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Martin Luther Motivation

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Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer who is credited for sparking the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

Martin Luther was born into a world dominated by the Catholic Church, which held spiritual and political authority over all the nations of Europe. Martin Luther vowed to become a monk and devote his life to the Church’s promise of salvation [saving a soul from hell]. After Martin Luther entered the monastery, Luther became doubtful that the Church could offer him salvation. During a visit to Rome, the center of the Catholic Church, he found corruption and a lack of spirituality. Luther began to realize that many of the things he believed about the Church were not true. As time progressed, he encountered more examples of his growing doubts in the Church.

In 1516, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar and papal commissioner for indulgences, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Indulgences were pieces of paper issued by the Catholic Church that forgave sins so one’s soul could go to heaven instead of hell when they died. Indulgences implied that the rich could buy their way into heaven while the poor could not if they were unable to pay for indulgences. Upon hearing the news that Tetzel was preaching that people could be forgiven by paying for indulgences, Luther was deeply troubled and irritated. In response to the sale of indulgences, on October 31, 1517,

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