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Martin Luther's Life and Teachings Essay

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Martin Luther was a Christian theologian and an Augustinian monk. He was born on November 10, 1483 to Hans and Margaretha Luder in Eisleben, Germany. The day after his birth he was baptised on the day of the St. Martin of Tours. Martin’s father wanted more for his youngest son so he did everything he could to get his son involved in the civil service and bring honor to their family. His father sent him to various schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In 1501, at the age of seventeen, Martin entered the University of Erfurt. He received his bachelor’s degree after just one year of enrolling into the university, three years later he received his master’s degree. Martin was enrolled in the law program at the university but that all …show more content…

On October 19, 1512 he received a degree of Doctor of Theology from the University of Wittenburg. The demand for the study of academic degrees and preparation for delivering lectures eventually drove Luther to study scriptures in much more depth. He immersed himself into the teachings of the Scripture and the early church. In time words began to take other meanings. By his studying of the Scriptures and the Bible then convinced him that the church had lost of the central truths that were laid out. Luther then started to believe and eventually taught that salvation was a gift of God’s grace which was received by trust and faith that God’s promise to forgive sins for the sake of Christ’s very death on the cross.
In 1517 on Halloween, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg Church. His 95 Theses accused the Roman Catholic church of being unorthodox. This act of rebellion is seen to some as the starting point of the Protestant Reformation. This action by Martin was in response to the excesses and fraud of the Roman Catholic church and also to the selling of indulgences in return for forgiveness of one’s sins. The selling of indulgences was prohibited in Wittneburg by Prince Frederick III. Although the selling of indulgences was banned in Wittneburg many members of the church

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