Online Class Notes (Mike)

The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. It resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to differences in doctrine.

The Protestant Reformation began in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, a teacher and a monk, published a document he called Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, or 95 Theses. The document was a series of 95 ideas about Christianity that he invited people to debate with him. These ideas were controversial because they directly contradicted the Catholic Church’s teachings.

Luther’s statements challenged the Catholic Church’s role as intermediary between people and God, specifically when it came to the indulgence system, which in part allowed people to purchase a certificate of pardon for the punishment of their sins. Luther argued against the practice of buying or earning forgiveness, believing instead that salvation is a gift God gives to those who have faith.

Luther’s objections to the indulgence system paved the way for other challenges to the Catholic doctrine throughout Europe. For example, John Calvin in France and Huldrych Zwingli in Switzerland proposed new ideas about the practice of Holy Communion, and a group called Anabaptists rejected the idea that infants should be baptized in favor of the notion that baptism was reserved for adult Christians.

Broadly speaking, most of the challenges to the Catholic Church revolved around the notion that individual believers should be less dependent on the Catholic Church, and its pope and priests, for spiritual guidance and salvation. Instead, Protestants believed people should be independent in their relationship with God, taking personal responsibility for their faith and referring directly to the Bible, the Christian holy book, for spiritual wisdom.

Vocabulary

go viral 疯传的
This video went viral in the past week.

vulgar (adj.) 粗俗的，粗野的

refined (adj.) 精细的，精致的，
refined carb 精细碳水

delicate – delicacy

leer up at: to look/gaze in an unpleasant way

filthy (adj.) extremely dirty

translucent (adj.) half transparent

oozy (adj.) soft and wet, like mud

mouldy (adj.) 发霉的

sulphur = sulfur (n) – sulfurous (adj.)

aghast (adj.) appalling, shocked
to be aghast at sb/sth

zen-like:
Mike has a zen-like mentality

contaminate (v) to pollute

surreptitiously: secretively, furtive

inflict (v)  to bring damage, pain, suffering

equivalent (n/adj.)

blindfold (n) 眼罩

off-putting (adj.) 让人打不起兴致的

mayonnaise (n) 蛋黄酱 – mayo

revolt (v) rebel

it is very common for people to be on the phone
it is very common for people to be on their phone and scroll like the end of the world in coming

Pronunciation

poem – poetry
poet
point