Luther and the Beginnings of the Protestant Revolt.
There can be but very little choice of method in the presentation of the facts connected with the beginnings of the Protestant revolt. Luther’s life must be taken up in more or less detail and the attention directed to the various influences with which he came in contact. To secure a proper understanding of the effects of his teachings, the political as well as the religious background of his endeavors must be carefully sketched. Little difficulty will probably be experienced in showing how the Renaissance movement became intimately associated with church reform as it passed the barriers of the Alps and took hold of the more serious-minded Germans. This connection is much easier to establish from the fact that the attention of the class has already been drawn to the part taken by Erasmus in the Renaissance proper. The question will probably arise as to how far the teacher should delve into the more distant past to resurrect the various efforts at reform which marked the earlier centuries. Any opportunity for a résumé of this character should be heartily welcomed, as it serves better than any formal review to test the grasp by the student of the facts already covered. When the teacher is ready to take up the revolt itself, there is apparently but one logical method of securing results, and that is to present Luther’s life in as much detail as time will permit, showing how he felt himself driven by the force of his own logic into a position entirely antagonistic to the Church as it was then established. The parting of the ways is reached with the great scene at Worms. Contrary to his expectations, his protest within the Church had made him not only its avowed enemy, but the founder of a new sect.