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The impact of Martin Luther on the church
Explain the role of Martin Luther in the Church Reformation in Germany
The impact of Martin Luther on the church
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This essay will use primary history documents to tell you about the life and works of Martin Luther in the Protestant Reformation. It will tell you about the main causes that made Luther start the Reformation.
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
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was to accept God’s gift of forgiveness, and all people of faith are equal.(17.3 ppt. and notes) The main thing that Luther opposed in the church was indulgences. He believed that a person was greater if they gave the money they would spend on indulgences to the poor.(Luther Movie) He stood on the fact that nowhere in the Bible does it say that indulgences are legitimate or okay. Indulgences are a piece of paper that you pay for that get a passed relative or present relative out of purgatory and into Heaven.(document 2) The Roman Catholic Church sold these indulgences as a way to be profitable.(document 1) They knew that the indulgences had no real effect.
Luther believed that the indulgences were against God because they were never mentioned in the Bible. In response to these indulgences, Luther composed a document called the 95 Theses. He nailed the 95 Theses to the doors of the Wittenberg Cathedral. Many people saw these new revelations as a good thing and quickly took them to the printing press.(document 5) The 95 Theses were spread around Europe and the sales of indulgences quickly declined. This angered the Church greatly and they threatened him with excommunication.(document 6) Luther burnt the warning and the Church ended up excommunicating him with the Edict of …show more content…
Worms. In the time of the Reformation, the pope and clergy were usually the only ones in the area that were literate.
Therefore, the priests were the only ones that could interpret the Bible and could tell the congregation what they wanted. This angered Luther because he believed that people should be able to make their own interpretations and opinions for themselves. The Church wanted the power to make people believe what they wanted them to believe. In response to the Church’s representation of the word, Luther decided to translate the Bible into the region’s language of German while under the protection of Prince Frederick of Germany. He then took the newly translated Bible to the printing press and had it distributed across Germany.(17.3 ppt) The Emperor of Germany at the time became very angry when he heard of the new translation because he wanted to continue to practice Roman Catholicism. He ordered that all of Luther’s books be burned and anyone with the books be punished. The people revolted and the Peace of Augsburg was signed. The Peace of Augsburg allowed him to continue preaching without being persecuted therefore he could now spread his teachings freely.(Luther
Movie) The Roman Catholic Church was a very corrupt institution at the time of the Reformation. Church officials were lying, teaching false things, and stealing in order to live their lavish lives.(Document 7) The main problem with this was that they were gaining power and making decisions that were hurting the people. Luther tried to change these things by giving people to opportunity to change from these ways.(17.3 notes) They now had access to the Bible and could interpret it how they pleased. This greatly weakened the Church and many Catholics moved to Protestantism. In order for the Catholics to gain people back, they created their own Catholic Reformation. They changed their ideas on indulgences. Now, indulgences could no longer get you to Heaven, but they were still very important. It became a way to profess your faith before God.(Luther Movie) Tithes were no longer required but were still given as a way to fund the Church. Luther did not only change the lives of protestants but he also changed the corrupt ways of the Roman Catholic Church.(Luther Movie) Martin Luther has played a very prominent role in modern day Christianity. He opened up the new idea of Protestantism and gave people freedom to make their own decisions. Everyone involved in the Reformation benefited in some way because of Luther; the Church changed their corrupt ways, the Protestants got their freedom, and people were able to have choices in what they interpreted. Thanks to Martin Luther, Protestantism thrives throughout the world today.
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.
The Reformation occurred all over Western Europe. It was mostly set in Germany where various parts of corruption in the Church happened. Martin Luther started the process of the Reformation, he was German so he understood how the Catholic Church took advantage and didn't think this was fair. The Catholic Reformation took place between 1450-1650 which was the biggest revolution in Germany, although the understanding of Luther's actions weren't taken notice of until he put the 95 Theses on the Church's door. Luther felt that Bishops and Priests didn't understand the bible correctly. Luther wanted the Reformation to help fix this by helping the uneducated and powerless. Some of the movement of this was
Martin Luther, was “temperamental, peevish, egomaniacal, and argumentative” (Hooker, www.wsu.edu), but played a pivotal role in history. During Luther's time as a monk, the Catholic Church was selling indulgences. Luther took notice to the corruption and began to reason that men can only get their salvation through Jesus Christ, not the Pope or indulgences, let alone the Church itself. Luther began ...
After entering monastery he sought to be acceptable to God but as it may be for anyone, it was hard because what he saw in himself was sin. After reading from St. Paul, St. Augustine, and the gospels, he discovered that God was filled with mercy and compassion. Luther was exceptionally upset because the Church, at the time, was engaged in the practice of indulgences. This practice was very prevalent and frequent in the Church. Martin Luther ignited many people who believed that the Church had fallen away from the teachings of Jesus and the original meanings. They also believed that the Church was overly obsessed with money. With these beliefs, it compelled Luther to take action. In 1517, on the eve of All Saint's Day, Luther posted up on the doors of Wittenberg Cathedral, ninety-five problems with the Church. They are more popularly known as the Ninety-five
He was the man that formed the base of the Protestant Reformation. Luther knew he had to take action on this convictions immediately. So on behalf of the rebellion against indulgences and other Catholic doctrine, Luther created a “ Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” or more commonly known as “The 95 Theses.” The 95 Theses were a list of topics to discuss and propose the idea of indulgences. Or as some people would say to protest the sale of the indulgences of the Roman Catholic Church. The main seller of these indulgences was a man named John Tetzel who had promised the Christians that by paying they were “instantly” saved from sin. Legend says that on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were nailed onto the doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church. Luther knew that this revolt was not violent, but was only intended to educate
Martin Luther was a former Priest/Monk and that saw some corruption in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther tried to bring his concerns to the Church in his writing of the “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences.” When these question that Luther proposed to the Archbishop of Mainz went unsatisfactorily unanswered in 1517, Luther started defaming the Roman Church and pushed for the utter destruction of the Roman Church. What started out as an internal reform of Church’s discipline, turned into a war against the Roman Church for their total destruction. This was the intent of Luther’s sermon of 1521.
The protestant reformation of 16th century had both: immediate and long term effects. Thus, we can see that it was a revolution of understanding the essence of religion, and of what God is. The protestant reformation is said to a religious movement. However, it also influenced the economical, political and social life of people. The most global, short term effect of the reformation was the reevaluation of beliefs, and, as a result, the loss of authority of the Holy Roman Empire. The long term effects were: the emergence of new heretical movements, the declining of papacy, thus the reevaluation of people’s view on the church and life values.
The political organization and religion aspects during the 16th century influenced Protestant Reformation to occur in Germany. Martin Luther’s writings reflect on his views and perspectives of German politics and religion at the time. Martin Luther’s ideas in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Statement of Grievances mentions Martin Luther’s thoughts about how corrupt the church is, why the corruption in the church needs to end, and what Martin Luther’s ideas are to change the way of the church.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
of the Bible became the basis for which Martin Luther translated the Bible into German because he
Martin Luther, also known as the “Reformator,” was a superior asset in the Protestant Reformation. He was born on November 10, 1483 in the town of Eisleben, which was located in East Germany. Luther’s parents were Hans Luder and Margaretha nee Lindemann. His father was a farmer and later became a copper miner in Mansfeld. Martin Luther’s parents brought him up in the strict environment of the Roman Catholic Church. With his new job in Mansfeld, Hans made the decision to move his family there in 1484. Hans expected Martin to become a lawyer, so Luther went to Erfurt in 1501 to study law. Luther received his master’s degree in 1505. Shortly after this, he felt like law was not the right place for him. This act upset his father, not only because he dropped out of the university, but he decided that he wanted to become an Augustinian monk in Erfurt. Luther believed that if he was serious about his religion, he could please and do good works for God. However, once again, he was still unhappy. Luther decided to make another life-changing decision by studying theology. He went to Wittenberg to study this subject. Martin...
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was not political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called “Law” which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called “Gospel,” the good news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of Western Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.
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