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The negative side of the Renaissance is that it became a race to see who could build the biggest, most beautiful building, or pay for the most expensive work of art, even the Church got into this race when Pope Leo X (a Medici, 1475-1521) commissioned St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Not having enough money to pay for it he came up with a clever plan: to sell indulgences. Basically, in 1515, he promised eternal salvation to those who donated to build the St. Peter’s. Many thought this was unconscionable, including a Catholic priest in Germany called Martin Luther. Others before him had already criticized the Church (strong voices like Jan Hus and Girolamo Savonarola) and been killed, so to make a public statement against the corruption of the Church was a brave move. In 1517, Luther nailed a list of 95 points to the door of the church in Wittenberg, where he lived. Apart from criticizing corruption, he also believed that there should be no need for intermediaries between men and God. What else did he believe in? Add at least one idea to Facebook, but read what others have written so that there are no repetitions.
He was asked to recant and refused and was excommunicated. He would have probably been killed had he not had the help of one of the German Princes Frederick the Wise, who hid him in his castle for a year. Luther continued to write, translating eth Bible into German, which was the first book to be mass printed with the help of the newly invented printing press, which resulted in the unification of the German language. But as others took on his ideas a series of revolts, basically civil wars, swept through central Europe. Many backed up Luther, perhaps not so much for its religious principles but because if the Church was kicked out, its properties would be up for grabs, and its political and social control would cease .
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