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Influence of the Protestant Reformation
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Influence of the Protestant Reformation
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Martin Luther was a German monk and Professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg born in 1483. Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation, a theological movement in the 16th century that went against the Roman Catholic Church, after writing the 95 Theses, a series of questions and propositions for debate about the church’s sale of indulgences. This reformation sparked the creation of the Protestant Church, which was made of people that separated from the Roman Catholic Church and chose to follow Luther’s way of teaching Christianity. Luther challenged the church because he disagreed with their ways, he changed his account of why he did so because he was given more freedom. Out of these, the second account is more reliable because the worst had already happened so he could speak his thoughts with confidence.
Luther’s account of why he challenged the Catholic Church
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changed from 1517 to 1535. In 1517, Luther wrote the 95 Theses and sent them in a letter to the Archbishop of Meinz. He said that he grieves “over the wholly false impressions which the people have conceived from [the indulgences]. The unhappy souls believe that if they have purchased letters of indulgence they are sure of their salvation.” In this letter, it is indicated that he challenged the church’s way of handling the indulgences. He didn’t agree with how the church was selling indulgences to the people. He thinks they are doing it mainly for money, and is upset at the fact the people are convinced that by paying money they are granted immediate salvation. Some of Luther’s followers began to write things that Luther said in private and published them in a book called Luther’s Table Talk. His account from 1535 in this book was this: “The main reason I fell out with the Pope was this: the Pope boasted that he was the head of the Church, and condemned all that would not be under his power and authority.” In this account, Luther makes a much more serious accusation. He says that he separated from the Pope because the Pope was abusing his power. He is saying that if someone didn’t agree with the Pope or want to follow the Pope’s ways, the Pope would condemn them all. The second piece was much more angry and bold than the first, which had more of a reserved anger tone. Either way, he challenged the church because he didn’t agree with it. Luther’s account changed significantly over the course over those eighteen years. This could be due to a big change that happened in 1520. Martin Luther was excommunicated by the Pope himself. Fifteen years later, he revised his answer as to why he left. Was it in a fit of rage and venting, or was it simply because the worst was already behind him and he was free to say whatever he pleased? Luther’s account most likely changed for the following reason: since he was excommunicated, that would be the worst punishment for him in the eyes of God. After being excommunicated he had, in a sense, hit rock bottom. Nothing could happen to him that was worse than this. He was free to express the true reason he had the falling out. When Luther wrote to the Archbishop originally, he was around 34 years of age. He still had a desire to stay in the church, but was angered by the handling of indulgences so he wrote to the Archbishop and very politely and respectfully asked them to reconsider. He even began his letter by praising him, saying that he hopes the Archbishop will forgive him for having the idea to write to “someone of your Sublimity.” He also calls himself the “dregs of humanity.” He does not want to offend the Archbishop or cause him to be angry with him. His attitude is completely different in the second piece. He spoke with utter hatred towards the Pope, completely fearless. He was free to express in any way he wanted how he felt and without fear of punishment from the church for doing so. Whether or not he exaggerated because of his newfound freedom is unknown, but by now he had gained more followers and didn’t seem to really mind being excommunicated. After all, he didn’t agree with their teachings anyway. He went and started his own church and taught as he wanted. While both documents A and B have some credibility to them, both having been from the same time and published during Luther’s lifetime.
He was fine with the publication of both these documents. However, Document B is more reliable. As mentioned earlier, Luther did not agree with the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote to the Archbishop in hopes that some things could be modified, and was instead asked to repeal them. He refused this of course, and was excommunicated two years later because of this. When he wrote to the Archbishop, he was obviously very angry, but wasn’t about to start screaming at him because he was still a member of the church. After his excommunication, he was given the freedom to start his own church - the Protestant church, and preach how he wanted. After fifteen years, the chances of him still holding a grudge against the Pope for getting kicked out of a church he didn’t agree with is ridiculous. He could freely express his true reasons without fear of punishment, while when his original response was given, he was still a member of the church and didn’t want to offend
anyone. Martin Luther gained many followers over the course of his lifetime, changing the way the people of Europe and the world viewed Christianity. Protestantism is still a widely practiced branch of the religion, one of the main three. It has over 500 million followers and is practiced all over the world in almost every country. Luther’s reformation has forever changed the world’s view of religion, and it’s effects “can be seen in the intellectual and cultural flourishing it inspired on all sides of the schism.” It is also a valuable lesson about standing up for what you believe in, because if Martin Luther had not done this people may not be able to see that there are many ways in which one can practice their faith.
Martin Luther is known to be a key initiator to the Protestant Reformation, although he had no intention of doing so. He was going to become a monk, so he read deeply into scriptures, but this only led him to discover inconsistencies between traditions and the Bible. These inconsistencies lead him to demand changes in the Catholic Church; however that did not include
Social and economic stresses of The Protestant Reformation age were just among few of the things that impacted the ordinary population of Europe. The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, and cultural disorder that divided Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the ordinary population. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice. In 1555 The Peace of Augsburg allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany; and in 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years’ War. The key ideas of the Reformation, a call to purify the church and a belief that the Bible, should be the sole source of spiritual authority. However, Luther and the other reformers became the first to skillfully use the power of the printing press to give their ideas a wide audience.
Kittelson, James M. Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.
First we will talk about Martin Luther. Martin Luther was born on November 10th, 1438 and died February 18th, 1546, but his actions throughout his life leave a mark in the history world. Luther was a Catholic priest and professor of Theology from Germany. He attended the University of Wittenburg, and there, not only did he earn a doctorate, but he also gained "religious enlightenment". He is, to this day, a very influential person of the past and he changed history forever, but why? The answer is the Protestant Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation was a period of time (1500-1700) where there became a change in Western Christendom. This reformation was caused by the resentment from the people because the Catholic Church abusing their powers for political and economic advances. In this time the church was selling pardons for sin and indulgences to forgive sins, decrease days spent in purgatory and save the dead from damnation. The reformation was when people became more aware with the back hand dealings with the church and men like Martin Luther and John Calvin created their own churches to what they believed was not corrupt unlike the church. Unfortunately there many consequences as far at the Roman Catholic church attempting to bring people back to the church,
Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483. He was a German monk, priest, professor, theologian and church reformer. His teaching helped to inspire the Reformation, and influenced the doctrines of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions, as well as the course of western civilization. Luther's works and writing helped bring the Middle Ages to a close, and brought about the Modern Era of western civilization. His translation of the Bible furthered the development of a standardized German language. Due to the development of the printing press, his teachings were widely read and influenced many reformers and thinkers. (Peterson 1)
At the beginning of the sixteenth century church theologian, Martin Luther, wrote the 95 Theses questioning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. In this essay I will discuss: the practices of the Roman Catholic Church Martin Luther wanted to reform, what Martin’s specific criticism of the pope was, and the current practices Pope Francis I is interested in refining in the Roman Catholic Church today.
Martin Luther was a representative during the 16th century of a desire widespread of the renewal and reform of the Catholic Church. He launched the Protestant reform a continuation of the medieval religious search.
The Reformation began long before its official start date in 1517, while its consequences are still in effect today. Ideas of reformation began in the middle of the 14th century. By the 16th century the Catholic church sought reform from within itself because between the 14th and 16th centuries the church was faced with a significant decline in authority. Reformers, such as John Wycliffe, Erasmus, and Martin Luther, played significant roles as the source of the Reformation, however; there are other provoking source - indulgences along with the art and literature of the time- and the components combined created unfortunate consequences and positive solutions to the declining authority of the Church.
Martin Luther is a German monk that was opposed to many things of the Roman Catholic Church. He took actions that sparked the protestant reformation and made it popular around the world. Luther feared God in his early years and sought to find salvation in the monastery. During a very powerful thunderstorm, Luther plead to Saint Anne to save him. The storm stopped and the decision to become a monk was final.(biography.com) Luther’s main beliefs were that all church teachings should be based on the Bible, the only way to win salvation
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.
The Reformation began because many people did not agree with corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. The leaders of the Reformation are called Protestants. One of those Protestants was Martin Luther, a theologist who did not agree with the wealth and sale of indulgences in the Catholic church during the Reformation. On October 31, 1517, in the university of Wittenberg, Germany, Luther posted statements criticizing the church. Wittenberg and the date Luther posted the statements were regarded to be the start of the Protestant-Reformation.
Martin Luther was a German theologian whose writings prompted the beginning of the Reformation in Germany. He was born to Hans and Margarete Luther on November 10th, 1843, in Eisleben, Germany. At the age of 18, in 1501, he enrolled into the University of Erfurt. During a terrible thunderstorm at Erfurt, he prayed to St. Anna and promised that, if he came out of the storm alive, he would become a monk. After surviving the storm however, Luther regretted this promise, but still joined a monastery in 1505, becoming an Augustinian friar. In 1510, he visited Rome on behalf of a number of Augustinian monasteries, and was disgusted by the corruption that he found there. After this visit to Rome, Luther became increasingly troubled by his faith, so during studying and teaching theology, after being made a Doctor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1512, he began to ...
Martin Luther was well depicted in Luther, in the movie Luther’s character cared about what God wanted him to do. He wanted to follow the plan God had for him, and spent all of his time in confession. In the movie, they show Luther confessing in a cellar more than once a day as he was asking for forgiveness from God. After a while at the monastery, Martin was sent to teach theology at the University of Wittenberg. During Luther’s
Martin Luther was a wonderful great thughts about the christian commuity during his time. His time was in the 1500s that this took place. He was in something like a club I guess which is Protestant Reformation if that’s even a club. He was like I said a wonderful guy at the Renaissance that he changed the whole catholic church. Martin Luther was born in November on the tenith of 1483 in the town called Eisleben, the country of Germany. His mother Father or should I say his graudian, Hans and Margarrete Luther, were peasants. His dad wanted Martin to become a lawyer so he started school at the age of seven.