Analysis Of Reverend Father Martin Luther 95 Theses

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The 95 Theses were part of the world history curriculum during junior year of high school. After learning of this event, and all it led to, I was very shocked. Growing up, I always had this “pure” image of the church in my mind, especially when it came to the particular time period the 95 Theses were written. I did not grow up religious and currently do not affiliate myself with any religion, but this document still interested me. In my opinion, a majority of religious people tend to portray the church as an institution that has never done any wrongs and has never changed in any way, almost if it has always been perfect. These 95 Theses touch on the important topics of truth, ethics and the proper practice of the Christian faith. Reflecting …show more content…

I do believe however he wanted the church to be the best it could be by following the written word of God and wrote the 95 Theses as questions for the church in hopes that they would change the corruptions after realizing they were not being true in their religious practice. Nonetheless, these 95 Theses upset the church and within no time it was Luther against the church when word spread from Germany to Rome, where the Pope lived. According to History.com, the pope “excommunicated” Luther from the church, condemning “Luther’s writings as conflicting with the teachings of the Church.” These events triggered the start of the Protestant Reformation, which changed the church in the Western world …show more content…

From this Protestant Reformation, the practice of Protestantism emerged and a divide from the Catholic Church was now successful. Martin Luther has been labeled as “one of the most influential figures in Western history” (“Martin Luther and the 95 Theses”, 2009) for his major reforms against the Church that led to a historical division. The invention of the printing press can also be given credit for this rapid spread and division. In history class my junior year, we learned of the impact the printing press had throughout Europe at the time of its invention. Religious texts were now interpreted in the vernacular and printed, making them affordable and readable to the everyday citizen. This also happens to be the case when it comes to the 95 Theses. The document was translated and distributed throughout Germany and Europe, which became available to the common citizens as well as the elite members of the church. Before, the church and others who read in Latin could interpret a document, saying what they wanted others who could not read to hear. The citizens could just simply take their word for it, having no way to prove if it was an accurate statement. If the printing press had not been around at the time, I believe the Protestant Reformation would either not have happened or would have not had the

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