The legacy of the Reformations

If the melody [of the Reformation] is still to ring out loudly, its key-signature is to be sought not so much in the inherent qualities of Protestantism (or Tridentine Catholicism) as in the dynamic interplay of forces conjured up by the Reformation era, and in the law of unintended consequences.

The most significant outcomes of the Reformation can in fact be expressed as the succession of paradoxes. The Reformations, Protestant and Catholic, someday the creation of social and religious uniformity, and ended up producing forms of pluralism... They promised to intensify the political and spiritual power of the state and yet they generated the grammar and vocabulary by which its authority can be challenged. They sought to eradicate heresy and false belief, but falteringly permitted the toleration of error to a previously undreamt-of degree. They set up to sacralize the whole of society, and ended up creating the long term conditions for its secularization.

Peter Marshall, The Reformation, A Very Short Introduction, p. 133

Chicken-and-Egg

Which came first, the Church or the Bible? Catholics pointed out that Jesus had founded a community, not written a book. Protestants countered that Christ himself was "The Word" whose presence was experienced through the reading, preaching and hearing of scripture.

Peter Marshall, The Reformation,(A Very Short Introduction), p.48

Compared to the bold and honest thinking of these people, the modern ecumenism feels so shallow and fearful... Contention? Disagreement? Ah God forbid! We are all brothers, let's not discuss la chose qui fâche!

Sore displeased vs Became angry

And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased.  Matthew 21:15

Yes - NRSV reads "became angry"; as usual, the least expressive and makes it all sound very primitive... just like for E. any kind of displeasure equals anger. ESV says "were indignant". I actually begin to like ESV.

Grace

Grace can be defined as the unmerited favour extended by God to humans, making them capable of enjoying the eternal life.

Peter Marshall, The Reformation,(A Very Short Introduction), p.45

Justification and sanctification

Trent solidified the principal doctrinal division of the Reformation when it declared that although justification starts as a completely free gift from God, there is a need for individuals to respond cooperatively, and so a positive role for free will. Whereas Luther's justified sinner remained just that, Trent taught that intrinsic to justification was an individual actual transformation through grace into a more perfect disciple of Christ.

Peter Marshall, The Reformation (A Very Short Introduction), OUP 2009, p. 45