Martin Luther was born in 1483 and became a priest in the Catholic church. He became very upset with the indulgences that were being sold by the Catholic Church. The indulgences allowed parishioners to pay money to have their sins forgiven. In Martin Luther's eyes, this was not right. To stop these indulgences was to write 95 thesis of heresies in the Catholic church and nailed them to a door in Wittenberg, Germany. The Pope, Leo X and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V both wanted Luther to retract his writing, but Luther refused. He was excommunicated by the Pope and considered an outlaw by the Emperor but he did not yield.
He translated the Bible into German to make it accessible to the common man. It was clear to Luther that all believers are members of the priesthood, not just priests. As more and more people began to follow his teaching, they began a group called "Lutherans" and broke away from the Catholic church. It was not the intent of Luther to break away from the Catholic church yet he saw no other choice but to begin a new church. Luther struggled with radicals in his group who wanted to turn against the upper classes as well as the church. Revolts by radicals began a war, the Peasants War, in parts of Germany but Luther quickly condemned them.
Resources:
Bainton, R. (1995). Here i stand: a life of martin luther.
New York: Penguin.
Ganss, H. (1910). Martin Luther. In The Catholic
Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Retrieved September 28, 2010 from New Advent:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09438b.htm
Grosvenor, G. (1971). Great religions of the world.
Washington, DC: The National Geographic Society
Luther Tour. (2010). Retrieved September 27 from Luther
Tour: http://www.luthertour.com/
Martin Luther. (1975). Funk and wagnalls. New York:
Rand McNally & Company.
Martin Luther. (2008). In English Bible History.
Retrieved September 27 from Great Sites:
http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-
history/martin-luther.html
3 comments:
I have a connection to Martin Luther that you may find amusing. Every year for the past three years, my Ap History class has come in mass to my office door. One of the students is dressed as Martin Luther and they read the summary of the history of Martin Luther to me for everyone to hear. They then nail a list of 95 complaints they have against my high school to my door in honor of Martin Luther and march back up to class. I follow up their visit by going to their classroom a few days later and reviewing their grievences with the class. I try to pick a few items that I can accomplish and discuss why some of the other items are beyond my control or sometimes illegal. Its a great exercise that I look forward to every year.
Well, today was the day that the list was posted. I'll let you know how I do.
Martin Luther showed compassion for the common person and was willing to give up everything for his convictions and moral code. His willingness to help the commoner and not succumb to the demands of the Catholic church showed an inner strength and faith that few have. His influence has impacted millions of people worldwide through religion and language. Martin Luther was a leader because of his belief in equality and his willingness to challenge authority.
Post a Comment