The key to any revolution, in any period, is to disseminate the key points of the ideology of the revolution effectively and efficiently. The Protestant Reformation, which is primarily attributed to the efforts of the German monk Martin Luther, involved a very large group of people separating themselves from the Catholic Church, an institution that had been around for 1,500 years before the Reformation. A task as large as this split calls for a method of rapid dissemination of ideals, but the need to capture the emotions of the message's intended targets was also present. In what follows, we will examine the ideals Protestant leaders used to attract converts, the use of innovative printing to enable the mass distribution of pamphlets, and the effects of the Reformation on everyone. From the early Middle Ages until the 16th century, the Catholic Church evolved to dominate all sectors of European life, as the Church grew, so did the power of the hierarchy within the institution. With this rise in power, many church leaders drifted away from the teachings of humility, charity, and faithfulness prescribed by Jesus and slowly began to give way to an unbridled lust for money. One of the methods used by the Church to appropriate funds was the payment of indulgences. Indulgences were pieces of paper issued by the Church, which people bought in exchange for forgiveness. Many members of European society felt alienated by this practice. Especially the poor and merchant class. These classes saw a church raising large sums of money, while inflation and other economic factors harmed their own cause.1 By the time Martin Luther began his efforts to reform the Church, there were enough seeds planted in these classes to facilitate major change. Besides indulgences, there were many theological points that Reformation leaders sought to reiterate in the Church. In a sermon delivered by Luther in 1521, he declared that the Church had exceeded its biblical authority in claiming the right to atone for sins. Luther indicates that Jesus, and only Jesus has such authority, he states: “God has chosen a man, the Lord Jesus Christ. , to crush death, destroy sin and break hell... But papal rule treats us quite differently. It establishes rules concerning fasting, prayer and the eating of butter, according to which whoever keeps the commandments of the pope will be saved" (290), Luther. He then adds that Christians should rely on faith in Christ, and not on a Church that does not do what the Bible prescribes Luther also criticized the priests within the Church, believing that the priests had succumbed to the teachings of pagan philosophers and had aligned themselves with a corrupt and thirsty papacy. Luther sought to return the Church's attention to the teachings of faith, charity, and humility as Jesus had originally taught his disciples. The ideals set forth by Luther appealed to a wide range of people. The removal of the financial burden encompassed in indulgences appealed to the poor, the return to the original biblical doctrine stimulated the interests of the wealthy and educated. But the question of how to spread these ideas remains. Reformation leaders took two distinct approaches. First, the ideals of the Reformation were recorded in the simplest written forms, so that everyone could understand them. Second, a series of woodcuts depicted the church as doomed and showed the sanctity of the original biblical intention for the church. These two approaches, associated withability to reproduce in large quantities, thanks to innovative printing, allowed Reformation leaders to spread their message in an effective way that had never before been possible. The simplified ideals of the Church were often put into poetic verse and then applied to music, so that the ideals that leaders wanted to convey were present in hymn form. This approach allowed uneducated people, who could not read printed versions of Luther's sermons, a chance to imprint the themes of the Reformation into their minds. As we see in the opening lines of Luther's hymn, Lord, keep us steadfast in thy word, Luther did not act lightly, he wrote "Lord, keep us steadfast in thy word, and curb the vile sword of the Turks, who seek to overthrow from the throne, Jesus Christ your only son." In one verse, Luther launches a flagrant attack on the Church. When this verse is set to music, this verse remains in the. the spirit of an individual and motivates him to continue fighting for the cause (296) Other hymns, although less powerful like the previous ones, incorporated the ideals of reformation, in the same way. -on which depicted the evil actions of the Church, the diabolical qualities of the Pope and Jesus allowing faithful servants to remain in heaven took the simplification of ideals and their presentation even further. The first print observed shows the Cardinal and the Pope. , represented as devils, participating in the deliverance of indulgences. These church leaders are consumed by hellfire, while the heavenly figures participated in baptism and communion. Another woodcut uses contrast to show errors within the church. One image shows the disciples hunched around Jesus' feet. Right next to this image is the Pope, with the cardinals reclining in the same way. The lower half depicts Jesus driving the coins out of the temple, while the pope accepts the indulgences. These two reductions show Luther's perceived wrongs against the Church. The contrast in particular shows the Pope trying to imitate Jesus, a sin in itself, and the Church bowing to money, while Jesus rids the temple of those who exploit the poor for money. (299-300). These images were widely distributed. scattered. They were very effective in showing the exact message of the Reformation, in a simple way. This Protestant campaign provokes two distinct reactions. Among the lower class, a series of rebellions of the poor against the ruling class took place, against the wishes of Martin Luther. The upper classes assimilated these ideas into their lives and eventually founded a separate branch of Christianity. The Protestant Reformation is probably one of the best propaganda campaigns ever. The leaders of this effort used simple ideas, catchy jingles and visual appeal to transform the entire religious landscape of the European continent. A Propaganda Campaign of Divine Proportions The key to any revolution, in any period, is to disseminate the key points of the ideology of the revolution effectively and efficiently. The Protestant Reformation, which is primarily attributed to the efforts of the German monk Martin Luther, involved a very large group of people separating themselves from the Catholic Church, an institution that had been around for 1,500 years before the Reformation. A task as large as this split calls for a method of rapid dissemination of ideals, but the need to capture the emotions of the message's intended targets was also present. In the following we will examine the ideals used by Protestant leaders to attract converts, the use of innovative printing toallow the massive distribution of brochures and the effects of the reform on everyone. From the early Middle Ages until the 16th century, the Catholic Church evolved to dominate all sectors of European life, as the Church grew, so did the power of the hierarchy within the institution. With this rise in power, many church leaders drifted away from the teachings of humility, charity, and faithfulness prescribed by Jesus and slowly began to give way to an unbridled lust for money. One of the methods used by the Church to appropriate funds was the payment of indulgences. Indulgences were pieces of paper issued by the Church, which people bought in exchange for forgiveness. Many members of European society felt alienated by this practice. Especially the poor and merchant class. These courts saw a church raising large sums of money, while inflation and other economic factors harmed their own cause.1 By the time Martin Luther began his effort to reform the Church, there was sufficient seeds planted in these classrooms to facilitate major change. Besides indulgences, there were many theological points that Reformation leaders sought to reiterate in the Church. In a sermon delivered by Luther in 1521, he declared that the Church had exceeded its biblical authority in claiming the right to atone for sins. Luther indicates that Jesus, and only Jesus has such authority, he states: “God has chosen a man, the Lord Jesus Christ. , to crush death, destroy sin and break hell... But papal rule treats us quite differently. He established rules regarding fasting, prayer, and eating butter, so that anyone who kept the pope's commandments would be saved. ”(290), Luther goes on to add that Christians should rely on faith in Christ, not on a Church that does not do what the Bible prescribes. Luther also criticized priests within the Church, believing that priests had succumbed to the teachings of pagan philosophers and aligned themselves with a corrupt, money-hungry papacy. Luther sought to return the Church's attention to the teachings of faith, charity, and humility as Jesus had originally taught his disciples. The ideals set forth by Luther appealed to a wide range of people. The removal of the financial burden embodied in indulgences appealed to the poor, the return to the original biblical doctrine stimulated the interests of the rich and educated. But the question of how to spread these ideas remains. Reformation leaders took two distinct approaches. First, the ideals of the Reformation were recorded in the simplest written forms, so that everyone could understand them. Second, a series of woodcuts depicted the church as doomed and showed the sanctity of the original biblical intention for the church. These two approaches, combined with the ability to reproduce in large quantities, thanks to innovative printing, allowed Reformation leaders to spread their message in an effective way that had never been possible before. The simplified ideals of the Church were often put into poetic verse and then applied to music, so that the ideals that leaders wanted to convey were present in hymn form. This approach allowed uneducated people, who could not read the printed versions of Luther's sermons, to have the themes of the Reformation imprinted on their minds. As we see in the opening lines of Luther's hymn, Lord, keep us steadfast in thy word, Luther did not act lightly, he wrote "Lord, keep us steadfast in thy word, and slows down