Martin Luther's Influence On The Catholic Church

A man named Martin Luther, is still a very controversial figure in the eyes of the Catholic Church even to this day. He is mainly known for questioning the church with what is commonly remembered as the 95 Theses. In addition, Luther was the founder as well as the first leader of the Protestant Reformation which ultimately allowed for the concurrence of Catholics and Lutherans in Germany. For many years, Martin Luther fought the Roman Catholic Church on his beliefs even when he was threatened or intimidated. Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 and grew up by Mansfeld, Germany. At the age of five, Luther started to attend school and learned how to read, write, and speak Latin. He continued his studies at the "Brethren of the Common Life"

However, Luther felt he was not earning salvation nor finding the guidance he had wanted to receive. He then returned to Germany to be a delegate at a church conference, and ended up enrolling in the University of Wittenberg to earn his doctorate. There he became a professor of theology and through his lectures is where he found the guide to spiritual salvation. He realized the way to earn salvation is to simply believe in faith and not to fear God. This became a huge influence on Luther's life as well as the reformation of the church which would come

These indulgences included ways in which people could reduce their punishment for the sins they had committed. Martin Luther then came up with 95 Theses which were set to question the indulgences that had been set in place. The first two thesis stated his belief that "God intended believers to seek repentance and that faith alone, and not deeds, would lead to salvation". The other 93 Theses strictly supported the first two and critiqued the use of indulgences. He believed that they were corrupting peoples faith and causing fear of God among the people. A meeting with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan was called where Luther was told to take back or revoke his 95 Theses. Luther refused because the Church could not prove that he was wrong with any creditable evidence from scripture. He then announced publicly that the Bible did not give the Pope the right to exclusively interpret scripture. This meant that he thought all people should be allowed to read God's word for themselves. Of course, this was an attack on