Sitemap
Every page on this site, grouped by what you are looking for. Start anywhere, or use the filter to find a person, place, doctrine, or date.
New here? Read these four, in order.
Together they take about thirty minutes and give you the whole shape of the Reformation before you go looking for details.
- What is the Protestant Reformation? — the plainest definition on the site
- Why the Reformation dawned — what had gone wrong, and why it mattered
- The Five Fives — the whole movement on one page
- The Gospel — the thing all of it was recovering
The Story
The narrative spine. If you want to know what happened and in what order, begin here.
The six questions
Before the Reformation
- After Light, DarknessHow the medieval church lost the gospel
- ConstantinianismWhen the church married the state
- Platonic InfluencesGreek philosophy inside Christian theology
- PelagiusThe controversy over grace and human ability
- PapacyHow papal authority developed
- CorruptionsIndulgences, simony, and the abuses that provoked reform
- Not the RenaissanceWhy the Reformation was not simply a cultural revival
Turning points
- A Unique ProvidenceThe convergence of factors God used
- The Gutenberg Printing PressThe technology that made reform unstoppable
- Greek New TestamentErasmus and the recovery of the original text
- After Darkness, LightWhy the Reformation still matters today
Reform
What was being reformed, what it was reformed to, and the doctrines at stake.
The five solas
- Five SolasThe five battle cries, introduced
- Sola ScripturaScripture alone as final authority
- Sola FideJustification by faith alone
- Sola GratiaSalvation by grace alone
- Solus ChristusChrist alone as mediator
- Soli Deo GloriaTo the glory of God alone
The five controversies
- The ChurchHer history, her marks, her authority
- AuthorityDoes the church have authority over Scripture?
- JustificationHow can a sinner become right with God?
- SacramentsDoes the church dispense grace through sacraments?
- PreachingWhat is the first mark of a true church?
- PurityHow does a Christian live with joy?
The five worldview matters
- Worldview MattersHow the Reformation recovered a biblical worldview
- TruthWhere knowledge comes from
- GodWho God is and how He is known
- ManHuman nature, dignity, and fallenness
- RedemptionHow God saves
- PurposeThe chief end of man
The five reminders
Movements and opponents
- ReformWhat reform meant and how far it went
- Roman CatholicismRoman tradition compared with sacred Scripture
- The “Radical” ReformationThose who went further than the magisterial reformers
- Reformation OverviewAll Five Fives on a single page
People
God works through instruments. These are the lives He used, and the lives that surrounded them.
The five major reformers
- ReformersWhy biography matters for the church
- Martin Luther1483–1546 · God's Hammer, who formally ignited the Reformation
- Ulrich Zwingli1484–1531 · God's Soldier, the Swiss shepherd and statesman
- William Tyndale1494–1536 · God's Scholar, who gave God an English voice
- John Calvin1509–1564 · God's Theologian, organizer of the Reformation
- John Knox1513–1572 · God's Preacher, who feared God and no man
Forerunners
- Peter WaldoPreaching and Scripture for the poor of Lyon
- Anne of BohemiaThe queen whose marriage opened Bohemia to Wycliffe
- John WycliffeThe morning star of the Reformation
- Jan HusBurned at Constance for Wycliffe's convictions
- Girolamo SavonarolaThe Florentine preacher against corruption
Other reformers
- Philip MelanchthonLuther's colleague and the Augsburg Confession
- Martin BucerStrasbourg's reformer and Calvin's mentor
- Heinrich BullingerZwingli's successor in Zurich
- William FarelThe preacher who compelled Calvin to stay in Geneva
- Pierre ViretThe reformer of French-speaking Switzerland
- Thomas CranmerArchbishop, liturgist, and Marian martyr
- Thomas BilneyThe Cambridge convert who influenced Latimer
Women of the Reformation
- Women of the ReformationA legacy of lives devoted to God
- Anne of Bohemia1366–1394 · queen of England, patron of Scripture
- Anna ReinhardZwingli's wife, widowed at Kappel
- Katarina von BoraThe runaway nun who married Luther
- Lady Jane Grey1537–1554 · nine days queen, executed at seventeen
Friends of the Reformation
- John of GauntWycliffe's protector at court
- Frederick the WiseThe elector who hid Luther at the Wartburg
- Elector JohnFrederick's successor and Lutheran champion
- Philip of HesseConvener of the Marburg Colloquy
- Humphrey MonmouthThe London merchant who funded Tyndale
- King Edward VIThe boy king under whom English reform advanced
The Bible
The book at the center of it all — how it came into English, and what it cost.
The English Bible
- The BibleThe Bible's place in the Reformation
- History of the English BibleTimeline from Wycliffe forward
- Greek New TestamentErasmus and the printed Greek text of 1516
- King James Version1611 · the translation and its debt to Tyndale
Scripture and memory
- Bible MemoryMemorize the texts the Reformation recovered
- Sola ScripturaThe formal principle of the Reformation
Legacy
What the Reformation left behind, in the church and in the world.
In the church
- LegacyThe principles, people, and providences
- Theological RecoveriesDoctrines regained in the sixteenth century
- Creeds and ConfessionsThe documents that fixed Reformation theology
- Councils and SynodsAssemblies that shaped the church, for good and ill
In the world
- World ImpactHow the gospel reshaped a civilization
- CivicsGovernment, liberty, and the rule of law
- EducationLiteracy, schools, and universal schooling
- SocietyMarriage, family, and care for the poor
- CommerceVocation, work, and economic life
- CultureLanguage, music, and the arts
- ThanksgivingThe Reformation roots of the American holiday
Study Tools
Interactive tools, reading lists, and everything built for teaching.
Timelines
- All timelinesIndex of every interactive timeline
- Early ReformsKey figures before 1517
- Reformation EventsFifty events that made the Reformation
- Luther timelineHis life year by year
- Zwingli timelineHis life year by year
- Tyndale timelineHis life year by year
- Calvin timelineHis life year by year
- Knox timelineHis life year by year
- PuritansThe events that forged the English Puritan legacy
- ThanksgivingFrom Separatists to the American holiday
Maps and visuals
- MapsInteractive maps of people and events
- Geography of the ReformationHow terrain and trade shaped the spread of reform
- Major Reformers mapWhere each reformer did his greatest work
- Charts and TablesComparisons and summaries at a glance
- Reformation WallThe Geneva monument and the men on it
Reading
- ArticlesAll twelve articles, in reading order
- Stewards of HistoryWhy this history is entrusted to us
- SacramentsThe sacramental system and its critique
- BooksRecommended reading with reviews
- LinksReviewed websites for further study
- ResourcesEverything above, plus documentaries
About
Who publishes this site and why.
- HomeStart page
- About UsTrinity Bible Church, Morgan Hill, California
- The GospelWhat exactly is the gospel?
- SitemapThis page
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