God’s word than those they were preaching to and standards of spiritual direction fell. The influence of Eastern traditions and beliefs isolated the Western church, and the popes of Rome were now able to take more power, unchallenged as they were by any degree of accountability to a higher power on earth. They began to acquire land and used the revenues from them to dominate the wider church with their corruptions. Many began to recognize the corruption between state and church and this led to disagreement over who should be able to elect clergy, the state or the church? More and more of the higher offices of clergy seeing the need to gain power began to raise funds with which to grow their dynasty and spiritual wellbeing gave way to fundraising and the selling of indulgences. It was in this climate that many began to voice their concerns, and the reformation movement really began to gather momentum. Whilst this is very important to the deeper understanding of the roots of the reformation, for the needs of the target group of my presentation, I have begun in the 14th century with the introduction of Wycliffe and his translation of the bible into English. Whilst a brief introduction that sets the scene is necessary, the amount of preceding information would be too much for the group to take in at one go, and may require a separate session. However, such in-depth detail may only be needed by those wishing to continue studying reformation history, rather than just a basic understanding of where this fits in to the development of the faith of the Anglican church. I decided by way of brief introduction to discuss the discontent with Rome and the political power wielded by the papacy, the use of Latin in both the Catholic Mass and the Bible as a way of controlling the information the populations were given, and the selling of indulgences by the clergy as a supposed way of gaining forgiveness and a sure way to enter heaven. To help the students understand just how early this discontent began, two slides about Wycliffe and Hus have been included, with the link to Luther coming from the slide about Hus’ prophecy regarding another man 100 years on, who would be proclaiming the same discontent and proposed reforms. Whilst I have maintained a little of the Star Wars theme, I did not wish this to become confused with the focus of the presentation and so after using a little picture to retain their interest I then left this until the last slide to finish the theme. Luther is introduced, with a brief history of his life and how he came to disagree with the traditional Catholic biblical teachings and the corruption of Rome. Then follows an explanation of his 95 theses and the controversy its publication caused. I believe that the importance of the printing press on the spread of the ideals of the reformers should not be underestimated. It is often debated that without it perhaps Luther’s influence would not have been so far reaching. The students need to understand this and so the slide regarding this was introduced. The following information regarding the main concerns of Luther has been simplified as much as possible to aid students understanding of a very complex topic which contains a lot of historical information. It is important though that the main facts and chronology are established. Luther’s theses that expressed his concerns about certain Church practices – largely the sale of indulgences, and his deeper concerns with Church doctrine are explained. And how Luther could not reconcile this practice with his beliefs. When Pope Leo X began allowing indulgences to be sold it was to raise money for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Johann Tetzel, a monk began selling them not far from Wittenberg, where Luther was Professor of Theology. Luther could not find any scriptural evidence that this practice was of God.>