The Life and Influence of Martin Luther

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The Life and Influence of Martin Luther

Thesis: Martin Luther was by far one of the most influential people in Church history. His doctrine on faith and works was instrumental in the success of the reformation and has since become a cornerstone of the church we know today.

Martin Luther was born on November 10th 1483. His father, Hans Luther, had made something out of himself and came to own a copper mine. Desiring to see his own son go even further he pushed him in school. By the time he was seventeen years old he was entering the university life. In four years he had obtained a Master’s degree from the University of Erfurt. From here his father pushed him into law school. This is not where Martin Luther would stay. While on the road, during a storm, Martin Luther had the fear of God put in him when lightning came crashing down near him. He called out to God to make a bargain. If God spared his life, he would become a monk. While ninety nine out of a hundred would probably shake it off and continue on after such an ordeal, he kept his word and joined a local Augustinian monastery. He found himself unsatisfied by the rituals of monastic life and began lecturing at the University of Wittenberg. He finally obtained his Doctorate Degree in 1512, but it was what he saw two years earlier on his trip to Rome that would change the direction of the Church forever.

Martin Luther’s witnessing of the sale of indulgences changed him. The idea that a piece of paper signed by the Pope could justify the sins of the living was enough to infuriate him. But the claim was that an indulgence could also free someone from purgatory. Martin Luther dug deeper than the original Augustinian view “impelled by the urgent problem of indulgences.” The Bib...

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...e University of Wittenberg during which time he did suffer from frequent health issues. He passed away from natural causes February 18th, 1546 when he was sixty two years old leaving the world a hero of doctrine, theology, and reform.

Bibliography

1. Lindberg, Carter. The Reformation theologians: an introduction to theology in the early modern period. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.

2. Mullett, Michael A. The Catholic Reformation. Taylor & Francis e-Library ed. London: Routledge, 2002.

3. Olin, John C. Luther, Erasmus, and the Reformation: a Catholic-Protestant reappraisal. New York: Fordham University Press, 1969.

4. Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Reformation of Church Dogma (1300-1700). Of Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.

5. Wakefield, Gordon S. "Faith." In The Westminster Dictionary of Christian spirituality. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983.

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