Martin Luther And Desiderius Erasmus

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).

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is often marked by one man’s appeal for change. Therefore, the life of Martin Luther is a thought-provoking subject not only for the scholar, but also for those curious about the history behind Lutheranism. Consequently, Roland H. Bainton has written Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Selling over a million copies, it was first published by Abingdon-Cokesbury in 1950, which awarded it a prize of $7,500.00. Bainton, an ordained minister, was a member of the faculty at the Yale Divinity School for 42 years. He is recognized as an authority on the

The Reformation was an important 16th century European movement that strived to reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, impacted by significant individuals such as Martin Luther and Henry VIII. From Martin Luther’s exposition of the church’s corruption to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy, these two religious figures broke away due to different motives. The reformation of the church’s practices were based on Henry’s motives and actions were based on his personal desires for Anne Boleyn, a male heir, and more power over England, while Luther’s were based on reforming the corruptions of the churches in the German states.

As per the 1948 Universal announcement of human rights, all individuals regardless of their background are all born equal before the law. This declaration made by the powerful nations and signed by all nations strong and weak that belong to the United Nations reflects the thoughts of many earlier philosophers to include the 16th & 17th Century Martin Luther, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. However, each philosopher -based on their times and experiences gave a different value to how men use their freedom and equality in presence of the other in a society, and in relation to political authority. As determinant of his freedom to act and think, the three writings focused on the will of man, the promise that shapes the social contract, and the

Martin Luther considered by many to be a great theologian makes very strong arguments against Eramus concerning grace and free will in Bondage of the Will. Both men have strong view points and are both eloquent writers, Eramus believes that man has the power to either turn towards works that lead to salvation or he has the choice not to. Eramus writes to show that man can voluntarily choose (free will) salvation apart from God. Eramus seems to believe that there exists some type of cooperativeness with mankind and God. Whereas, Luther is writing to show that there exist no cooperativeness and salvation is the work of God alone. For the purposes of this paper I will discuss Luther’s arguments in sub-section two. In this paper I will review

By the 1500’s many issues shows signs of disorder within the Church. The idea of selling indulgences (forgiveness for sin) for clergy benefit began to negatively spread throughout the people, along with opposition to pluralism (holding more than one office). This sparked many attempts to reform the church through individual groups, one of which being the Brotherhood of Common Life. One of their accomplishments was starting schools for the poor, in which educated none other than Martin Luther. By the time he became a priest, many people had already failed to reform the church. When Martin Luther entered Rome, he briefly supported the church before realizing the hidden

Breaking the law might or might not be morally permissible in special situations. It is not clear whether it is morally correct to always follow laws. Two points of view were examined: Martin Luther King in the “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” and Socrates in “Crito”. King, (1991) says that breaking the law can be excused for good reasons. However, Socrates says that breaking the law is never permissible (Gallop, 1997). Breaking the law is not moral because it breaks the conditions to be a citizen.

There was an argument between two great scholars, Robert Kolb and Hans Kung on whether Martin Luther’s reform improved the lives of European Christians. Kolb agreed that martin Luther made a positive impact on European Christians and he concluded that Luther was a prophetic hero, teacher and that Luther brought change and hope to the people. Kung on the other hand believes that Luther was a great orchestrator of change in the Christian church but also an indirect instigator of the violence and oppression that erupted among the people. In other words Luther had some positive effects but left more negative consequences on the people. This essay’s main focus is to identify which argument appears to be more convincing and persuasive but for

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.

2A In Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will, it is argued that God is the only being that plays a role in a particular humans salvation. Humans who are ungodly were born in ungodliness therefore play no role in their own salvation. Luther states in his writing that “He is the one true God” and we need to trust in him when He [God] deems someone unjust. Those deemed unworthy of His [God’s] salvation cannot avoid the fact that they are unjust and therefore have a necessity to sin. The choice of salvation in no part can be affected by the common person, only by God can someone be saved.

Even though “big data” is very valuable and has made many great gains for society in both efficiency and knowledge, with the increase in data collection and analytics there are many ethical concerns of how the data is being used because evidence based decision making within the analytics is often done solely on quantitative information, this creates digital inequity. Comparing and examining the works of Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr., we can develop our own ethical belief regarding some of the analytics used with “big data”.

As a Christian educator, it is important to base educational practices on Biblical authority. Christian education should teach students to learn to act like God and to do His work (Graham, 2003). “True education is to develop knowledge of God and His created reality and to use that knowledge in exercising a creative-redemptive dominion over the world . . . “ (Graham, 2003, p. 57). Being a Christian educator, does not mean that organizational structure and curriculum occur in a vacuum. Educational philosophy and structure have been developing for thousands of years and the wise educational administrator should study and understand the history and ideas that impact the educational landscape of today.

“A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” This paradox is the basis of Luther’s concept on Christian freedom. For Luther, his reform freed Christians two fold. Christians were free from false assumptions about salvation and from the commandments of the Old Testament. To Luther, God alone could grant salvation. Despite this freedom, Christians still had to obey earthly laws. The differences of spiritual and temporal freedom seemed contradictory but for Luther it was clear that faith would free the Christian soul. Luther defined freedom for a Christian as freedom through faith. Salvation was granted by God alone. However their flesh was still bound

Martin Luther and John Calvin as Religious Leaders of the Reformation Martin Luther became an Augustinian Monk in 1505. He spent two years studying Scripture before being ordained as a priest. In 1510, Luther was sent to Rome and was shocked by the spiritual laxity. After finishing his theological doctorate, he became a professor at Wittenberg, in 1515, Luther became the district vicar. Luther began to develop his own theology and in 1516 he felt compelled to protest the dispensation of indulgences.

Martin Luther and John Calvin were both leaders in the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther was a monk, or priest, in the Augustinian friars’ order and his ideals were that Catholicism were corrupting the New Testament beliefs and people were saved by faith alone not by buying their way into heaven. John Calvin studied law “but in 1533 he experienced a religious crisis, as a result of which he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism. Calvin believed that God had specifically selected him to reform the church” (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 448). “The cornerstone of Calvin’s theology was his belief in the absolute sovereignty and omnipotence of God and the total weakness of humanity” (McKay et al., 2015, pg. 448).