People always tend to believe things said or agreed by a group of people rather than some individuals. On the contrary, I think that truth lies in the hands of the few. For this purpose, I suggest that sometimes common sense should be questioned. Would you rather believe a brand new theory about theology and the whole universe told by some “crazy” guy, or the traditional and common concepts taught by authorities for centuries? Giordano Bruno, the Italian philosopher, was having the dilemma while publishing his famous infinite universe and worlds theory. His writings clearly portray a strong sense of a unity to being and eternity, or infinite time. However, Bruno's moving faith in a unity of one perfect God and nature did not save him from …show more content…
Born in Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of Western history’s most significant figures. He spent his early years in a relative church as a monk and scholar, and later he became a priest and professor of theology. But he never felt right about some rites in the Catholic Church. As a result, in 1517, Luther penned a document attacking Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of reconciliation to absolve sin. His “95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate, became the catalyst for the eventual breaking away from the Catholic Church and were later instrumental in forming the Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. His courageous action of questioning the church later began the reformation and eventually changed the course of Western civilization. Though Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church right after the publishment of “95 Theses”, his writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West. In summary, common sense should sometimes be questioned. Although it combines the thoughts of authorities and minorities, it is not always necessarily correct. Furthermore, those questions are valuable since it takes much courage to speak against common
Martin Luther, a German monk, challenged the Roman Catholic church in the sixteenth century by creating a list of objections in opposition to the church. This list was named “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences”, more famously known as the “95 Theses”. The 95 Theses
The protestant reformation was a significant turning point during the 16th century that completely revolutionized the Roman Catholic Church. The “reformation” was launched in 1517 when a German monk by the name of Martin Luther posted his “95 Theses” on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg. The main ideas of this publication was that selling and buying indulgences was wrong and that the pope has no power over purgatory. These 95 revolutionary opinions formed the basis for the protestant reformation which revolutionized western civilization over the next three centuries. Although most people believe these reforms only affected religion, the reformation also impacted political life. Politics played an enormous role in the reformation due to the fact that political rulers wanted to extend their power and control using the church. Throughout the course of the protestant reformation, political authorities such as Emperor Charles V and Henry
Critical thinking can be described as making well thought, clear, and reasoned judgments. Analyzing and evaluating conditions also fall into this category. More times than others, this involves us out ruling components of our problem. Peter Elbow discusses two individual processes of seeking truth in his essay and labels them as the “doubting game” and the “believing game”. In his essay, he explores the two ideas by clearly labeling the “doubting game” as a strategy seeking error, whereas the “believing game” involves believing all of the assertions.
This is a magazine article written by Douglas S. Winnail and published by Tomorrow's World in 2002. This article briefly describes Martin Luther's Life and corrects some of the misleading assumptions about the Reformation.
This final portion of the book serves as a conclusion of the life of Martin Luther as he set the stage for the continuation of the Protestant Church that he built over the course of his life. It also discusses some of the negative events during and after his final days that were the result of both miscommunications between those of his inner circle as well as the painful last days of a dying man whose anger would serve as the foundations of future extremist
Religion was understood as the upmost critical part of a person’s life during the European Middle Ages. Christians believed the only way to Heaven was through good works. To gain penance for their sins, Christians would travel on pilgrimages to complete a journey to a holy site. When popes began to abuse papal authority during this time, Christians could pay indulgences to be forgiven of their committed sins. Papal authority had been corrupted by practices which were not Biblical through proposing that Christians could be saved by payment, and not by accepting God’s grace. Because of these actions, attention was drawn to the foundations of the doctrine of the Church. The Church was in need of fixing. Two reformers, Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther, spoke out to do this. Both Erasmus and Luther desired to reform the church because they had similar viewpoints on the abusive power. The way that the two decided to go about reformation was different. Erasmus was poor, humanist, and reserved, whereas Luther was not poor, a theologian, and bold. Although Erasmus and Luther shared a common goal for Christians to live by the scripture, similarities and differences were present in their approach to church reform due to their past experiences, education received, and amount of audacity.
Heiko Oberman’s book, Luther: Man between God and the Devil, explores Martin Luther’s life, theology and legacy. Oberman does not simply focus on Luther’s actions and behaviors as a Reformer, nor does he evaluate Luther from a purely Protestant or Catholic point of view. Instead, the book examines Luther’s continual battle with the Devil. In order to truly understand Luther, it is important “to grasp the man in his totality-with head and heart” (Oberman, 1989, xix). Luther is not merely a monk, professor, heretic or a reformer, but he was a man who 's spiritual struggle with the Devil deeply affected his life, as well as the Church.
The Protestant Reformation was a development that promoted Catholic opposition and initially began when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses in the year 1517. Such an act sparked the progressive fury of other leaders, who had desired to reform Catholicism years before Luther’s action. Internal division of the church encouraged multiple religious intellectuals to form their own methods when attempting to challenge Catholic leaders. Although it can be proven that active reformers during the time of the Reformation were discontented with the proceedings of the Catholic Church, individual Protestant improvisers had conflicting outlooks regarding the way the church should be organized. United views among reformers focused on the sale of indulgences and the distribution of religious authority. Thus, when considering the complete aspects of the time, the Protestant Reformation was both a cohesive and divided effort of opposition.
Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career by James M. Kittelson is a biography of the famous German monk turned theologian and reformer, Martin Luther. This is one of the most influential men in history, and as a matter of fact, “In most big libraries, books by and about Martin Luther occupy more shelf room than those concerned with any other human being except Jesus of Nazareth” (Kittelson 9). This fame of Luther’s isn’t only postmortem, “This extraordinary interest in an extraordinary man reaches back almost half a millennium. Even in his own time Luther was a ‘media personality’ the first of such in three thousand years of human history” (Kittelson 9). Luther was a subject of great controversy in his own time, as well as in our, and it has only driven his name and message into the spotlight. No matter or what one aligns himself with, “People still find themselves taking sides on the question of Luther” (Kittelson 9). It is for this reason that James M. Kittelson wrote this survey. He tells us that “The primary purpose of this book is to tell the story of Martin Luther to readers who are not specialists in the field of Luther studies” (Kittelson 10). This book is a general overview of all aspects of Luther, not just a precise dissection of one aspect, which allows for “as faithful a picture as possible of the whole man” (Kittelson 11).
As the lawyer of Martin Luther, I proclaim that he is innocent of all charges presented against him. He has been charged with heresy, starting revolt against the pope and Catholic Church, as well as preaching against the Catholic church and pope. Since his young adulthood, Martin made the decision to become an augustinian monk Since that day, he had been a loyal member of the Catholic church. He even became a priest for Wittenberg’s City Church. It was at Wittenburg that Mr. Luther began to question some of the practices of the Roman Church.
At the time Luther wrote the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences” he presumed that reforms could still be made by the Pope and the church's hierarchy; however, after Luther received the papal bull excommunicating him, Luther’s ideology became diametrically opposed to the pope and the whole Roman Catholic structure (shilling 142). This break was a defining time
"Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you your self test and judge to be true."
The “95 theses” were written in 1517 by a German priest and professor of the theology Names Martin Luther. His ideas served as the catalyst for the eventual breaking away from the catholic church. Luther wrote a radical of “95 theses” to express his growing concern with corruption within the church. One of the major issues that concern luther is the selling of indulgence to the people. Indulgences were also claimed that church to limit the amount of time the purchaser’s loved one had to spend in purgatory. Luther felt that these churches where officials were teaching people that they could literally buy there way into heaven. His belief was that the papacy had deteriorated to the point that the people where beleiving in man made doctrines.The pope had the power to limit or do away with penances imposed by clergy but, he didn’t have the power of salvation.O Only god
Peter’s Basilica. Then on October 31, 1517 it is speculated that Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses on the front doors of a university door. The reason for the massive spreading of the 95 Theses is because of the printing press. The printing press quickly spread the document throughout Germany. This was the start of what is known as the German Reformation. Martin Luther was eventually excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Luther would always refuse to take back what he has said in his documents against the Roman Catholic Church. At the Edict of Worms, Martin Luther was declared a heretic and made him a wanted man. Martin Luther is one of the most important figures of the medieval Europe. This may be another reason the 95 Theses and other doctrines spread so well throughout Europe. The Roman Catholic Church was ringing Martin Luther’s names all throughout the public’s ears. The old saying “any publicity is good publicity” applies in this situation. People could see that Martin Luther was onto something. The 95 Theses were put into vernacular so that anyone could read them for their selves. He gave a voice to many people that would never have a voice and spoke out against the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church. He gave way to reform throughout the church. Martin Luther and the 95 Theses also gave way to his own form of religion called Lutheranism.
Everyday assumption changes over time. In a certain period, the assumption may mean something, however, in another period it changes meaning to mean a totally different thing. Social inquiry however rests its case when a conclusion is reached about the situation or circumstance. The matter can only be revisited if it is felt that the investigation or