1. Luther inveighs against the Church granting ‘indulgences’ in return for good works, for example helping build a cathedral. Indulgences can be described as ‘the remission of punishment (as in purgatory) due for sins. The indulgence is granted by the church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution.” What’s wrong with that? How can this be said to ‘spark the Reformation’?
2. Faith becomes central to the Protestants. How is it different than doing good works? When one says it involves ‘belief’ in God, in Jesus’ divinity, is that like believing that the earth is round? or believing that you should honor your word?
3. Calvin’s theories of pre-destination seem to obviate the need for anyone to act morally. How can you interpret them otherwise?
4. It is often said that the Reformation, despite its intense religiosity, established an important basis for the liberal democratic revolutions. What contributions does it make to theories of inequality and equality? If the Catholic Church represented an unjust hierarchy, how might that be applied socially?
5. Some offshoots of the Protestant movement became fundamentalist, some became highly authoritarian, some became sects that separated themselves from society and lived very austere lives. What aspects of Protestantism as seen in Luther and Calvin might develop in those directions?
Application: What help might the Reformation texts give you to choose between between a summer job helping the poor and one hiking in the mountains, communing with nature
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