Why did the Christian church need to be reformed?
For some time, many practices of the Christian church had been a source of controversy, heresy and corruption. It had departed from the teachings and purpose Christ intended, was tossed in much turmoil and continued in strife. After the Western Roman Empire fell, this created a number of independent kingdoms, each having severe implications upon the church in its territory. This resulted in new function and power to the monasteries and the office of Pope. This and centuries of internal rivalry posed new challenges for the Christian Church, to the extent of leading the Western (“Catholic”) church to split from the Eastern (“Orthodox”) church in 1054 AD, particularly over disagreement about the Triune Nature of God. These were dark ages for the Church. What did the Church consider to be authoritative spiritual truth during those times? Edicts from the Pope and directives from priests were perceived as authoritative, not the Bible. Remember, the printing press had not been invented. Very
