How did the printing press affect the Reformation Essay

How did the printing press affect the Reformation - Essay Example The printing press helped in the spread of new ideas and doctrines that were available to the public in such a different way which was never experienced before. The printing press was invented around 1450 and it rapidly spread to other big cities in Europe according to Arman, Bird and Wilkinson (163). As reformation activities came to stabilize themselves, about two hundred printing centers were already established in the major cities of Europe. The printing centers were used as main producers of the works of reformation by Protestants. For instance Martin Luther was among those who first recognized the power behind printing in mobilizing ground support for reforms. The printing press took two major directions in reformation process. One of the directions was the printing of many secular books which had a profound impact in science. Thus there were major reforms in scientific work as a result of the printing press. Scientists were able to print and share their works with other scient ists in various parts of Europe. The scientists could also have accuracy in their works which enhanced individual knowledge as well as understanding. The growth in scientific reforms resulting from the effects of the printing press led to the scientific revolutions. This later changed the way the Europeans perceived the world and the universe at large. The second direction of the printing press reformation was the way it took copying of books from the church. This way, it made it almost impossible for the church to control most of the written works as it did before. This was due to the large number of books that could be printed at a fraction of cost in a day. Thus it can be claimed that disunity which faced the European religious believes during the protestant reformation was driven by the rapid growth of the printing press. Martin Luther was successful in reformation activities as he was familiar with the use and effect of printing press. This way he was able to overcome other wri ters such as Hussites in reformation works. Reformation was considered as the first move of recovering the Lord that was aided by the effects of the printing press. Luther’s success in reformation works was also aided by the fact by the time he was born; printing had already established itself in Europe. Printing press was important to Luther reforms because of two factors. He had technical equipment which could print in large volumes and different styles. He was also capable of printing content that attracted the reader. Most of the Luther’s printed work circulated faster in Wittenberg which was a powerful center during the reformation period. Luther had three famous reformation works in Germany as a result of his effectiveness in printing press. These works included Appeal to the German Nobility, The New Testament translation as well as the Christian freedom works. The New Testament translation which was a driving force for the protestant reformation was the most pop ular among the works of Luther. He used a different style in writing the New Testament and a new language. He translated it into common man language; therefore people could read the bible and translate it for themselves. This followed the protestant reformations due to the different translations of the bible. The establishment of protestant