Short Biography: Francis Waller

He got his first chance when Assisi declared war on their longtime enemy, the nearby town of Perugia. When Francis was just barely twenty years old, he fought in the war between Assisi and Perugia and was taken prisoner. Most of the troops from Assisi were butchered in the fight. Only those wealthy enough to expect to be ransomed were taken prisoner. At last Francis was among the nobility like he always wanted to be, but chained in a harsh, dark dungeon. All accounts say that he never lost his happy manner in that horrible place. Finally, after a year in the dungeon, he was ransomed. Strangely, the experience didn't seem to change him. He gave himself to partying with as much joy and abandon as he had before the battle. That period shaped the young man's soul and the weaker his body became, the more deeply his sense of charity and love towards others took root in him. By the time he returned to Assisi, he was seriously ill. His mother's loving care and time itself brought him back to health, but the carefree life he had led before and which had started again by now, seemed empty to him. Driven by his dreams of being a soldier, he decided to follow a condottiere to the southern region of Apulia, but when he had gotten as far as Spoleto, the Lord appeared to him one night in a dream and ordered him to turn back. The words of God echoed in his mind like a summons. This marked the beginning of his gradual

He did this because he felt that he would never earn his eternal salvation otherwise. He didn't feel that all of the prayer, studying and sacraments were enough and felt that he would never be able to satisfy such a judgmental God. After entering the religious life he later became a monk and entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt in July of 1505. While there, Luther became a well-known theologian and Biblical scholar. Luther took his religious vocation very seriously. This led him into a severe crisis in dealing with his religion. He wondered, "is it possible to reconcile the demands of God's law with mankind's inability to live up to that law?" Luther then turned to the New Testament book of Romans for answers. He realized that everyone is burdened by sin because it happens as a result of our weaknesses. He concluded that man could never earn his salvation by leading a blameless life or by performing Holy acts. Instead, man's salvation was a divine gift from God resulting from faith in Jesus, especially the saving power of His death and resurrection. This was known as the protestant doctrine of "justification by faith alone." The fact that Luther believed this led him into his first confrontation. The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo X, was trying to raise money in order to build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In order to do this, the Pope offered the sale of indulgences, which were donations of money that would give

Francis spent his early years as the spoiled son of a merchant from the nouveau rich class. He was accustomed to violence and even went to war in a battle between Assisi and Perugia. This all changed later, as he become truly selfless. One of his friends noticed this sudden change in Francis and asked him, “Francis are you going to take a wife?” In response he said, “I will marry a nobler and fairer bride than you ever saw, who shall surpass all others in beauty and excel them in wisdom.” The lady he was referring to was Lady Poverty. He would go on to sell off all his possessions including his own horse and attempted to give the money to the decaying St. Damian Church which the priest would not accept. It is worth noting that the priest did not take the money because he found the change of heart within Francis startling. “The priest was amazed, and wondering at a change of circumstances incredibly sudden, refused to believe what he heard; and, thinking he was being hoaxed, he would not keep the offered money.” The skeptical reaction of the priest shows how radical and revolutionary Saint Francis’ generosity was, but also how rare a man like Francis was at a this point in

Martin Luther grew up in a home with very strict parents. As a result, Luther’s childhood was plagued with anxiety at home and at school. Because his father planned for him to become a lawyer, shortly after receiving a Master of Arts degree from Erfurt University he returned to the university to study law. Consequently, after a life threatening experience in a storm, Luther left the university and joined a monastery. In 1505, Luther became an Augustinian monk and subsequently became a priest in 1507. According to John Dillenberger, “Luther was extremely sensitive to the problem of how to become worthy to receive the grace of God rather than the damning consequences of His righteousness”.

Martin Luther, born in 1483, grew up in a devout Roman Catholic household, where the church stood at the center of his world. However, he suffered at the hand of his parents’ harsh criticism. His father had emerged from the feudal system into the new middle class as a successful Coppersmith. His desire was for his son to also climb the social ladder. To assist with his son’s success, Luther’s father was a fierce judge of the character of his son, and often punished him severely for his failures. From these experiences, Luther developed a low self-esteem and fear of failure, which encroached on every aspect of his life, including his theology.

He played the game the teachers wanted him to play, he applied to the colleges that his parents wanted him to go to. He was living the life everyone else wanted him to. “I was to be famous. I’d be a rich corporate lawyer, a brilliant physician (specialist of course) or a big gun exec in a company that had wealth and power, I’d be my parents son. That was he plan.”

When luther left the church he began writing his ninety-five theses. His theses was a list of things he thought was wrong with the church. Such as the church having people to work so that

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 16th century, Martin Luther was studying law at the University of Erfurt. Shortly into his studies Luther was struck by lightning and was met by many emotional changes. From this obscure event, Luther entered the Augustinian Monastery and became a monk. Since the beginning of Luther’s career as a priest and teacher of theology, his criticism with the church was prominent. This sparked the beginning of him becoming a reformer. In his personal torment of gaining God’s grace, he saw changes that needed to be met within the Roman Catholic Church. The

wanted to change the church, not create another church or religion, but in doing so he

Francis Marion was born in 1732 in Berkeley County South Carolina. Marion was the youngest son of six children and was born sickly and with misshapen legs. Despite this, he was always in search of adventures. His parents were Gabriel Marion and Esther Cordes and he was born on his Family’s plantation. His grandparents were Huguenots or French Protestant from France, who came to the Carolinas to start a new life and worship in their own way. This was also the same year that George Washington was born.

The change that Luther caused was, in the history of the Christian church, a rapid one. To change something during a person’s life time, was fast compared to 16 centuries of tradition. The complete change that took place was that man could talk to God directly, without an intermediary. Within the Christian church the believers traditionally went to the priest asking for forgiveness. The priest then in turn would talk to God and receive an answer. (World Channel)

Martin Luther was a Monk, Priest and Theologian born in late 1483 in the German town of Eisleben. His father owned a copper mine and had always wished for his son to go into civil service. When Luther was seventeen he arrived at the University of Erfurt. By 1502, Luther had already received his bachelor’s degree and by 1505 he had a Master’s degree. The same year, while returning to University, he was caught in a tremendous thunderstorm. A lightening bolt struck near him and terrified, he cried out, "Help, St. Anne! I'll become a monk!”. Luther lived, and keeping to his promise, he dropped out of university and entered the monastery.

Martin Luther was eager to change the Roman Catholic Church since his beliefs clashed with the church’s practices. He proclaimed that salvation of the soul will come about because of the genuine confidence in God, not simply great deeds. Martin Luther also firmly hated the demonstration of conceding and offering indulgences since he felt that forgiveness came from that person and God.

In “The Life & Times of St. Francis,” St. Francis was born in Assisi and was raised in a church going family. In his younger years, he enlisted into the military until he eventually came back to the church. He dedicated his life to Christ and the church in 1207 and ultimately became a friar, a deacon, and a preacher in his adult years. St. Francis believed in the gospel and worshipping God. In 1210, he was the founder of the Franciscan movement which was made up of orders about the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder, associates, and followers. Moving forward to 1212, St. Francis dedicated his life to preaching and