Martin Luther's Influence On The Catholic Church

Throughout the past 50 years, the various means of inspiration for Martin Luther’s theology has changed and evolved in the eyes of historians. Starting in the 1960s, Luther began to be credited with various contributions in the theological development of Christianity. Luther was not attempting to say anything new or revolutionary however, he was just trying to interpret the scripture in a way he thought was more accurate. The Reformation was never his primary intention, however the church's unwillingness to cooperate with Luther and hear his ideas forced Luther to begin breaking off. Luther had many new ideas that hadn’t really been seen before his time. For example, Luther believed that if something could not be proved through the scriptures, than it could not be used to bind people to certain ways. This would mean that certain ideas in the Catholic church such as the need to confess sins to a priest would not be necessary since nowhere in the scripture does it say that one must confess their sins to

This statement would contradict the statement from ten years earlier that Luther’s parents had no real influence on his theological ideas. This shows a change in the way that historians view the works of Martin Luther, from having little to no paternal influence to his work having a fair amount of influence, specifically from his father. The statement also helps support the idea from the ‘80s that Martin Luther’s thinking was influenced by an anxiety he had that had him fixated on a father figure. Since his father did not approve of many of his decisions with the church, such as entering a cloister, it would make sense that Luther would have a longing for the approval of a father figure. That longing would also have an impact on how he views God, as he would more than likely believe that God was someone whom gave his approval and grace to anyone who called for