The Protestant Reformation: The History Of The Lutheran Reformation

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The Lutheran reformation came out because Martin Luther was not happy with the state of the church in his time. The thought of buying indulgences is what ultimately led him to write his 95 Thesis against the church, which is what historians use to date the overall Protestant Reformation. The process of buying indulgences was to pay a little bit of money in exchange for time off in purgatory, not only for the living, but also for those that had already died and were suffering in purgatory. Ultimately, the Lutheran Reformation was an important conflict in Church history. Because of the lasting division in the Church, it created Luther’s importance for German identity, and the understanding of confession.
Martin Luther was the founding father …show more content…

Luther formed what would be a lasting division in the Church, which is still present today.
Not only did the Lutheran Reformation lead to a separate division known as Lutheranism, it also led to other religious denominations like the Anabaptists, the followers of Zwingli and the Anglicans. Luther believed in the need for three main premises or bases for his followers: “justification by faith, the primacy of scripture, and the ‘priest-hood of all believers,”[1] showing that it was more than simply showing up to a worship service. Faith is how humans would experience salvation from God, not simply through the works that they performed, usually to be forgiven of some sin(s) that had been confessed. Luther was extremely attached to the Bible, believing that “the literal meaning… should be preferred… and anything not specifically grounded… was to be rejected,”[2] shying away from people interpreting what they thought the Bible meant; the Scripture was the authority for Luther. Luther also did away with the priesthood because he believed that others besides the priests were members of “the true spiritual estate”[3] taking away the necessity for priests. Anglicanism, taking its root from the political …show more content…

Luther’s ideas liberated the Germans “from…a foreign power, the papacy in Rome,” showing the Germans can have their own identities separate from the papacy in Rome. Luther’s ideas gave the Germans something to identify with being situated close to home, instead of the regime of the “Italian cultural tyrant,” giving them a much needed unified past. This call to resist the papacy in Italy was extremely nationalistic, uniting the Germans behind one cause. Whenever either a city council or a prince would decide to officially adopt the teachings of Luther, at that time the Catholic Church would be formally suppressed and often times kicked out, to the dismay of the Emperor and the Church. Closer to modern times, an abundance of people connect Luther’s ideas to the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler called Luther “one of the great raw intellects,” personally advocating and agreeing with what he had taught. For Hitler to say this about Luther shows how Luther in effect did provide Germany with a united past and a national identity. With the National Socialist movement, Hitler tried to unite Germany and deliver them a better united past. Hitler’s advocating and putting his force behind Luther actually shows that Luther did give Germany a united past. This united past showed Hitler how he

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