2. Martin Luther was a German professor of theology, monk, priest, composer, and an important figure in the Reformation. On October 31st, 1517, Luther wrote to the bishop in his area to complain of the selling of indulgences. Along with the letter he sent a copy of his “Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences”, which is also known as the Ninety-five Theses. The Ninety-five Thesis produced two beliefs that the Bible is the central religious authority, and that humans may reach salvation only by believing in God and not by their deeds paid to the church. Luther had no intention of starting a confrontation with the church, but he felt his argument was a knowledge objection to the church practices. Luther even wrote the letter in a …show more content…
Martin Luther flourished in his new fame and went on to publish three more great writings. Luther began to see and teach others that the church was corrupt. Christ and salvation were the first two points that became a lead way to the Reformation, as well as the railing against selling indulgences. The Pope took his time responding to Luther. Over a course of three years he deployed a series of papal theologians and envoys against Luther, but that only solidified the reformers anti-papal theology. Luther was summoned to Rome after a couple individuals made a case against him. Over three days, Luther had to defend himself on his belief that indulgences were wrong. Luther’s protest of indulgence made him an enemy of the Pope, and the Pope wanted him arrested but Luther was able to leave the city without anyone knowing. In June of 1520 the Pope warned Luther that if he did not recant 41 sentences from his writings then he would be excommunicated. Luther responded by sending the Pope a copy of On the Freedom of a Christian. Luther was excommunicated in January of
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
As a result, Luther burned the letter and other papal documents. Then in 1521, Luther was asked to attend the Diet of Worms, where he would recant what he had written. Once again, he refused. He was strong to his beliefs. Unlike Henry VIII, Luther was not selfish in reforming the Church. For instance, the peasants were one of Luther’s major supporters. They had a list of demands that Luther would try to resolve. He initially backed them up but in 1525 when they turned to violence in a revolt, he exhorted the nobles to slaughter them. Luther could have had all of those supporters who admired him, but instead, he had them slaughtered. Although he could have had the support, he believed violence was not the answer. No matter how many supporters he could have has, his beliefs were always put first. Overall, Martin Luther wanted to reform the Church to create a more simple Christian life as it was in the
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 ...
Luther had a change in his philosophy of how God deals with sinners. Luther believe red that God just sat in Heaven and just passed judgment on sinners. In (Psalm 22: 1-8 AMP) the scriptures talk about God delivering the saints versus just being a God who only judges the people that he condemns for their sins. Luther revolved against the Pope once he realized that the Pope did not have the power to control the final resting place in Purgatory or in Hell. Bainton makes a great point, for the saints by pointing out that the forgiveness of Christ outweighs the indulgences of the Pope. In the end Luther’s theology change featured embracing God’s word from scripture, versus relying on his relationships with religious leader such as the
On the Freedom of a Christian was written by Martin Luther in mid-November of 1520. It was the third of three documents that outlined his beliefs. Luther was convinced by Roman diplomats to write a letter in order to smooth over the tension between Luther and Pope Leo X. This was prior to Luther learning of Exsurge, Domine, the document that contained the excommunication of Luther. After learning of his excommunication, Luther was reluctant to write this letter. However, he agreed to write it along with a small booklet that would become the document On the Freedom of a Christian. (Goebel, ed 156)
People started to see the logic in his words and they started to break away from the Catholic church and in the process starting the protestant reformation. In his theses Luther believed that Faith not good deeds could save a person. People were convinced when they were told that if they pay so much money that their loved ones would be able to get out of purgatory and make it to heaven. Indulgences such as this was one of the major things that made Martin Luther so angry and adamant of writing his 95 theses because he wanted to see a change in the Catholic
others on the greedy, false doctrine of indulgences. And the Pope at the time was Pope Leo X. Pope Leo reigned from 1513 to 1521 when he died. This was the act that started the Reformation and the stand that Martin Luther took to go against the Pope.
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.
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
Luther believed that the Christian Faith was being exploited. The leaders of the Roman church were abusing their monopoly over their Christian followers for their benefit. Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses in response to the sale of indulgences by the Pope. He wanted to make the people aware of how a true Christian should act and how the Pope was violating them: "The treasures of indulgences are nets, whereby they now fish for the riches of men." (Luther, The Nine-Five Thesis, p.5) He felt that giving to the poor and needy would make them far better off than if they bought pardons. The Romanists had set up barriers so that no one could condemn their actions and power. They thought that the temporal power had no jurisdiction over the spiritual power. Secondly, the only person who could interpret the Scriptures was the Pope. Therefore, he decided what was right and what was wron...
Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...
The practice of selling indulgences became under attack from a monk named Martin Luther in the early 1500’s. Indulgences were used as a means by many church officials to add to their wealth and prestige. By buying an indulgence, one was released for all sin and acceptance into Heaven guaranteed. Luther argued that no one needed to buy admission into Heaven. He believed that people could obtain salvation thru their faith and actions alone. The authority of the Pope was also challenged by Luther believing that religious matters needed to be resolved through the words of the Bible and not an individual’s decision. All of this was set down in Luther’s 95 Thesis that he posted on the Church door in Wittenberg, Germany ("The Reformation Video").
In Martin Luther’s letter to Pope Leo X, Luther expresses his deepest concerns for the doctrine and well-being of the Roman Catholic Church to the most powerful figure in Europe, being very careful not to insult the Pope himself. He addresses several issues that have arisen within the church, such as corrupt men who are in positions of leadership, people who are treating the Pope as though he is a God, and people convincing the Pope that he alone has the right to interpret scripture. Luther also proposes several solutions to the Church’s dilemma, beseeching the Pope to remain humble and not comply with those who attempt to worship Him, as well as asking that he not be convinced he is the only one capable of interpreting scripture. Above all else, Luther’s main purpose in writing to the Pope himself is to both clarify his misunderstood intentions to the Holy Catholic Church and to also earn the favor of Pope Leo in spite of his condemnation of the Church, both
Martin Luther was a friar very devoted to the Church but after analyzing all these aspects he decided to do something about it. On October 31, 1517 he attached to the door of Wittenberg Castle a list of 95 theses or propositions on indulgences. These theses criticized papal policies and were objections about he church put on hold for discussion.
Luther turned against the university and began to write the 95 Theses, which question the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences. Martin Luther nailed them on the door at Wittenburg Castle Church. This spread like wildfire, all across Europe as pamphlets were being printed one after another. Just like in the movie Luther, The pope did not agree with Martin’s writings and called him to the Diet of Worms to discuss the writings that he had written. At the Diet of Worms, Luther refused to recant his writings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany. Martin states in front of the catholic church, “Unless I am convicted by scripture and plain reason.. I will not recant. My conscious is captive to the word of God” (Luther). Luther stood for what he believed and he did not care if anyone did not agree with his writings. Martin states at the beginning of the 95 theses, “Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter” (Luther, 95 Theses). This scene in the movie is described true to what history tells us. It is one of the