The Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther's On Christian Liberty

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).

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is often marked by one man’s appeal for change. Therefore, the life of Martin Luther is a thought-provoking subject not only for the scholar, but also for those curious about the history behind Lutheranism. Consequently, Roland H. Bainton has written Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Selling over a million copies, it was first published by Abingdon-Cokesbury in 1950, which awarded it a prize of $7,500.00. Bainton, an ordained minister, was a member of the faculty at the Yale Divinity School for 42 years. He is recognized as an authority on the

member of the society and obey the laws of the government. Luther reminds us to “Behave in such a way that you bear everything so that you may not need the governing authority to help you and serve you, but that you in turn may help and serve it, being beneficial to it” (Luther 436). Being a part of the Kingdom of the World requires us to know what our duties, rights, and obligations are so that we can have the correct relationship with the state. As a Christian it is our responsibility to advance the prosperity of our country and oppose the views that try to limit our salvation and our beliefs. Luther allows individuals to serve the governing authority so that they may protect it from becoming worse and for the interest of others.

Marin Luther, regardless of his intentions, is one of the most controversial men in all of Christian history. The growth of Martin Luther and essentially the whole Protestant Revolution begins by Luther walking in a storm and getting struck by lightning. At this time, he prays out to the saints in hopes that he will be saved; he promises them that if they save him, he will stop everything a become a monk. Luther is saved and does just that, he quit studying law and took his vows, and he began studying the bible as a monk. While studying the bible, Luther comes across a line in Romans 1:17 stating, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Luther’s interpretation of this is that no amount of pilgrimages, relics, or good deeds will save someone, what will save that person is his or her faith. At the same time that Luther comes to this conclusion, indulgences are being sold. An indulgence is a ticket to heaven which cleanses a person of all sins. A person pays for this certificate, which typically cost half a year’s earnings, and this will shorten the time in purgatory before going to heaven. The idea of what happened after death terrified some people so this gave those people a false sense of comfort.

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.

Bainton’s Here I Stand is a chronologically arranged biography of Martin Luther’s life which seeks to show his philosophy and ideas for the reform of the Catholic Church without seeking to perform psychoanalysis of the Reformer.

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton has been the quintessential biography of Martin Luther since its publication in 1950 because of its combination of a captivating writing style and deep roots in historical fact. The book thus appeals to a wide audience from academics considering the history and theology of the man and his views to non-scholars interested in gaining a better understanding of the man who shook the Catholic Church. Roland Bainton served on the faculty of Yale School of Divinity and was ordained as a Congregational minister. These facts must be remembered while reading Here I Stand because a reading of the book reveals a pro-Lutheran stance, which will be addressed more fully.

Here I stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Is a biography of the life of Martin Luther. Bainton’s attempt to present the life of Luther in a single bounded book is very helpful for both the academic reader and the common reader alike. However, some of the wording would be unfamiliar for most to just pick up and read, but basic phraseology is very readable. He very cohesively uses all available resources to present a monolithic picture of Luther’s, emotions, experiences, and the climate of the world around him. Bainton uses quotes in moments of deep discussion and thought, facts to hold the story together, and illustrations to add to the environment of the time. Additional to the well formed writing style, Bainton provides a clear outline of Luther’s life of twists and turns, a listed Chronology of events, and a list of used illustrations depicting certain life experiences and propaganda from the time.

Luther started his writing in ''On Christian Liberty'' by giving a brief explenation of man creation of his soul and body and how they are related to freedom and good

He challenges us to think about everything and question everything we see and hear. He wants us to think for our selfs. He wants us to question the bible. He wants us to question our religious and political leaders. He changes the way we work. The idea that we live to work. Were it used to be that we worked to live. Because we are here on this earth you might as well work. He want’s us to be thrifty with our money, because that is what God wants. As people are working harder and saving money people are accumulation wealth wildly fast. He says that we should respect all work. Not just the ones that we conceder better jobs. All jobs are equal in God’s eyes. Manual labour is a good thing and should be respected. Which is what a lot of people do. What is considered before peasant work and slave work which is not respected. This contradicts the society rank system that they had before. When peasants and slaves did not mean anything to society. He challenges people ideas of the past, of what they thought of the church and work. But all of these ideas do not come with the intention of changing the world. He does not want to destroy the church. He does this all because of the way he feels. He is concerned for his soul for when he meets God. He wants to know he is saved. He knows he is not saved through the church. He does not want to depend on the church, because he does not believe that they can save him. When people hear about his ideas. They like the things he says. As a whole they all end up changing culture. The way that the society changes becomes for good. The economy booms as a result of the people who adopt the same morals as Luther is talking about. Luther's ideas change the world to as we know it

It is in 1963 at the “March on Washington” that Martin Luther made his famous speech “I have a dream”. That speech became later of extreme importance in modern history for its political and ideological implications. It is also considered as a rhetorical masterpiece and Martin Luther’s most famous pledge to freedom and the liberation of black people. In that speech Martin Luther aimed at convincing his fellow African Americans to take action in order to get their freedom as well as persuading White Americans of the principles of equality. “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood”.

As quoted, “Thus it is always necessary that the substance or person should be good before any good works can be done, and that good works should follow and proceed from a good person” (137). Luther cautions that when educating on Christian freedom one must constantly encourage to continue with Christian donation to charities and not show off with it or strongly criticizing those who are weak, but also not calming or indulging those that are offended. Christian freedom does not brag about whose included or whose excluded, but tries to walk the road along the paved line, cooperating with the weak in their lack of understanding, and merging with the religious in hopes of destroying the roadblocks they've

While many may view a Christian bound to their faith and dutiful piety, Luther shines a different light on Christianity. “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” (Luther, 53) Martin Luther claimed God was an exclusive presence in the conscience of his followers and implying that a dutiful and faithful Christian is responsible follower of God. The result of Luther’s teaching inadvertently demonstrated that salvation did not hinge on the followers obedience to the authority of the priesthood or the church. Nor did salvation fall to the secular authority, to which affected the regulation of bodies and righteous behavior, to discipline and punish the souls of their subjects. Therefore, whether intentionally or not, Luther started the idea of public veneration of freethinking and eventually an individual’s freedom to worship. “It is evident no external thing has any evidence in producing Christian righteousness or freedom…” (Luther. 59) This quote further demonstrates Luther’s point concerning the unimportance of sacraments, fasting, relics, and the like. The inner person has nothing to spiritually gain from external acts such as fasting, going on pilgrimages, or performing “sacred”

Luther defines spirit as personal and eternal, the deepest thing in man, and technique as temporal, a habit or skill that is a function of the office or vocation a person has in society. The dilemma here is how to we as christians, marry a spirit of faith and mercy to techniques of man’s justice. Luther argues a solution to this issue is mimicking God’s “strange” work, in which mercy is the instrument, but the work is wrathful. Essentially, Luther argues christians are living between time and eternity and that the solution to the Christ and culture problem cannot be answered this side of

are subject to him, and are compelled to be sub servant to his salvation” (Luther, Freedom of a