What Was Luther's View Of Moral Power

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).

Inhabiting the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century, the upper class considered peasants a mere subhuman. Conversely, Martin Luther, a German professor of theology, influenced reformation to the German state. This reformation focused on the peasants, especially the peasant revolt of 1524. As the revolution continued, the Peasant Parliament formed to coordinate activates and strive for optimistic results of the revolt. Consequently, peasants offered moderate reforms that were supported by the towns, but condemned by the nobility and the leading Protestant reformer, Martin Luther. This would be known as the largest uprising in Europe before the

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.

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

The earliest most famous Protestant reformer, Martin Luther went to the school of Erfurt to study law in 1501, but he quickly became more interested in theology. Luther was exposed to recent humanist writings and read extensively in classical Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In 1505, he enrolled in an Augustinian monastery. He spent a decade educating and preaching and visited Rome. The Reformation was a religious uprising in Europe in the 16th century, prompted by dissatisfaction with the set Roman Catholic Church, which directed to the formulation of the Protestant branch of Christianity.

From 1524 to 1526 peasant revolts were occurring throughout the German states. Many causes and responses brewed out of these revolts. One cause is from religion issues (1,3,6) , Luther’s idea of equality. Another cause is the peasant gaining power (2,8,9). As a result of these causes came out response, the most common response was riots and chaos (5,11,7). These revolts would end in thousands of rebel deaths and others are also killed.

More specifically, a special decree was included in the Imperial Diet of Speyer in response to the rebellion (Document 7).  This decree ordered an examination of the revolt so that it could be prevented in the future.  Also, the decree included allowing those who “surrendered unconditionally” to return back to their estates despite their violent actions.  On the other hand, Martin Luther took a very different approach in his criticisms in Document 5.  He states that the peasants are acting like “raging dogs” in their violent revolts.  Also, he condemns their use of God was a motivation since instead they are merely trying to get others to join their devilish ways. Martin Luther, as the creator of Lutheranism, is an extremely credible source of criticism for the use of the will of God to inspire and justify the revolts since he is the actual creator of the religion the peasants now follow. At the same time, the German princes also reacted to the revolt by going to the aid of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire.  He used his armies to assist the princes in shutting down the

Germany during 16th century was a petri dish of religious reformation. The small independent states that comprised Germany began to move away from the catholic church towards the belief of Lutheran ideals. This change in religion and ideals towards everyone being equal in the eyes of God and the dissatisfaction towards their place in society caused the peasants’ revolt of 1524-1526, which was met with force by nobles because they under minded the peasants’ and saw them as an economic transaction who were witless, outliers and middle men attempted to save their own skins and would say anything that might help them.

The ideas of Luther, particularly the ones against authority, played a major role in the causes of the rebellion. In Document 3, the Peasant Parliament demands from their lords to be released from serfdom because Christ has already freed them, and they should reply in kind. While it is not specifically stated, this kind of thinking was clearly inspired from Martin Luther, as he was the one who expressed ideas that authoritiative figures should not be listened to, only the word of God. The peasants

The Church changed with Martin Luther’s returning. The German princes who supported Luther took control of Catholic churches in their own territories. This caused the formation of separate churches under supervision of the government. The Peasant Revolts, in 1524, helped Luther. Peasants thought that social issues should be changed like church issues had been. 100,000 people ended up being killed, leading many to go back to the Catholic Church. In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg was put into effect. The Peace of Augsburg was an agreement to accept the division of Christianity of Germany. The German princes could choose whether they wanted to accept Lutheranism or just stay Catholic. The people of had no choice.

The German Peasants’ War of 1525 has been seen as both the last great medieval peasant revolt and as the first modern revolution. For more than 150 years the War has been the topic of ongoing historical debate. Indeed, it has always been a subject of contention among historians who seek to determine its relation to the Reformation. While most Reformation scholars have arrived at a consensus as to the series of events that transpired during the war, there has not been such agreement regarding the perplexing inner dynamic of the uprising. Set against the backdrops of both the German revolutions of 1848 and the political developments that characterized 1970s Germany, this debate has seen engagement from the historians Friedrich Engels and Max Steinmetz, who provide a Marxist interpretation that attempts to depict the war as the “high point of the early bourgeois revolution”, locating it within a German revolutionary tradition by citing the socioeconomic tensions that arose through the peasants’ oppressive relationship with the feudal lordship of their rural communities. Departing from the Marxist interpretation, Günther Franz has entered into the debate, defining the revolt as a “political revolution of the German peasant estate” that was made possible by the Reformation. Although he acknowledges the troubling nature of the evident economic difficulties, Franz understands the war as a response to the changing political structure of 16th century Germany. Submitting his own

At the time Luther wrote the “95 Theses on the Power of Indulgences” he presumed that reforms could still be made by the Pope and the church's hierarchy; however, after Luther received the papal bull excommunicating him, Luther’s ideology became diametrically opposed to the pope and the whole Roman Catholic structure (shilling 142). This break was a defining time

While Martin Luther reinforces Aquinas' concept of how the state with a virtuous ruler is required to preserve peace, punish the unjust, and restrained the wicked in society, he evolves the concept one step further. His central argument with regard to the concept of the state centers on the idea that there is truly a division between the Church (spiritual power) and secular authority even though both were needed and both complimented each other. More important, he vehemently argues that the Church had no domination over all matters that are temporal or earthly matters. He affirms this idea when says …"es preciso ditnguir claramente los dos regimens y conserver ambos: uno, para producer justicia, el otro, para mantener la paz externa e impeder las obras malas. Ninguno es suficiente en el mundo sin el otro." (Luther, De la Authoridad Secular: Hasta Que Punto Se Le Debe Obediencia (1523)

The Lutheran Reformation is particularly associated with the German territories and the pervasive personal influence of one charismatic individual Martin Luther. Luther’s concern was the doctrine of justification, which formed his central point of his religious thoughts. The Lutheran Reformation was initially an academic movement, concerned primarily with reforming the teaching of theology at the University of Wittenberg (McGrath 2007). The Lutheran began in 1822 this happen after Luther’s return to Wittenberg from his enforced isolation in Wartburg. Luther was condemned for “false doctrine” by the Diet of Worms in 1512 (Noll 2000).

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.