Religious Reform
马丁·路德宗教改革

The protests against the corruption emanating from Rome began in Germany when reformation ideals developed in 1517-1521 with Martin Luther expressing doubts over the legitimacy of indulgences and the pope. The Reformation was born of Luther's dual declaration — first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone; and second, identifying the Papacy as the Antichrist. The highly educated Reformation leaders used prophecies of the Bible as their most powerful weapon in appealing to committed believers to break from the church, which they perceive as the new Babylon.
对罗马腐败的抗议活动开始于德国。在1517至1521年间，随着改革思想的不断发展，马丁·路德也提出了对赎罪券合法性以及对教皇的质疑。宗教改革开始于路德的两点宣言：第一，因信称义和因信仰而得救。第二，将教皇视为基督的敌人。受过高等教育的改革领导人将圣经的启示，作为他们最有力的武器，吸引信徒脱离曾被他们视为新巴比伦的教会。

It was the rallying point that made the Reformation nearly unassailable. The Reformation is often dated to 31 October 1517, All Hallows' Eve, in Wittenberg, Saxony, where Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of the Castle Church. The theses debated and criticized the Church and the papacy, but concentrated upon the selling of indulgences and doctrinal policies about purgatory, particular judgment, and the authority of the pope. Although the core motivation behind these changes was theological, many other factors played a part. On a technological level, the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg proved extremely significant in that it provided the means for the rapid dissemination of new ideas.
强大的号召力使改革几乎无懈可击。改革始于1517年10月31日的万圣节之夜，在萨克森州的维滕贝格，马丁·路德将他的《九十五条论纲》钉在了温莎城堡的大门上。这篇文章批判了教会和教皇，但集中在赎罪券的售卖、关于炼狱和特别判决的教义政策以及教皇的权威。虽然这些变革背后的核心动机是神学的，许多其他因素也发挥着作用。在科学技术层面，古腾堡发明的印刷机也为新思想的迅速传播提供了手段。