Martin Luther And The Protestant Reformation

One of his problems was the early Catholic Church using faith to profit off believers. As stated by The Praise of Folly the believers of the catholic faith believed “that if they pay their devotion to St. Christopher in the morning, they shall be guarded and secured the day following from all dangers and misfortunes” The church also sold indulgences. According to the student eBook, an indulgence is “a document sold by the Church and signed by the pope or another church official that released the bearer from all or part of the punishment for sin.” Martin Luther did not believe that the “protection money” saved anyone. This is evident in his 32nd thesis where it is written, “Those who believe that, through letters of pardon [indulgences], they are made sure of their own salvation, will be eternally damned along with their teachers.” The selling of indulgences was Luther’s original complaint but his other 94 problems cover subjects such as justification through faith and the authority of the

Martin Luther knew that it was wrong. It was wrong to make people believe that the sale of indulgences would absolve them of sins. He realized that people who ran the Church were corrupt and money hungry. “It is said that contrition is not necessary in those who purchase souls [out of purgatory] or buy confessionalia”. Luther wanted people to understand that buying confessionalia along with letters of indulgences would not free their souls from purgatory, it would just be giving the Church more money. He believed that people should learn the Gospel and love of Christ and that Christ would never preach indulgence. “Though it is the first and the sole duty of all bishops that the people should learn the Gospel and the love of Christ, for Christ

The Protestant Reformation was a large transition in the way people understood and thought of the Catholic Church as a whole. The Catholic Church had always had a sizeable amount of power over the people and way of life. The person who truly began the whole movement was Martin Luther. He began his public move when the indulgence controversy became apparent. An indulgence is a free ticket out of purgatory, and purgatory is the place one goes directly after physical death to undergo purification. That purification will determine whether one is suitable for Heaven or not. Therefore, every person wanted an indulgence so there was no chance of them not making it into Heaven. However, these indulgences were solely to gain funds for army, church, and others. Although it was only for money, people still wanted one because they did not want to take any chances with their personal afterlife. Martin Luther was infuriated that these indulgences existed. Luther believed that forgiveness is only given to those that are truly sorry for their mistakes. Therefore, he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses. These were documents arguing and criticizing against the indulgences. He posted these documents on the Cathedral door for the Pope to read. He wrote the documents in Latin originally, but the Printing Press translated them into German for everyone to be able to read. In response to these indulgences, Martin Luther

The Protestant Reformation came during the height of the Renaissance. This movement to reform the Catholic Church was certainly helped by the budding Renaissance idea that the individual holds weight in society, and a man’s words were important. This enabled people to take a stand for something and feel confident in their stance. So when people challenged the Catholic Church for their abuses of power, they could actually speak up on the issue and be heard. While he was certainly not the first person to come up with the idea of challenging the Church to reform, Martin Luther is certainly the most remembered today for his actions and their influence on the Reformation. He was a man who challenged the Church about their abuses of power, and came

The diet of worms addressed Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation. It was a formal assembly of of the whole empire to go over Luther's scriptures.

The Protestant Reformation affected religious life in the early 15th century. It was a movement that reformed the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. At the time, the church was viewed as a wealthy and powerful institution that was practicing many corrupt ideas such as selling indulgences. Indulgences were letters of forgiveness for one’s sin. This sparked anger causing priests to revolt by calling for reforms to take place. A German priest and monk, Martin Luther became a leader throughout the Protestant Reformation. Luther among his followers known as Protestants protested against the church. Acting on his belief, Luther wrote his “95 theses” to express his questions and concerns against the church. He posted his list on the door of the Wittenberg church, the catholic church reacted by telling him to take his theses back, and recant. But, he refused and his ideas were spread throughout the printing press. He wanted Christians to believe the truth found within the bible. Luther believed that Christians could reach salvation by having faith in God. He disagreed with the thought that the pope or other priests had any special powers, including the forgiveness of sins. Everyone began to acknowledge the truth; no longer did they have to believe in corrupt ideas. Individuals gained a voice in society and could now reject any corrupt moral. As stated by Alec Ryrie “Protestantism has given us not a paradise of free speech, but an open-ended, undisciplined argument. It has continuously generated new ideas, revived old ones and questioned its own orthodoxies.” The Protestant Reformation lead individuals to question the Catholic church and seek for information. They were no longer blindfolded; the bible became available to ordinary people to read in their own language. However, Martin Luther wasn’t the only reformer. John Calvin became a reformer that believed and promoted the idea of predestination. Predestination is seen as the belief that certain people were chosen by God for salvation. As the reformation proceeded, his followers believed they were predestined for heaven. According to Ryrie, “To take the iconic example: slavery, which for centuries Christians had assumed was a necessary evil or

Luther raised a vigorous objection to the corrupt practice of selling indulgences because of his commitment to the idea that God alone could grant salvation through faith and by divine grace. It was upon his beliefs that Luther wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of propositions and questions for debates. His “95 Theses” were a direct assault to the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin. His actions led to him being excommunicated for the Catholic Church which considered his actions a form of heresy.

Many ideas had originated from the events of the Reformation. For instance, the event of the publication of the 95 theses by Martin Luther would be a great example of an event which had led and caused the shifts of ideas, practices and teachings during the current time period as the ideas had been achieved through Luther’s theses, where he declares numerous ideas in relation to the church’s corruption. The ideas which had risen were related to repentance and indulgences, Luther had established the idea that the benefits provided by Christ was achievable even without the use of indulgences and that the indulgences only promoted greed Luther had also established the idea that true repentance was greater than buying indulgences, thus providing

Martin Luther was a German professor who then decided to become a priest in 1507. He was against indulgences in which people believed forgave all sins that were committed. As a result, Luther wrote “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences” to argue against indulgences, it was argued, “indulgences undermined the seriousness of the sacrament of penance, competed with the preaching of the Gospel, and downplayed the importance of the charity in Christian life” (McKay p.381). The Ninety- five Theses were then published in pamphlets in Latin then translated into German. A new invention that was made to help spread Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses was the Gutenberg’s Printing Press. People agreed and believed in Luther, but others had a different approach and pushed for Luther to give up on his new belief. Luther gained followers who were referred to as Protestants. Luther’s belief persuaded more reformers to take action.

Martin Luther was a German monk who decided to start the Reformation. In 1517 he sent out

“Question with boldness even the existence, of a God, if there be one he must more than approve of the homage reason than that blinded fear” by Thomas Jefferson. Sometimes as people we just follow on what they told us because the person seem higher than ourselves so we just go along with it assuming it's correct. In this time period, that what was Martin Luther wanted to get rid of because he saw the errors of the Catholic church and he wanted to fix them. As a Result, the Catholic church did not listen, that is where the reformation started. When Martin Luther started the reformation there was a lot of social, economic and political changes because that is how much the church was involved in people's lives. The church was centered in everything

The Catholic Reformation began with the reaction to the Protestant Reformation and the two men who were leaders of the reform. Luther and Calvin spoke against the church about their abuses. The church tried to respond to them, but the spread of the Protestant Reformation was strong. The revolt against the church started by Martin Luther in 1517; due to his belief that the Catholics were abusing their power and creating the act of forgiveness for indulgences. Martin Luther wrote what is called the “Ninety-five Theses,” which is a list of questions and propositions for debate. Luther pinned these on the door of the Wittenberg Castle church on October 31st . John Calvin born July 10, 1509 and died May 27th, 1564 was the leading French Protestant reformer and a very important figure who also interpreted the church needing to be reformed. Calvin wrote several books to establish Protestantism. One man, who was not even a member of the clergy, started the Catholic Reformation to gain faithful members back. Ignatius Loyola born 1491-1556 was a Spanish soldier who sought to renew a religious order of Catholicism. He hoped to combine the tradition of the Renaissance with a reformed Catholicism that would appeal to all groups, political and economic.

On November 10th, 1483 a baby boy was brought into the world to Hans and Margarethe Luder (whose name would be changed to Luther in the future). His name was to become well known in later years. His parents were devoted Catholic and demanded to have him christened the next day. He was christened Martin Luder.

Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk who believed the grace of God alone would justify fall humans. Luther one day translated the Bible into German unknowingly beginning the start of a radical religious revolution. Luther wanted to reform the Christian church of abuses. He wanted to return the church to its roots of Christianity and take away moderation. Luther believed in the reading of scriptures and finding the truth from within them. Robert Kolb believed, “Luther was filled with the dynamism that sprang from his spiritual conviction.” (267) He believed Luther inspired others to have a personal relationship with God and to inspire hope. Luther is depicted by many as a friend and a foe. People took his materials and thoughts and made them into ideas that could be used for their own purposes. Martin Luther has shaped the institutions and life of Christendom. He influenced his followers as a churchman and a teacher. Lutheran churches came to think of Luther as a prophetic hero and authority of faith. Some believed he was a servant of God, a prophet and the eschatological angel. Followers of Luther set about to change the institutions and ideas that were helping to keep the world together. Three conceptions of Luther’s emerged and grew even beyond his years.

From the reformation of the within the heart of Martin Luther, came The Reformation that has forever changed the world of theology, and politics. The invent of the printing press was a catalyst in the spread of not only the translation of Scripture in common language but the doctrines of Luther, Calvin, Knox and the Papacy. The shifts in ideas began in the Reformation have had an impact one can see in the world today.