Chapter Summary: Dr. Martin Luther

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).

Martin Luther was a man of great thought and constantly went against the feelings and views of other people of his time. Martin Luther was born on November 10th in 1483, in the Saxon town of Eisleben located in Germany. Martin was born of mother Margrethe, who many of his enemies thought of as being a whore and a bath attendant, yet Martin recalled her later on in life as someone who was hardworking and very able and willing to punish him if he had done wrong. Martin Luther grew up in the middle-class range and wasn't born into great wealth like many other great scholars of his time were like such as Girolamo Savonarola, who's family was rich before his birth around Luther’s time. Martin Luther’s father's name was Han's Luder, which later

This quote explains Martin Luther’s ideas of salvation and justification through only faith. He believed that people like the Pope were just public figures that were abusing their power for their own interests and beliefs. They would use god’s word to intimidate Kings and Queens. He thought that the Pope was out of line using his authority to forgive sins for material objects. Indulgence is a grant given by the Pope to cancel all sins for donations to the church. This made people more willing to just donate if they could get something in return also. Critics told Luther that there is no way you could achieve salvation without good works, but Luther uses bible passages to make a case that faith, alone, is all you need to be a Christian follower set to be in heaven. Martin Luther knew that it wasn’t right nor faithful for the Pope to do this.

Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. It contained a series of 95 complaints that the once monk had with the church. He was steadfast in his efforts to get the church to change. Even refusing to repeal his complaints when threatened with excommunication.

For this essay, I chose the 95 Theses by Martin Luther as my primary source. This primary source is a historical document that cause major uproars throughout Europe. The 95 Theses were written by Martin Luther in October of 1517. The 95 Theses were ninety-five statements written by Martin Luther in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. They challenged the common practices of the Catholic Church, including indulgences and the authority of the pope. The 95 Theses sparked a theological debate that fueled the Reformation in Europe. I chose this primary source, because I feel like this is one of the most important and most well-known documents in history. In our class, reformation Europe, this is a great document because this document played

Martin Luther's "The Freedom of a Christian" discusses an in-depth look into the Christian faith, God's work in each individual. Refusing to believe in the established doctrine, Luther wrote this reforming treatise in response to Pope Leo's criticisms and to further explain the theological and ideological core of his thinking. Nevertheless, Luther centered his ideas around the concept that the joys and freedoms of a Christian were that in faith; humans, as sinners, should not look at ourselves, but instead at God's goodness. He goes on to elaborate that through the justification by faith, humans grasp the meaning of a whole Christian life. Throughout "The Freedom of a Christian", Luther expands on the threefold power of faith: faith frees

Prior to his new understanding of God’s righteousness Luther hated God because he did not know the love of God, he only knew the judging angry God. Luther did not understand how an angry God could be righteous. Consequently, Luther had been taught that, “God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner”. As a result, he believed there was no way for sinners to be justified by God. Luther felt crushed by the Mosaic Law and threatened with God’s righteousness and wrath by the gospel. However, through his studies and meditations Luther came to understand the true meaning of the phrase “righteousness of God”. He described his new understanding to be “the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” In other words, the righteousness of God is a gift from God to those who live by faith. Accordingly, Luther felt born again. He found a new relationship with God and the Scriptures. In the light of his new views, Luther was conflicted by the Roman Catholic Church teachings on penance and righteousness. As a result, Luther developed his own doctrine of justification based on

Luther had a very strong belief that salvation comes from faith alone. All that is needed to be justified in front of God is to have faith. Michael M. Ramos writes “Martin Luther believed that salvation depends not on human effort or merit but only on the freely given grace of God, which is accepted in faith” (35). Luther believes that first God extends grace, which is the death of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit. God reaches out to man and offers grace. The grace is not because humans deserve it from merit or human accomplishments. God extends grace because he is a righteous God. Now the only thing that humans must do to be justified

The Civil Rights Movement was a critical time in the history of the United States of America. In this time of fighting, brutality, and injustice, leaders arose to fight for equality for all, one, in particular, was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King is well-renowned for believing in something and standing up for it, even though the repercussion of his actions resulted in serving time in jail. While he served his time in Birmingham, he wrote a lengthy letter to inspire and admonish the nation. This letter was addressed to two groups, the Church and the White moderates, that contained wisdom in the form of three themes, one of which is let them have more time almost always means never.

Martin Luther King Jr dedicated his life fighting to end discrimination against African-American men, women, and children. Martin did not believe in violence at all and would use kindness and love as opposed to violence and hate, this would help set the tone of his iconic movement to end racism. Martin was able to prove that a world without violence can be successful. He would be able to establish equal voting rights between the black and white people, and establish that all nations must treat all people equal no matter their skin color.

Day was born in Ravenna, Ohio, son of Luther Day of the Ohio Supreme Court. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1870 and spent the following year in the school's law department. He settled in Canton, Ohio in 1872, where he began practicing law in a partnership with William A. Lynch. For twenty-five years, Day worked as a criminal and corporate lawyer in the growing industrial town while participating in Republican politics.

Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A life of Martin Luther. Third Printing Hardback March 2011. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 1950.

Martin Luther's contribution to the Church could easily be dismissed because he is well known as anti-Semitic. In truth, he was, as most people are, more complicated than this. Luther is a wonderful example of the Grace of God using imperfect people. Luther is history's best proponent of justification by grace, yet some of his views did not always reflect God's love. God has not changed, He still chooses the average person to advance His kingdom. And why shouldn't He, we are all He's got!

Since it's earliest inception the Christian movement has functioned as a radical counter-cultural entity, at its core rests a profound sentiment of freedom. Despite this truth, arriving at a single definition of the concept of freedom may prove an arduous task when considering the complex global political, religious, social, and economic landscape of the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This journey of thought will attempt to highlight the various forms that freedom assumes by exploring the relationship between Christianity and the quest for freedom from the position of three major historic events namely the reformation, secondly, the period of enlightenment, and finally, the transatlantic slave trade. The paper will seek

A Biography of Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream…" are the famous words stated by Martin Luther King