some indirect benefits.

Answer the following question in a detail using sources ONLY FROM THE ATTACHMENTS NOT ANYTHING ELSE!

1. During this period of religious war, there were few new ideas or inventions, as such. In other words, it is not as though such disputes gave rise to any ideas beneficial to mankind. However this may be, all such events have an historical impact. In your opinion, did such religious disagreements indirectly benefit us in any way?