Martin Luther's Address To The Christian Nobility

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).

Luther’s fundamental religious problem was, how was it possible for a despairing sinner (human) to be welcomed to a wholeheartedly just and almighty God (receiving salvation)? Proceeding to his departure with the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther was a Augustin monk, Catholic Priest, and instructor of theology. With this being said, his judgments were supported on the lectures of the Catholic Church; on this he was thought of as an specialist. By virtue of his strong beliefs in the religion, he chose the teachings without any doubt. Nevertheless, this all altered when Albrecht of Brandenburg obtained the archdiocese of Mainz on the foundation of a considerable loan that he planned to repay by the sale of self gratification (indulgence).

Luther wanted to separate from the church because the church leaders got to greedy for money. The priests and leaders of the catholic church started to make up things such as selling indulgences which was basically pay the church to be forgiven for your sins and your families sins. Document 4 says, “They[pastors] fatten on the sins of the people,” this shows that pastors only cared for the ‘fleece’ or money of the people rather than actually caring for them. Another example that shows that the catholic church cares for nothing but money is the fact that they got upset when people spent money on things that did not necessarily matter. Document 8 is proof that people were spending lots money on non holy things, the texts says, “So much money is going into the coffer of the vendor that new coins must be minted on the spot,”. Document 6 shows that priests were getting upset on how people were spending their money. The text says “Where is our gratefulness toward God...For so many enslave all their senses to delights…”. This made Luther want to create Lutheranism because he felt that religion should not be about how much money one has but rather their soul.

The main ideology of Lutheranism is that salvation can be gained by three fundamental precepts: by faith, by grace and by scripture alone. Luther felt that Salvation could not be achieved through good works such as prayer or holy living: "Good works do not make a good man, but a good man does good works." (Luther, On Christian Liberty, p.9). Faith in God is created through the belief and love for Him; salvation would rise from it nonetheless. Luther felt that it was up to every individual to interpret the Scriptures and decide for himself what was good. This was a revolutionary concept, as previously it had been only the Pope who could interpret the Scriptures. Another concept of Lutheranism was that every believer could achieve priesthood. All men who had true faith had the opportunity to serve God and were equal in His eyes. "Among Christians there shall and can be no authority; rather all are alike subject to one another." (Luther, Part Two. How Far Temporal Authority Extends, p.31). Bishops and priests in the Lutheran church were not authoritative figures but simply serving an office.

I believe Martin Luther wrote this letter out of desperation. Out of his eyes, the church was not following God’s lead. This must have terrified him, and made him feel like he had to do something. Luther obviously cared very much about the church, so when he thought the church was not following the bible, it must have sent him into a panic. To Luther, the selling and purchasing of indulgencies was nothing but a scam for the church to make money.

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.

Luther was zealous towards the gospel. He felt strongly about the gospel and felt it was unfair only the upperclassmen and well educated could read and interpret the bible themselves. People should be able to read and interpret God’s word themselves rather than trusting the pope’s interpretations. This was unpopular with the Catholic Church because they felt a loss of control over the masses and common people. What is more is the people of Wittenberg were too unintelligent to understand God’s word and this lead to the translating of the New Testament to German in 1529. It was not long before Luther took it upon himself to translate the Gospel in its entirety to German.

Martin Luther’s Letter to the German nobility condemned many of the Catholic Churches practices that Martin Luther believed reflected a corrupt church and described his growing opposition to the pope. Martin Luther believed that the pope should not have any authority over the emperor unless it is for spiritual offices. He believed that the only time, out of religious situations, the pope should feel above the emperor is when he anoints and crowns him at the altar. Martin Luther also did not understand the point or agree with pilgrimages or supports the facts that priest were not allowed to marry. He believed that pilgrimages separated you from your family which you are suppose to protect, not leave and that by forbidding priest to marry you are going against God’s wishes. While Martin Luther does not agree with many of the Catholic Church’s practices, the purpose of this document is not to bring hate upon the pope and Catholic Church but rather bring light upon the early reformation and Luther’s new religious movement.

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

This paper will address the churches political and religious practices that Luther disagreed with, the theses he posted on the church board, what he did to show his disagreement and gather support from the community and how he was able to challenge the church at the

Martin Luther was a very important Christian figure of the Reformation. He began questioning the Roman Catholic Church and soon, he gained followers that split from Catholicism and began the Protestant tradition. Luther didn’t want to form a new church or go against the religious order of medieval Europe. He wanted to end the wrongs that were occurring in the churches and reform morals. (Historical Context)

-The church was saying that you needed to be saved and you needed Catholic priest to be directly involved in your path to salvation. Luther put emphasis on an individual’s personal relationship with God through Jesus.

Luther addressed a lot of issues in the church. While he was in the church the main focus seemed to be drifting away from God and the focus seemed to be man instead. People started to think that they didn’t have a direct connection with God that they had to reach out to him. The church got so caught up in what they were doing they forgot about the ones that were

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.

(pg 31) Luther was one of three professors who were sent to Wittenberg when the elector there asked the Augustinian and Franciscan orders to send them. Luckily for Luther for at this time his inner conflict was so great he, ‘would have sunk into hell,’ had it not been for Dr. Johann von Staupitz Vicar of the Augustinian Order. (pg 34) It was to Dr. Staupitz Luther continually went to in order to find guidance and solace. Dr. Staupitz tried all manners of reasoning and consolation in order to help Luther. Until finally he seemed to say, according to the author, “Physician, cure thyself by curing others…” and Luther was to be commissioned as a ‘teacher, preacher, and counselor to sick souls.’ (pg 42) It is at this point Luther started studying and expounding the Scriptures which lead him, eventually, to a confrontation with the Catholic Church. (pgs 43,44) His study of Scriptures built a foundation of knowledge in Luther which he was soon to find did not line up with the practice of the Church. His work was time consuming to the point where he wrote in 1516, “I could use two secretaries. I do almost nothing during the day but write letters. I am a conventual preacher, reader at meals, parochial preacher, director of studies, overseer of eleven monasteries, superintendent of the fish pond at Litzkau, referee of the squabble at Torgau, lecturer on Paul, collector