Martin Luther
In this paper I will write about Martin Luther and how I agree with what he did for our religious beliefs. I feel that any person who will stand up for what he or she believes in is best thing you could do. If no one ever stood up for what they believed in then we wouldn't be free like we are today. I will include some quotes from my readings to give a brief description as to why I agree.
I would first like to say that when Martin Luther was hit by a bolt of lightning and decided that he would have to enter a monastery, because he hoped that a penitential life would help him overcome his sense of guilt. This makes it obvious that he believes in god and doing right will give him salvation. Therefore when he started to go against the Catholic beliefs, it wasn't because no one else could believe in it. It was because he didn't believe in it and he thought that there were people that believed the same way he did.
When in Wittenberg Luther published ninety-five theses, or statements on indulgences that he offered to debate with experts in Christian doctrine. He wrote this because this was what he believed to be correct teachings on indulgences. He felt that it was unforgivable that people should be deprived of their hard-earned money for spurious, worthless promises. I too agree with that, when I go to church and money is being collected, I don't feel like I am giving money to save my soul, I feel like I am giving money to keep the church open. If I had to give money to feel saved, then I don't think I would go to church anymore, because I feel that as long as you believe in god and are a good person that my soul will be saved.
After being excommunicate by Pope Leo X, Luther continued to believe what he believed in. He declared "I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is unsafe and wrong to go against my conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen." Luther then went and developed his ideas and shaped them into a formal set of beliefs that influenced most of the subsequent variations of Protestant Christianity. These doctrines have remained the basis of Lutheranism ever since.
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
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
History is indeed made up of significant events which shape our future and outstanding leaders who influence our destiny.
Its hard for most people to imagine it possible that one man, like Martin Luther, could affect the world so profoundly in such a short period of time. However, that is infact exactly what he did and in a period of only sixty-three years. Some of the most spectacular events in religious reform took place during Martin Luther's life. He forced the scholarly to stop and take a good, hard look at the practices of the church and he allowed the layman to do the same. At a time when indulgences and pardons were at there height, and the Catholic church reigned supreme, Martin Luther chose to preach against them and the church's doctrine. With one document, his Ninety-Five Theses, he raddled the halls of the Vatican, broke the strong hold of the Catholic church, and brought Christian reform to all parts of Europe and the world.
The Civil Rights Movement is one of the most important events of the history of the United States. Although many people contributed to this movement, Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely regarded as the leader of the movement for racial equality. Growing up in the Deep South, King saw the injustices of segregation first hand. King’s studies of Mahatma Ghandi teachings influenced his views on effective ways of protesting and achieving equality. Martin Luther King’s view on nonviolence and equality and his enormous effect on the citizens of America makes him the most influential person of the twentieth century.
In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a scroll known as the Ninety-five Theses onto the Catholic church. This list criticized many concepts of the Catholic church. For example, Martin Luther attacked the sale of indulgences, amount of power held by the Pope, and wealth of the church. Ultimately, the church was outraged and excommunicated Luther. This started a rebellion and a revolution. Luther’s goal was not to tear the church apart, but to try and reform the corrupt areas. “Luther did not intend to form a new religion; his struggle had been with Rome. Before he could build, he had to tear down- his religion was one of protest.” After being excommunicated, Luther created his own religion called Lutheranism. Lutheranism relates closely to the Catholic
“God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old negro spiritual,’Free at last, free at last, Great God a-mighty , we are free at last’”-Martin Luther King Jr. , this quote means that one day Dr.King wants people to be equal. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero because he lead the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. wants people to be treated equally, no matter religion, race, or color and thats why he said the quote from above. Dr.King is a hero because he lead the the civil rights movement and gave the most amazing speech ever (in my opinion) the “I had a dream” speech.
Paragraph fourteen of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the paragraph that makes the strongest appeal to the reader’s emotions by providing vivid examples of how hatred, racism, and discrimination negatively affected the lives of African Americans. These vivid examples range from stories of him explaining segregation to his children to the police brutality that was taking place throughout the south. Dr. King expresses himself in a way that forces the reader to visualize and deeply feel these events. His passionate use of rhetoric creates an emotional connection between the reader and the African Americans experiencing these injustices.
The famous speech of Martin Luther King The famous speech, “ I Have a Dream”, was held in 1963 by a powerful leader of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. He was born January 15, 1929, the son of an Atlanta Pastor. Martin Luther King Jr. always insisted on nonviolent resistance and always tried to persuade others with his nonviolent beliefs. In 1963, King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and almost 200,000 people attended his speech. All his listeners were Civil Rights supporters who rallied behind him and the people who watched his appearance on television.
This corruption took the forms of actions by the Catholic Church such as: the selling of Indulgences for money as a means of attaining salvation, the buying/selling of Church relics (Simony), and the placement of poorly trained people in positions because they knew employers (Nepotism). Luther had also come to believe that the Catholic Church was wrong in their ideas and beliefs. In 1517, Luther posted his 95 theses which expressed his beliefs and thoughts on the corruption of the church, demanding the Catholic Church to reform. He wrote about “sola gratia” as the justification of sinful humankind “by grace… (as) the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). He expressed his thoughts on “salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Timothy 3:14-4:2) as “sola fide”, opposed to the catholic belief of salvation through faith and good
Through the eras of the Middle Ages, many Protestants demanded to have a personal relationship with God without the influence of the Catholic Church. The Protestants started to think for themselves as a religion, and Martin Luther first paved the way. Martin Luther first visited Wittenberg, Germany, and made a list of complaints that he had with the Catholic Church. A short while after, he published his list of complaints to the door of a German church, and they were called the Ninety-Five Theses. In response, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther in 1521. The Catholic Church conflicted with the Protestant religion, because the Protestants sought an individual relationship with God.
Martin Luther a German theologian and religious reformer was the founding figure of the protestant reformation, the break from the Catholic Church, which in many ways marks the beginning of modern Europe. A well-expressed preacher and huge writer, Luther attacked many abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the papacy. The source of his spiritual revelation was not political or institutional but came from his inner fight of conscience. Like other people of his day, Luther was horrified that god would in the end reject him for his sins. He found a word in the bible called “Law” which increased his terror, but he also discovered a word god called “Gospel,” the good news and promise of mercy in Christ, which shed all of his worries. By his words and actions, Luther caused an action that reformulated certain rudimentary Christian belief and the division of Western Church between Roman Catholics and the Protestant traditions. He is one of the most influential person in the history of Christianity.
Luther thought that the specific act in the Catholic Church of indulgences was wrong so he decided to try to reform the Catholic Church through his own teachings. Martin believed that the act of taking money in return for a promise of eternal happiness with God was wrong. This is what some of the Catholic leaders were doing and as time went on the act of accepting indulgences became greater and greater. Indulgences, in simpler terms, meant a peasant could pay to have his sins forgiven. You could literally, according to the clergy, buy your way out of Hell and/or buy less time in Purgatory! The reformation that Luther had hoped for the Catholic Church did not work. They were many other reasons that Martin Luther had issues with the Catholic Church besides the indulgences, but that was the big one. Others included, but are not limited to, priest celibacy, the great respect for saints, sacred images and the idea that the pope wa...
Piper, John. "Martin Luther Lessons from his Life and Labor." desiringGod. Desiring God Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2014. .
The Catholic church was losing ground physically and in the hearts of the people. While there were still a great many who remained loyal to Catholicism, there were still people like Calvin, King Henry VIII and Luther who felt the need to call the Catholics out on the problems within their faith, and how it was affecting everyone else.