Here I Stand: pgs 129-190

The German Hercules:
This section of Here I Stand mentions briefly the German regards towards nationalism and humanism. While in this time Germany was without a centralized government, some were looking to change this. Hutton, for example, was in the process of stimulating the public towards the nationalist movement. He wrote on the Roman Catholic Church's sins in what he called The Roman Trilogy. In many areas he searched for the public's support, in church officials and affluent individuals alike, but found that the only response to his pleas were in his own "class" as it is explained, the knights. However, Luther shot down Hutton's dreams of domination tainted with blood and war, and said "I am not willing to fight for the gospel with bloodshed."

The Wild Boar In The Vineyard:
Thus far Martin Luther has detailed his philosophy on the paths to salvation and thoughts on God, but he has not laid out methods and practices of Church, as Bainton says beginning this chapter. Luther declared a radical stance on the traditional sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, denouncing five of the seven. Those he declared false were: Confirmation, marriage, ordination, penance, and extreme unction. What remained of the sacraments were the Lords Supper and baptism. Luther's reasoning behind abolishing these sacraments were that "a sacrament must have been directly instituted by Christ and must be distinctly Christian."

Bainton explains that the the removal of ordination was more severe than others, in that it stripped the priest of unprecedented power and gave the power of the priest to any ordinary man. "All Christians are priests," he explains.

Not only does Luther denounce these five sacraments, but he tampers with the foundations of the two left as well, which causes more irritation than the removal of the five.

Peasant Revolts 2

Central to the peasants argument concerning the reformation was the Twelve Articles of the Upper Swabian Peasants. It was explained to have been the "most widely influential" program for the peasantry, gaining much circulation and attention. It is also said to have "constituted the key manifesto of the entire Peasant' War." Why this document?

Two preachers, Lotzer and Schappeler, condensed the original 60+ articles into those strictly central to the core values and ideals of the peasantry. I believe this trim to be wise; peasants who work busy schedules would be able to read the articles at more convenience, which was part of the attraction. The articles  Upon condensing these articles, Schappeler thought it wise to include Bible verses in dictating the arguments of the Peasantry so as to create the illusion of God-mandated rights to the peasants. I believe this tactic to be critical in appealing to the ethos of the Christian people.

Outlined in the articles are commands that Peasants be entitles to elect their own pastors to preach the work of God, the disbandment of serfdom, more fair tax and rent on lands and righteousness within the criminal justice system.

The articles, I believe, were so successful due to their simplicity and sensible ethological connection to the Bible. Peasants having problems appealing to their Lords or spreading the ideas of the reformation could more eloquently argue their points, armed with this document. Also, a more sturdy foundation of peasants could unify under the concepts discerned in the articles, as opposed to a disorganized group of barking dogs which would surely fail to intimidate their superiors.

The Peasants formed the Christian Union, and created a set of rules and guidelines which to gain entry needed to be practiced wholeheartedly. These guidelines were expressed in The Memmingen Federal Ordinance. What pleases me about this document is the fraternity like connection the Union members were also drew up more documents demanding just lawful structures and procedures.

Pamphlets and Protestant Reformation

In the beginning of this excerpt of Protestants: The Birth of a Revolution, Ozment begins by disclaiming that historical interpretations of this movement tend to differ with different historians. There is not much factual backing that can help discern the thoughts and motives behind the European subjects in this age, so much of what is explained or told of this revolutionary age is largely assumed or inferred from what tangible evidence we do have. 

There was a great surge in literacy and education in this age. New universities and boarding schools were built in Germany, France, Italy and England by the hundreds. Likewise, to accompany this growth in the intellectual body of Europe, there was a dire demand for mass distribution of printed texts. So begins the mobilization of information and ideas. Protestants strategically gaged this opportunity and began printing thousands of pamphlets. Much of this revolution, it seems, is played out in the minds and interactions of the common people in these centuries. Ozments says that while the pamphlets were pivotal in the spreading of Protestants ideas, the ideas and lessons written on the pamphlets were spread orally in a more rapid, fervent manner which set the countrysides ablaze with bright new ideas for change and reformation. 

(http://jumpthecurve.net/health-care/exaptation-and-the-future/)

The ideas spread throughout this time by the Laity, (the common people, in regards to the clergy) were in opposition of the corrupt establishment of religious. In attempts to debunk the Catholic church, commoners assembled pamphlets themselves and wrote directly to priests and clergymen, telling them no longer to treat their people as sheep and blind mice. They laity were tired of being scared by sinister sermons of hell and damnation and tricked into giving money and penance to the church. Protestants cast light on the Church's many corruptions and spread these ideas fervently. 

Protestants gained their thunder through denouncing the Pope and their religious figurehead, and referring only to the Bible as the source of superior truth.