Martin Luther Influence

His 95 Theses, which propounded two central belief that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds was to spark the Protestant Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history. The 95 Theses were quickly distributed throughout Germany and then made their way to Rome. In 1518, Luther was summoned to Augsburg, a city in southern Germany, to defend his opinions before an imperial diet. A debate lasting three days between Luther and Cardinal Thomas Cajetan produced no

The Protestant Reformation was a pivotal time of European history that occurred during the 16th century. The Protestant Reformation was comprised of people called “reformers” that challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice (“The Reformation”). The Protestant Reformation was revolutionary due to the fact that the reformers preached against everything the Catholic Church had been teaching. Some famous reformers are John Calvin and Martin Luther. However, Martin Luther-- to some--- is named the most successful and influential reformer of the 16th century. Martin Luther was tremendously effective and influential due to how resourceful he was, and his teachings spread across Europe swiftly.

Luther was zealous towards the gospel. He felt strongly about the gospel and felt it was unfair only the upperclassmen and well educated could read and interpret the bible themselves. People should be able to read and interpret God’s word themselves rather than trusting the pope’s interpretations. This was unpopular with the Catholic Church because they felt a loss of control over the masses and common people. What is more is the people of Wittenberg were too unintelligent to understand God’s word and this lead to the translating of the New Testament to German in 1529. It was not long before Luther took it upon himself to translate the Gospel in its entirety to German.

The protestant Reformation was a significant event in Christianity. It took place over the years of 1517 to the year of 1648. The Protestant Reformation was a 16th century movement that occurred throughout Europe. The Protestant Reformation was the event of a significant figure challenging the Roman Catholic Church, there teachings and religious way. There were earlier protests about the certain ways and aspects of the Roman Catholic Church but it wasn’t until a monk called Martin Luther that these became successful and led to major changes. Also Martin Luther challenged some of the techniques that were being used to extort money off people, an example of this is the sales of indulgences. This then lead to the end of the dominant figure of

In the early 1500s , approximately around the year 1517, the Protestant Reformation began . The Protestant Reformation was a huge deal in Europe, which resulted in a revolt against abuses and totalitarian control of the Roman Catholic Church . Political powers wanted to reform the churches by extending their control at the churches extents . There were three major principle figures in the Reformation; Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli . Although they were three different men, they all fought for the same cause: reformation .

The Reformation also known as the Protestant Reformation was a movement that was created for the purpose of trying to reform the Catholic Church. The movement is said to have begun in the sixteenth century at a time where biblical views seemed to be ignored by the Catholic Church. The Reformation eventually involved more than just religious structures and believes, it also brought about political, intellectual and cultural issues that triggered wars and the Counter Reformation by reformers who viewed things completely different. The Reformation was started by Martin Luther but was countered by Ignatius Loyola whom viewed things from a different perspective which brought about two documents mentioned during the reformation which are, “Against

On October 31, 1517, when monk Martin Luther nailed The 95 Theses to the door of a cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany, he had no idea that he was sparking the Protestant Reformation (Greengrass 44-45). These 95 theses consisted of Luther’s complaints and disagreements with and regarding the Catholic Church, particularly on the use of indulgences – a “remission of temporal penalties for sin” sold to individuals seeking salvation (Greengrass 6, 44). The indulgences were claimed to lessen the time an individual’s soul spent in purgatory, commissioned by the Pope of the time, Leo X, and in collaboration with various bishops and archbishops (Linder 22). When Luther nailed his theses to the door, they quickly spread, spurning uproar. First, the theses were sent to Archbishop Albrecht, the superior of an indulgence-selling monk that parishioners of Luther had come into contact with. Then, the document (originally published in Latin) was translated to German and spread throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Luther verbalized many common complaints in his theses and became a sort of hero. The ability of the printing press enabled Luther’s theses to widely circulate as he was thrust into public eye and began the path of Reformation (Linder 23-24).

The Ninety-Five Theses were written by Martin Luther in 1517. At the time of writing, Luther had devoted his life to Jesus Christ, and had become a monk. In his Theses, he expressed the idea that someone must be completely willing to commit penance in order for it to be legitimate, and Luther gave several reasons why he was critical of the sale of indulgences. He challenged the authority of the pope and other powerful positions of the church multiple times throughout his writings. Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses writing was very important in igniting the Protestant Reformation.

Theses, officially called “Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences”, which was ostensibly nailed to the church in 1517. In particular, it criticized the church’s sale of indulgences and the concept behind indulgences. It argued that a Papal

Luther’s reaction of the indulgences was him writing “The 95 Theses”. “The 95 Theses” had consisted of questions that Luther had wanted to debate about the church. Luther had nailed “The 95 Theses” to the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. Luther doing what he had done had started the Protestant Reformation. The “ The 95 Theses” , was soon being passed around Germany and it had soon made it’s way to Rome.

The Roman Catholic Church enjoyed nearly a millennium of undisputed power in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire (1). During this time, the Church’s teachings and rituals, including the selling of indulgences (buying forgiveness for sins), were accepted routines of the daily lives of the faithful. During the 16th Century, however, Martin Luther protested at the Church’s teaching and rituals (specifically the selling of indulgences) and started the Protestant Reformation with his 1517 work - The Ninety-Five

October 31, 1517, the day before the Feast of All Saints, the 33-year-old, Luther had posted the Ninety-five Theses on the doors of the castle church in Wittenberg (Christian History, Gritsch). Luther tried to expose the fraud of the Catholic Church. They were selling certificates, which made Luther did not approve to stop selling certificates for forgiveness and made the Ninety-five Theses. The Ninety-five Theses impacted the relationship people had with their government, church, and education.

Born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of Western history’s most significant figures. Luther came from a relatively wealthy family. Martin Luther's father was involved in the copper trade and wanted Luther to study law at the University of Erfurt. However in 1505, Luther approached the Augustinian Fairs, a catholic church at Erfurt, to find God and discover the peace of the mind. He joined the extremely strict order and excelled in their discipline.

The Ninety-five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences came about as the result of a single controversy in the Catholic Church, and ended up becoming the basis of a split in Christianity. This influential document was one theological professor’s response to the sale of indulgences, a practice long supported by Catholic leaders. Indulgences were a way to lessen punishment after sin. Martin Luther was livid at the thought of people buying their way to salvation, as it contradicted his strong belief that redemption was determined by faith, and that the Bible was the ultimate religious authority, as opposed to the Pope. On a pilgrimage to Rome, Luther witnessed flocks of peasants spending their life savings on indulgences for their dead relatives. At the monastery, Luther struggled to find peace with God; his superior, Johann von Staupitz, chose not to counsel him out of the order. Instead, he sent Luther to study for his doctorate and assume the Doctor in Bible at the University of Wittenberg. While teaching at Wittenberg, Luther continued to develop his theological and philosophical perspective, resulting in his revelatory “tower experience.” Meanwhile, Friar Johann Tetzel began to sell indulgences in Germany to raise funds to renovate St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, prompting Luther to preach against Tetzel. To counter Tetzel, Luther composed the “Disputation on the Power and

Archbishop Albert needed someone to sell indulgences for him, so he hired Dominican friar John Tetzel. Tetzel made this into a business and even began to heavily advertise the sale of indulgences. He came up with catchy slogans to lure people into buying them. He even came up with a chart price to persuade people to buy the "best" or most expensive indulgences. Luther did not agree with this because people no longer saw the need for repentance and felt they could buy away their sins. He was greatly troubled that people were buying into these advertising gimmicks. Since, at the time, the church did not have an official doctrine on indulgences, Luther decided this entitled him to discuss the subject critically. In doing so Luther wrote Archbishop Albert a letter on the subject and enclosed in Latin "Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences." He argued indulgences made people believe repentance was not important, it downplayed the importance of charity in Christian life, and it competed with the preaching of the Gospel. (Boehmer, 198) Once Luther died, his disciple Philipp Melanchthon reported that the theses were also posted on the door of the church at Wittenberg Castle on October 31, 1517, although not all modern scholars are completely convinced this ever took place. (Erikson, 142) By December of 1517, the theses had all been translated to German and were read throughout the empire.