Martin Luther And The Protestant Reformation

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

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

The sale of indulgences was not saving any souls rather yet it was condemning them. The true way to clear away the sin is to as God for forgiveness and repent of the sin committed. Luther objected to the sale of indulgences for many reason. First of all the Pope does not have the power to relive someone from a sin, only God can. Second paying your way out of guilt does not save you in the eyes of God, true repent does. Third many crimes were being committed nonchalant due to buying indulgence. Lastly, the Pope was the making money out of selling indulgence yet not giving back to its people. Rather they

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.

Martin Luther was critical of indulgences because according to the text, "[it] was currently being preached near Wittenberg to help raise funds for the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s in Rome." (pg. 327) People were going out of their way to pay for these so-called "golden ticket ' to heaven and the Church profiting from it all.

Martin Luther was arguably one of the most important figures in the entire history of Christianity. If the creation of the Lutheran Church was not enough of an accomplishment, he can also be credited with orchestrating the division of the Catholic and Protestant churches. Even as a young Augustinian Monk Martin Luther was convinced the Catholic Church had lost its way. He obsessed over his purity and relationship with God, and strongly believed the Catholic Church had lost its way over the selling of “Indulgences”. Essentially, how the Church misinterpreted and taught the concepts of sin relative to temporal and eternal punishment. He was destined to confront the Catholic Church which he did and ultimately led to the separation events that are still highly relevant to this day. This was the primary driver for the first phase of his rebellion. The second was his German translation of the New Testament, which he used to both teach anyone to read and learn the holy book.

In the early fifteenth century Martin Luther appealed to Pope Leo X to settle the Indulgence Controversy. This controversy extended far beyond the original appeal. It hosted a wide spectrum of theological debates concerning doctrine, the sacraments, abuse of authority within the clergy and many other essential issues of the Church. These issues required answers, the demand for moral reform. At all levels the Church was experiencing moral lapses that caused the people to lose trust in the Church and the clergy. A deep dissatisfaction and skepticism was widespread throughout the Church. Luther original request, extended far beyond struggles within the Roman Catholic, to an unofficial permission giving recognition to all those who follow. Of our rights and obligation to bring forth

Furthermore, while watching the video, “Introduction to the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther” it’s clear that there was a lack of equality in the Catholic church between the leaders and the church. Martin Luther was a leader of the Protestant Reformation who believed that followers weren’t receiving equal treatment, so he decided to come up with 95 theses: “Luther was arguing against the sale of indulgences, and that kind of monetary transaction for getting into heaven… there was a perception that the church, at times, was a rather corrupt institution” (Khan academy video). This quote from the video explains that the Catholic church was acting in a corrupt matter and seemed more concerned about political power than the salvation of souls. Indulgences were give and take, a free passage into heaven when once bought.

A long history of corruption caused people to view the Catholic Church as a for-profit organization rather than God’s voice on Earth. By the Renaissance, the Catholic Church had already lost much of its power over secular rulers but still held leverage over the masses. This authority naturally paved the way for corruption. The most outrageous form of corruption practiced by the Church was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved. One of the ways the Church would generate income was by selling them. The notion started off innocently enough; it stemmed from the idea that punishment for crimes could be converted to payments of money, in essence, a fine (Simon 35). However, it soon spiraled out of control as the Church used indulgences simply to gain money, as when Pope Leo X needed money for the construction of St. Peter’s basilica (Duiker and Spielvogel 429). People began to view salvation as something that could be bought; they could go out and sin on Saturday night, then simply pay for it monetarily Sunday morning. To encourage people to buy more indulgences, the Church even claimed that indulgences could be bought on behalf of those already dead and in purgatory (Sporre 378). This blatant victimization was what spurred Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses, which

There should be balance between government and its people because it is essential for people living under it to be free and safe. Starting from The Protestant Reformation lead by Martin Luther in the 16th century to the ideas develop from The Enlightenment period and on to American and French revolutions, government becomes the structure of the society where the people build the laws and appoint officials to enforce them instead of a monarch. The relationship between government and its people change from one dimension rule to two or more separate powers to establish a more stable society.

Born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of Western history’s most significant figures. Luther spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar. But in 1517 Luther penned a document attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin. Luther was a highly religious Catholic monk and scholar. He earned his doctoral degree in biblical studies, his intent on nailing the Ninety-Five Thesis to the church door was motivated by a desire to reform the Catholic Church by addressing and correcting what he viewed as corruption, of which, the buying and selling of Indulgences was at the heart. Luther’s thesis also brought into question papal authority along with the Catholic

Written in his theses was the debate and criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Luther concentrated upon the selling of indulgences, which are extra-sacrament remission of the temporal punishment due in God’s justice, to sin that has been forgiven, which remission is granted by the Church in the exercise of the power of the keys (Knight 1993, 2009) the indulgences replaced the severe penances of the early church. The theses also included the debate of doctrine policies about purgatory, judgment, devotion to Mary the Mother of Jesus, the intercession of and devotion to the saints and the authority of the Pope there are others that were not mention in this paper.

Archbishop Albert needed someone to sell indulgences for him, so he hired Dominican friar John Tetzel. Tetzel made this into a business and even began to heavily advertise the sale of indulgences. He came up with catchy slogans to lure people into buying them. He even came up with a chart price to persuade people to buy the "best" or most expensive indulgences. Luther did not agree with this because people no longer saw the need for repentance and felt they could buy away their sins. He was greatly troubled that people were buying into these advertising gimmicks. Since, at the time, the church did not have an official doctrine on indulgences, Luther decided this entitled him to discuss the subject critically. In doing so Luther wrote Archbishop Albert a letter on the subject and enclosed in Latin "Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences." He argued indulgences made people believe repentance was not important, it downplayed the importance of charity in Christian life, and it competed with the preaching of the Gospel. (Boehmer, 198) Once Luther died, his disciple Philipp Melanchthon reported that the theses were also posted on the door of the church at Wittenberg Castle on October 31, 1517, although not all modern scholars are completely convinced this ever took place. (Erikson, 142) By December of 1517, the theses had all been translated to German and were read throughout the empire.

Martin Luther was responsible for the start of the Reformation. He was against many of the Catholic Church’s teachings and beliefs, especially the sale of indulgences. He believed the Roman Catholic Church was corrupt and should be reformed. His beliefs were based on three principles: Sola Fide, Sola scriptura and Sola gratia. He believed that salvation should come from faith rather than from doing good deeds and that religious truth could be obtained by reading the Bible. He believed that humans are able to educate themselves and gain knowledge. At the time, the sale of indulgences was a common practice. On the 31st of October 1517, Martin Luther nailed a document,