The Life of Martin LutherMartin Luther lived in a period that had a wide spread desire for reformation of theChristan Churhc and played the role in the development of Protestantism. Luther was born atEislebenin Saxony. Since his father was a miner, it was a great distress on him to send Martin toschool and then to the University of Erfurt. That is where he earned his masters degree at theyoung age of twenty-one(Erikson, 39). Although his father wished him to study law, Martin,after being terribly frightened in a thunderstorm, vowed to become a Friar. He entered themonastery of the Augustinian friars at Erfurt and was ordained a priest(Erikson, 167).
Heeventually earned a doctorate of theology. He grew disburbed by the growing abouve ofindulgences. The cetrificate granted by the people in return for the payment of a fee to thechurch. It stated that the sould of a dead relative or a friend of the purchaser would have his timein purgatory reduced by many years or cancelled together.
Also the person had to by anindulgence. This would allow them to receive their earthly penance, since no one knows thatGods ultimate punishment will be. The Catholic Church faith now has a doctrine to back thethree principles of indulgences(Neil 18) (Underwood 345). the principles of indulgences first onethat God mericful, but he also just. Next, Chrust and hte saints, through their inifnite virtue,established a treasury of merits on which the church, through its special relationship with Christand the saints, can draw.
Third, the Church has the authority to grant sinners the spiritual benefitsof those meirts(Underwood, 345). Luther idea spread began writing the Ninty-five Theses orarguments against indulgences. That he began posting them on the Wittenberg where hepreached. He wanted the public to know that he was debating against important issue. TheTheses stated the simple folk believed that when they have bought the indulgence they havesecured their salvation.
They also, believed that if the money jingles in the box, souls aredelievered from pungatory and all the sins will be foreign through a letter of indulgence(Neil, 21). Luther fears that urging people to seek escape from divine punishment through indulgences wouldlead them away from true sorrow for their sins and into a dangerous sense of falsesecurity(Judith,21). Luther defined Protestantism as a theological issues. At first was tosalvation.
The Catholic called salvation as attained through faith and good works. He said thatsalvation by the faith. He urged people to read the scriptures and reflect on the that reading. Luther agreed with Catholic teaching that Church conbsists of the entire community of Christanbelievers, but disagreed with the Church bein identified by the clergy(Boehmenr, 192).
Lutherwas known on his theology he taught in his professional life. In Luthers faith he was thought tothe revolution and led against the vast organization of the Catholic Church. He blieve that theChurch, which wielded soom immense power over the whole western world, had imprisoned thegospel of Gods forgiveness in a rigid system of laws and rules and power of politics. He believedthat people are justified solely throught the faith in Gods promise that Christ died for theirsalvation.
In other words it shows that when sinful people trust the scriptural message the Christdied for their sins, Christ takes their place before Gods judgement seat and God finds them notquilty for Christ sake(Neil, 25). Starting the Peasants War Luther had found great support and sympathy amongst the poor peasants, who were by far the largest class in Germany. They heardthe oppression of freedom from every oppression by their landlords as well as oppression of theclergy. His ideas encouraged by the agitators who wanted to use his ideas. For political lends, hesympathized with the peasants and was openly critical of the wealthy rulers and landlords whooften exploited them.
The peasants demands for Chapter food and greater freedom became moreinsistent. Series of violent risings broke out and gathered force in many parts of the country. Thousands of peasants armed themselves on monasteries, castles and prosperours farms. Thesurged through the countryside, living off the land, and killing, burning, plundering as they want.
The peasants were disillusioned when they expected Luther to support them. He was so horrifiedabout the prospect of a bloody revolution that he urged the rulers to crush the rebels withoutmercy. He believed that Christians ought to always obey against the state was always wrong andmust be crushed(Neil, 43). Luther heard that monks were getting married, that they wouldntgive them a wife, but he changed his mind. That he could get married without the monks advisingif he could get married. Luther helped a group of nine nuns to leave there convent and come toWittenberg.
Two years later all were married, but one named Katherine von Bora. He suggestedthat someone she might marry but she refused. At the age of forty-two and she was twenty-six. They both got married on June 1525.
The marriage stared off in a unromatinc and common sensebeginning of what turn out to be a very happy marriage. His father came to the wedding partyand forgive his son for going into a monastery in the first place and then for leaving it(pg 44). they lived in part of Augustinian monastery at Wittenberg where Luther had been a Friar. Theyhad five children but his sixth child died when she was young and one of the five, Magdalena, diedwhen she was fifteen. They also raised up eleven orphan brothers and sisters. There was alwaysan endless stream of visitors.
The house was so full of people and noise. Luther was known asnot an easy person to live with. He was often moody and depressed and at other times gay andenergetic. He was frequently ill. His wife found out he was a difficult patient to look after.
Katherine was the type that she was popular and unpleasant of cures of the day giving the patientscows dung or pig in wine. Luther really hated these remedies but he had to put up withthem(45). The marriage lasted for a long time it was known as a good marriage. Luther wasknown as Lutheranism when he help grow out of Reformation a religious movement. Knownbecause he used largely on the doctriens and his beliefs of reforming Germany.
The teachings ofLuthers Reformation set the Lutherans apart from Christian Churches. They made them to havedifferent shapes of historical and cultural forces(Booth, 94). He made easy the peasants to live indifferent Scandinavian countries, that Lutheranism can be used as a state of religion under thegovernments own authority. It made it possible tha thte government to attempt to controldoctrine or worship. At the end of Luther, Luther caught a very bad cold without any medicineto cure it. He died in 1546 because the cold developed that nobody could cure him, not even hiswife(45).
Luther will always be known as the person who reform the Catholic Church, wentagainst indulgences by posting the Ninety-Five Theses on the Church. Also, helped the peasantsto choose their own faith.Words/ Pages : 1,216 / 24
