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2. The Protestant Christian Church
The Protestant Christian Church was formulated in 1529, when ‘protesters’ (hence
the name, Protestant) called for the reformation of Christianity during the Conference of the Diets
of Speyer Council. The Council had issued a legal statement meant to obstruct Martin Luther from
the teaching of his beliefs. Luther’s supporters “protested” and clashed with the Catholic Church,
It resulted in the Protestant Reformation and the establishment of the Protestants in their own church.
Martin Luther was a German Bishop in the Augustinian order. He had interpreted
a section of the New Testament Bible that examined how men can be reconciled to God; he questioned
whether it is achieved best by rituals of charity practices, or by true faith in Jesus. He held that neither
1-2 Archbishop Emeritus Michael Mechai the merit-making rituals, nor atonement to priests, can make people be reconciled with God, and that
Kitbunchu of Bangkok Papst performing it was only by true faith that one could be united with God. In 1517, Martin Luther proposed “the
the ritual of anointing a Bishop Ninety-five Theses” for Reformation, which became the origin of the Protestant denomination. In
3-4 Inside the Christ Church Cathedral, of the meantime, there were many conflicts between the Churches and the Kingdom over the share of
power and benefits. Particularly, it was the controversial act of Christian priests providing the sale
the Anglican Church denomination of of “indulgences” to forgive a worshipper’s wrongdoings, but which earned vast sums of money for
England. It is a branch of the Protestant the church, that caused a decline of faith in Jesus among many adherents. Martin Luther said only
Christian Church, established in 1904. God alone could grant forgiveness. Consequently, Martin Luther was expelled from the Christianity
The use of an image of Jesus in Crucifixion community in 1521, but he already had many followers who agreed with his theses and they formed
is different from other Protestant themselves into a new denomination, called the Protestants. This denomination strictly followed the
churches, which usually do not have practices of the scriptures in the Bible. They gave no acknowledgement to any regulations and orders
images. from the Pope in Rome and did not accept his authority or that of the Vatican administration. The
main differences between Catholicism and Protestant beliefs is over the interpretations in the Bible.
They do not agree with the Catholic position of a celibate clergy, the exalted position of Mary, the
Saints as equal to Jesus, and the worship of Madonna and Saints. The Protestant denomination is
widespread in North America and some parts of Europe, with many followers in Germany, England
and the Scandinavian countries.

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