Martin Luther And The Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther is known as the man who fought the Catholic church. The man who exposed the church of committing unjust practices. The man who kick started the protestant reformation. The man who founded the Lutheran church. Martin Luther was many things, but he was not the man who planned to destroy Catholicism. The Reformation changed the religious climate in Europe by introducing ideas that were the basis of the modern-day Lutheranism.

The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that disintegrated Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that differ from Catholic Church and in future triggered wars and fights and persecutions. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, Thomas Muntzer, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s practices, such as “indulgence” and “enough good works to merit salvation” (Sayre 263-266). In Who was Martin Luther Whose 95 Theses Helped Spark the Reformation? (October 31st 2017), Anderson Mike Ellis looks specifically at Martin Luther and his belief and why he wrote the Ninety-Five

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation can be accredited to Martin Luther. Luther, who started Lutheranism, was a monk who began to question the questionable acts and teachings of church officials. Luther believed that to achieve true salvation man must live “by faith” (Axen and Backman, 191). While this belief seems standard, it is important because Luther lived in a time where the pope would accept money from Christians to essentially buy their salvation. Luther believed that it was “better to perform the penance” than attempting to buy one’s way out of purgatory (192). These indulgences lead to Luther establishing what he felt were three real ways to achieve salvation: sola fide, sola gratia, and sola scriptura. Sola fide, or only faith, is the idea that one’s faith could save them, not their money. Sola gratia, or only grace, means that only God’s grace allows someone into Heaven, not anything they

Over the course of history, there have been many of times where people have tried to fix things that were wrong by going back to what it once was. These people were for the people and wanted all of their ideas and actions to benefit all of mankind. A prime example of a person to fix by amendment is Martin Luther. In the early 15th century, the Catholic Church was under siege from criticism based off of corruptions and Catholic wrongdoings; this time in history was known as the Protestant Reformation. The main catalyst in this revolution was none other than Martin Luther. Although Martin Luther sparked rebellion and a revolution, he , himself, was a reactionary reformer in how he wanted to restore the church into what it once was. Martin

Few people can say that they have changed the world; fewer still can say that they did so unintentionally; but that is exactly what Martin Luther did when he posted his 95 theses in an effort to reform the Catholic Church. And while it resulted in his excommunication at the time, he continued his devotion to his faith and founded the Lutheran religion. Through his actions he not only changed the way that millions of Christians practiced their faith both now and in the past through the Protestant Reformation, he also changed the social-political boundaries in Europe due to increased religious tensions.

During the reformation there were some new spiritual concepts that stood out to me. One was, if you help others learn about God and his word then God shall protect you. For example, Martin Luther realized that some of the catholic requirements of faith were absurd. He hated that nuns, monks, priests or any other religious job could not be married, he hated how people had to kneel and pray while going up hundreds of stairs torturing themselves, but most of all he hated indulgences. Martin Luther believed that no one should have to pay money to serve God or help their family and friends get out of purgatory. He above all other people spoke out and sacrificed his own life to help others follow the Lord properly. Martin Luther could have been martyred

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

In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation and the Inquisition was a time period where there were outbreaks of religion, politics, and culture. During this era, religion was the main focus and dealt with many long/short causes and effects. Christians began to get aggravated with the worldliness and dishonesty of the Catholic Church. Popes competed for political power with Italian Princes. Churches increased fees for marriages and baptisms, popes as well as members of the clergy lived extravagant lifestyles while others suffered. The Reformation and Inquisition grew out of much earlier attempts at reform, but it was also a response to more recent developments.

Martin Luther was one of the most influential and controversial men in the history of Christianity. The purpose of this research paper is to educate the reader on the life, theology, and influence of Martin Luther, Father of The Protestant Reformation.

The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in the 16th century that was against the

“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

Martin Luther, a boy who with the help of his father grew up to play a major role in the Reformation of the Medieval Christian Church. Luther’s family was not considered very wealthy. His grandfather was a peasant as well as his father, but his father knew that in order to allow Luther a chance at becoming something greater than a peasant, he had to make some changes. He worked his way up to be an employer in the mining industry thus allowing Luther to begin his journey in becoming a leading Reformer.

A German Augustinian friar, Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Luther grew up the son of a miner, but he did not maintain that lifestyle for himself. He lived in a period that had a widespread desire for reformation of the Christian church and a yearning for salvation.

The father of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther was born in November 10 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony. (1)

Throughout the ages, especially in the middle Ages, the Catholic Church had always been a very powerful institution in the world. Its wealth, its political power, its splendid and stunning decorations have always encouraged people to be part of this community of believers. The unique spiritual concern of Catholics around that time was to know how to have access to the kingdom of heaven. But however, did church leaders use this opportunity to manipulate the faithful members of the church in providing for their own needs? Were false doctrines been taught to blind the faithful? What has happened to God’s grace? James Atkinson, the author of Martin Luther and the birth of Protestantism gives us a clear understanding of who Martin Luther was, his mission and his purposes. No other man in history has ever changed the history of the church like Martin Luther did. And he is considered as the man who shook the church in the 16th century.