Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was born on the 10 November 1483. He was a German priest, and later a professor of theology. He initiated the Protestant Reformation with a list of 95 things he believed were wrong with the church. He pegged this list, called the 95 Theses, to the door of a church in his village so everyone could see and read it. At that time, the church was very powerful and the pope was the one everyone looked up to. The church offered ‘indulgences’, meaning that you could buy your way into heaven, or obtain less years in purgatory. Luther was against this idea, and believed that it was your faith that gave you access to heaven, and not your money. The pope was not happy because his income was decreasing as more and more people sided with Luther’s beliefs. At first, the Pope asked Luther to repent his claims, or he would be excommunicated for heresy. When Luther did not repent, the pope sent a Papal Bull, a document asking him to repent. Luther used it along with other paper indulgences the villagers had as a starting ignition for a public barbecue. He was then called to Worms by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, for a trial. He was promised safe passage and when asked to repent all his works and writings as heresy, he refused. He said he saw no fault, and could not be convinced there was any unless it was proven with the Scriptures (bible). He was excommunicated and declared a criminal. He was kidnapped by his friend who wanted to keep Luther safe. Luther stayed in hiding for a year, during which time he translated the Bible from Latin to German. When he came back out into the world, he saw that his ideas had created a riot. Peasants were rebelling and Luther wrote to some princes asking them to take care of these peasants. He had ordered a mass killing of all rebels and non-rebels. He helped a congregation of sisters to escape, and he later married one of these runaway nuns called Katharina von Bora. They had six children although only four survived adulthood. Luther set down to writing his ideas about what the new religion would be like in two catechisms. He did not want extreme change so as to not confuse the people. Here is what he believed:

Katharina Von Bora

-Luther believed that there should be no holy relics or statues in Protestantism, so the people would not pray to the statues instead of God himself.
-Priests were to be called Ministers.
-Ministers could marry.
-Justification by faith alone, meaning your faith in God was your ticket to heaven, not your money.
-Masses were to be in the vernacular (country's speaking language) instead of Latin.
-When in doubt, one should look to the bible for guidance not any man, i.e. the pope.
-Luther believed in only two sacraments. Sacraments are the holy events that happen in a person's life. Christianity believes there to be seven of them, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Luther believed only Baptism and Communion were sacraments.

He died on the 18 February 1546.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Augsburg, http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/people/luther/timeline.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther, http://www.peacelutheranchurch.net/Key%20Beliefs.htm, http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_were_Martin_Luther's_beliefs , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacraments_of_the_Catholic_Church, Katharina and Martin paintings painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

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