Impact of Martin Luther

"Luther was a German patriot. He was never a nationalist in the modern sense of the word. Luther was, above all, a pastor, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Luther has been variously identified as an advocate of absolute monarchy, democracy, individual freedom, intellectual repression, nationalism, internationalism, spirituality and secularism. He was a religious figure; his battles were fought over theological issues that may seem to us obscure but whose implications touched every area of life, individual and corporate. Some people consider Luther to be the apostle of absolutism, some later autocrats certainly claimed him as a founding father" (Wilson, 2007 p. 19). Hergenhahn (2009) showed “Luther was an Augustinian priest and biblical scholar, was disgusted by what Christianity had become in his day" (p. 101).

Wilson et. al., (2007) explains that "Luther, then, touched life at every level - the individual, the family, the church, the state -- and he did so not as a dry-as-dust philosopher but as a flesh-and-blood, fallible human being, agonizing about the important issues which faced all his contemporaries. He was a theologian who lived his theology. He put the Bible at the center of everything and, as well as applying it to every problem of prince and peasant, he tried to live it himself" (p. 24).

"Luther, however, insisted that there was another, higher, source of authority: the word of God written in the Bible. In his preaching and teaching -- but above all in his public confrontations with spiritual and temporal leaders -- he gave people permission to doubt everything the Catholic hierarchy taught; to judge it for themselves against the testimony of the Bible. Luther took...

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...orever-is any other position than Luther’s possible?" - Unknown Source.

In conclusion, Martin Luther was a great man. He displayed his love for Christ even if it meant doing battle with good and evil. I believe today that the Roman Catholic Church still tries to reincarnate him in some way shape or form. Of course, living in the New Testament as Luther wanted to purify the church, I believe it is done in today's society. I can pick up my Bible and read it whenever I want and discuss things with my friends about the word. Of course what worries me is that in the future we might not be able to do that anymore. Jesus did say though "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10 New International Version).