Martin Luther

Martin Luther lived from 1483-1546. Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben in the province of Saxony. His protestant view of Christianity started what was called the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Luther's intentions were to reform the medieval Roman Catholic Church. But firm resistance from the church towards Luther's challenge made way to a permanent division in the structure of Western Christianity.Luther lived in Mansfield and was the son of a miner. He later went on to study at Eisenbach and Magdeburg.

After studying at these institutions he moved on to study at the University of Erfurt. Luther started out studying law, but then went on to enter the religious life. He went into the religious life due to the fact that he felt that he would never earn his eternal salvation. He didn't feel that all of the prayer, studying and sacraments were enough. Therefore, Luther felt that he would never be able to satisfy such a judging God. Not being able to satisfy this God meant eternal damnation.

After entering the religious life he later became an Augustinian monk and entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt in July of 1505. While in this monastery Luther became a well known theologian and Biblical scholar. In 1512 Luther earned his doctorate in theology and became a professor of Biblical literature at Wittenberg University.Luther took his religious vocation very serious. This led him into a severe crisis in dealing with his religion. He wondered, "is it possible to reconcile the demands of God's law with human inability to live up to the law." Luther then turned to the New Testament book of Romans for answers.

He had found, "God had, in the obedience of Jesus Christ, reconciled humanity to himself." "What was required of mankind, therefore, was not strict adherence to law or the fulfillment of religious obligations, but a response of faith that accepted what God had done." In other words he realized that religion is based on love and not fear. Basically, he realized that everyone is burdened by sin because it happens as a result of our weaknesses. He concluded that man could never earn his salvation by leading a blameless life or by performing holy acts. Instead, man's salvation was a divine gift from God resulting from faith in Jesus, especially the saving power of his death and resurrection. This was known ...

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...accuracy and true meaning of the Word. He felt that the Roman Catholic Church preferred the Papal authority of the Church above God's Word. How did Luther define faith?

Luther defines faith as the absence of all good works. What were Luther's objections to the Pope and other church officials? He felt that the Pope and other officials of the Catholic Church had no knowledge or comprehension of the Bible or had ever even read it. They were wicked people who were preoccupied with wealth and power, but who never considered accomplishing God's will.

What political and social implications came as a result of Luther's teachings? His teachings caused a revolt among the German peasants. They also caused separation within the Catholic Church. How did Protestantism encourage people to view religion on an individual basis? Protestantism encouraged people individually to decide what they needed to do to be saved. This caused people to stray away from traditional beliefs.

Bibliography.(Martin Luther). Compton's. 1998 Vol. 4(Martin Luther). The World Book of Knowledge. 1996 Vol. 9Andrea, Alfred J., & Overfeild, James H. (1998). The Human Record (3rd ed.). New York: Houghton Miffin Co.