published On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres in 1543,large numbers of educated people finally ceased to believe that the earth was the center of the universe.Man now seemed increasingly capable of understanding and controlling his environment,of shaping his own life,even his destiny.Renewed study of ancient Greek and Hebrew literature inspired a new and critical interest in the Bible and a close scrutiny of its text.The new humanism and the critical spirit of the Renaissance in turn gave impetus to the Reformation; the religious revolution that dominated Western Europe in the 16th century brought the end of medieval Christianity and the rise of Protestantism. During the Middle Ages (476-1453),the Roman Catholic Church was the dominant religion in western Europe.Like other institutions of medieval society,the Catholic Church was a hierarchy.At the top was the Pope in Rome,and under him were the descending ranks of other church officials such as cardinals, archbishops,and bishops.At the bottom of the Catholic hierarchy were parish priests,each serving his own village,as well as monks and nuns living in monasteries and convents.Medieval Popes were weak,and their power felt little in the lives of most Europeans.In the 15th century,as the monarchs of Europe grew more powerful,so too did the Popes.The Catholic Church acquired land throughout Europe and added to its income by collecting tithing from church members.Church officials continued the 13th-century practice of selling "indulgences,"which promised to shorten the tormenting time of the believers in purgatory by supposedly drawing on a"treasury of merit"amassed by the good works of Christ and the saints.By then, the Catholic Church and the Papacy had become enormously powerful but increasingly indifferent to popular religious concerns.Popes and bishops flaunted their wealth,church officials meddled in secular politics, while poorly educated parish priests neglected their pastoral duties.At the same time,popular demands for religious assurance grew increasingly intense.The concern for salvation swelled in response to the disorienting changes sweeping the continent during the 15th and 16th centuries-the widening gulf between rich and poor,the rise in prices,and the colonization of America. Into this climate of heightened spirituality stepped Martin Luther (1483-1546),who advocated the religious movement of Protestantism concurring with the spirit of Renaissance in Europe.Like many contemporaries,Luther was consumed by fears over his eternal fate.Convinced that he was damned.he found no consolation in the Catholic Church.Catholic doctrine taught that a person could be saved by faith in God and by his own good works such as leading a virtuous life,observing the sacraments,making pilgrimages to holy places,and praying to Christ and the saints.Luther was convinced that God did not require fallen humankind to earn salvation.Salvation,he concluded,came by faith alone,the "free gift"of God to undeserving sinners.In 1513,Luther elaborated the idea of"justification by faith alone"and believed that the ability to live a good life would not be the cause of salvation but its consequence.Once men and women believed that they had saving faith,moral behavior was possible.In 1517,Martin Luther became increasingly critical of the Catholic Church as an institution.He posted 95 theses,in which he attacked the Catholic hierarchy for selling salvation in the form of indulgences and expressed the anxieties of so many devout laypeople and their outrage at the church hierarchy's neglect.When the Pope excommunicated him,Luther became more radical,advancing the idea of"the priesthood of all believers." He asserted that the Church and its officials were not infallible;only the Scriptures were without error.Every person should read and interpret the Bible for himself and obtain the power claimed by priests without the necessity of approaching God through the hierarchical church and its clergy. The most influential of Luther's successors was John Calvin (1509-1564),a French lawyer turned theologian.Calvin agreed with Luther that men and women could not merit their salvation.But while Luther's God was a loving deity who extended his mercy to sinful humankind,Calvin conceived of God as an awesome sovereign,omniscient and omnipotent controlling force in human history that would ultimately 3published On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres in 1543, large numbers of educated people finally ceased to believe that the earth was the center of the universe. Man now seemed increasingly capable of understanding and controlling his environment, of shaping his own life, even his destiny. Renewed study of ancient Greek and Hebrew literature inspired a new and critical interest in the Bible and a close scrutiny of its text. The new humanism and the critical spirit of the Renaissance in turn gave impetus to the Reformation; the religious revolution that dominated Western Europe in the 16th century brought the end of medieval Christianity and the rise of Protestantism. During the Middle Ages (476–1453), the Roman Catholic Church was the dominant religion in western Europe. Like other institutions of medieval society, the Catholic Church was a hierarchy. At the top was the Pope in Rome, and under him were the descending ranks of other church officials such as cardinals, archbishops, and bishops. At the bottom of the Catholic hierarchy were parish priests, each serving his own village, as well as monks and nuns living in monasteries and convents. Medieval Popes were weak, and their power felt little in the lives of most Europeans. In the 15th century, as the monarchs of Europe grew more powerful, so too did the Popes. The Catholic Church acquired land throughout Europe and added to its income by collecting tithing from church members. Church officials continued the 13th–century practice of selling “indulgences,” which promised to shorten the tormenting time of the believers in purgatory by supposedly drawing on a “treasury of merit” amassed by the good works of Christ and the saints. By then, the Catholic Church and the Papacy had become enormously powerful but increasingly indifferent to popular religious concerns. Popes and bishops flaunted their wealth, church officials meddled in secular politics, while poorly educated parish priests neglected their pastoral duties. At the same time, popular demands for religious assurance grew increasingly intense. The concern for salvation swelled in response to the disorienting changes sweeping the continent during the 15th and 16th centuries — the widening gulf between rich and poor, the rise in prices, and the colonization of America. Into this climate of heightened spirituality stepped Martin Luther (1483–1546), who advocated the religious movement of Protestantism concurring with the spirit of Renaissance in Europe. Like many contemporaries, Luther was consumed by fears over his eternal fate. Convinced that he was damned, he found no consolation in the Catholic Church. Catholic doctrine taught that a person could be saved by faith in God and by his own good works such as leading a virtuous life, observing the sacraments, making pilgrimages to holy places, and praying to Christ and the saints. Luther was convinced that God did not require fallen humankind to earn salvation. Salvation, he concluded, came by faith alone, the “free gift” of God to undeserving sinners. In 1513, Luther elaborated the idea of “justification by faith alone” and believed that the ability to live a good life would not be the cause of salvation but its consequence. Once men and women believed that they had saving faith, moral behavior was possible. In 1517, Martin Luther became increasingly critical of the Catholic Church as an institution. He posted 95 theses, in which he attacked the Catholic hierarchy for selling salvation in the form of indulgences and expressed the anxieties of so many devout laypeople and their outrage at the church hierarchy’s neglect. When the Pope excommunicated him, Luther became more radical, advancing the idea of “the priesthood of all believers.” He asserted that the Church and its officials were not infallible; only the Scriptures were without error. Every person should read and interpret the Bible for himself and obtain the power claimed by priests without the necessity of approaching God through the hierarchical church and its clergy. The most influential of Luther’s successors was John Calvin (1509–1564), a French lawyer turned theologian. Calvin agreed with Luther that men and women could not merit their salvation. But while Luther’s God was a loving deity who extended his mercy to sinful humankind, Calvin conceived of God as an awesome sovereign, omniscient and omnipotent controlling force in human history that would ultimately 3