martin luther and Birth of Protestantism :: essays research papers

Thesis statement: Martin Luther was responsible for the break-up of the Catholic Church Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search. From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, â€Å"In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places† During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, â€Å"Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone† (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, â€Å"this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation†. To construct Saint Peters Basilica, Archbishop Albert borrowed money from the Fuggers (wealthy banking family). To pay for this loan Pope Leo X gave permission to Archbishop Albert to sell indulgences in Germany. An indulgence is a way to reconcile with God, by confessing your sins to a priest and perform a penance. By the later Middle Ages people believed that indulgence removed all their sins and ensured entry to heaven. The selling of indulgence troubled Luther, he thought people were ignorant to believe that they didn’t have to repent after they bought an indulgence. Martin Luther was a friar very devoted to the Church but after analyzing all these aspects he decided to do something about it. On October 31, 1517 he attached to the door of Wittenberg Castle a list of 95 theses or propositions on indulgences. These theses criticized papal policies and were objections about he church put on hold for discussion.

John Taylor Gatto Against School Essay

When it comes to the traditional education, John Taylor Gatto’s â€Å"Against School† questions whether we really need the nine month, drawn out, traditional curriculum. Gatto goes on to name several successful people through history that were not products of a contemporary school system. When I think of Gatto’s theory of forced schooling, a friend of mine named John Smith who goes by the alias of Viper comes to mind. Viper is in his late 20’s, lives in South Philadelphia, and has worked as a Roofer for the past 10 years. Viper went to a public school in South Philadelphia. Viper went to a school where said, â€Å"It wasn’t easy. I was scrawny and white and we were poorer than the jigs that went to school wit us, so we caught alota shit.† Viper’s school was extremely underfunded. â€Å"Some days there would be trash laid out by the trash cans cause nobody would change the trash bags, the food was shit, and the bathrooms†¦forget i t.† He would walk twelve blocks back to his house just to go to the bathroom. There were no extracurricular activities like book clubs and band and the school was rundown and decrepit. Eventually he started to miss classes regularly. He felt that the teachers did not care. Classes were extremely boring to him. He was actually approached by his biology teacher and told he could cut class everyday as long as he turned in his work and he would receive a D at the end of the year. He was not amused by the offer, he was not even interested in graduating anymore. â€Å"I expected to be a laborer for the rest of my life so I felt like education was unimportant.† Viper’s education started taking a back seat to work around his sophomore year of high school. He was the middle child in a family of four, all of whom have dropped out of high school and are laborers today. â€Å"My parents made me get a job when I was thirteen, that’s the way it was with all my brothers,† says Viper. Eventually he started to make a decent amount of money and admits to being extremely naà ¯ve, saying â€Å"Why the fuck was I gonna go ta school for eight more years if I was makin’ 25-30 thousand dollars a year. Do the math, instead of spendin 100 thousand dollars in college and waste my time in school I coulda made 200 thousand dollars by the time I was 24.† One day Viper decided to make an appointment with a school counselor. He was hardly going to class, working every day when he was supposed to be in school, and partying every night and having fun. School was more of a social event. He was just going to school to see his friends and make plans for the weekend. When he told the school counselor that he was planning on dropping out the counselor stood up, looked him in the eye, extended his hand and said, â€Å"Good Luck!† â€Å"The guy didn’t even give a shit!† Viper said. By the time December came around of his sophomore year, he was a high school dropout. He was working everyday by that time already so he was not stagnant. He was still living with his parents. The fact that he dropped out was ok with them because he could â€Å"contribute to the house,† as his father put it. Viper eventually saved enough money to get his own place and now lives with his wife of three years and their two children who are two and five years of age. He said, â€Å"I always thought I learned more out of school than in high school, but it’s not what my kids are gonna do†. He aspires to open his own roofing company one day. Although I do not agree with the path that Viper chose in life, he is happy and successful today. He is a great father and happily married. He does not drink anymore and devotes every second of his free time to his family. In a way he is almost a survivor to me. He is not well spoken or the brightest guy in the world, but he would d o anything in his power to help any person in a bind.

Elizabeth Van Lew Southerner Who Spied for the Union

Known for: Pro-Union Southerner during the Civil War who spied for the UnionDates: October 17, 1818 - September 25, 1900 Slave power crushes freedom of speech and of opinion. Slave power degrades labor. Slave power is arrogant, is jealous and intrusive, is cruel, is despotic, not only over the slave but over the community, the state. -- Elizabeth Van Lew Elizabeth Van Lew was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Her parents were both from the northern states: her father from New York and her mother from Philadelphia, where her father had been mayor. Her father became wealthy as a hardware merchant, and her family was among the wealthiest and most socially prominent there. Abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew was educated in a Philadelphia Quaker school, where she became an abolitionist. When she returned to her familys home in Richmond, and after her fathers death,  she convinced her mother to free the familys slaves. Supporting the Union After Virginia seceded and the Civil War began, Elizabeth Van Lew openly supported the Union. She took items of clothing and food and medicine to prisoners at the Confederate Libby Prison and passed information to U.S. General Grant, spending much of her fortune to support her espionage. She may also have helped prisoners escape from Libby Prison. To cover her activities, she took on a persona of Crazy Bet, dressing oddly and acting strangely; she was never arrested for her spying. One of the Van Lew freed slaves, Mary Elizabeth Bowser, whose education in Philadelphia was financed by Van Lew, returned to Richmond.  Elizabeth Van Lew helped get her employment in the Confederate White House. As a maid, Bowser was ignored as she served meals and overheard conversations. She was also able to read documents she found, in a household where it was assumed that she would not be able to read. Bowser passed what she learned to fellow slaves, and with Van Lews aid, this valuable information eventually made its way to Union agents. When General Grant took charge of the Union armies, Van Lew and Grant, though Grants military intelligence head, General Sharpe, developed a system of couriers. When the Union troops took Richmond in April, 1865, Van Lew was noted as being the first to fly the Union flag, an action that was met with an angry mob.  General Grant visited Van Lew when he arrived in Richmond. After the War She had spent most of her money in her pro-Union activities.  After the war, Grant appointed Elizabeth Van Lew as postmistress of Richmond, a position that allowed her to live in some comfort amid the poverty of the war-torn city. She was largely shunned by her neighbors, including anger from many when she refused to close the post office to recognize Memorial Day. She was reappointed in 1873, again by Grant, but lost the job in President Hayess administration. She was disappointed when she also failed to be reappointed by President Garfield, even with support for her plea by Grant.  She retired quietly in Richmond.  The family of a Union soldier she had helped when he was a prisoner, Colonel Paul Revere, raised money to provide her with an annuity which allowed her to live in near poverty but stay in the family mansion. Van Lews niece lived with her as a companion until the nieces death in 1889. Van Lew refused at one point to pay her tax assessment, as a statement for womens rights since she was not permitted the vote. Elizabeth Van Lew died in poverty in 1900, mourned mainly by the families of the slaves she had caused to be freed.  Buried in Richmond, friends from Massachusetts raised the money for a monument at her grave with this epitaph: She risked everything that is dear to man -- friends, fortune, comfort, health, life itself, all for the one absorbing desire of her heart, that slavery be abolished and the Union be preserved. Connections The black businesswoman, Maggie Lena Walker, was the daughter of Elizabeth Draper who had been an enslaved  servant in Elizabeth Van Lews home. Maggie Lena Walkers stepfather was William Mitchell, Elizabeth Van Lews butler.) Source Ryan, David D. A Yankee Spy in Richmond: The Civil War Diary of Crazy Bet Van Lew. 1996. Varon, Elizabeth R. Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy 2004. Zeinert, Karen. Elizabeth Van Lew: Southern Belle, Union Spy. 1995. Ages 9-12.