Martin Luther - a German Monk

Who was Martin Luther?

Martin Luther was a German Monk, Priest, Professor, and Theologian who reformed the church. His teaching triggered the reformation and has made him an essential figure in European history. He was born in Eisleben on November 1483 where he grew up as a copper miner's son and later received a bachelor's degree at the University of Erfurt. When he nearly escaped death he vowed to become a monk and joined a monastery but found little peace in God as he had expected. Luther was anticipating becoming a professor at a university but began to challenge the ideas imposed by the church. As time passed his teachings increasingly differed with the views of the traditional church.

Luther's Beliefs on church reformation

Martin Luther deeply influenced the "doctrines and culture of the Christian church" and its many denominations, according to Wikipedia. His translation of the bible furthered the development of a standard version of the Bible in German language. In 1510 Luther began to study the books of Hebrews, Romans and Galatians and lectured Psalms. As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to understand key terms in regards to righteousness. His goal was to teach that "salvation is a gift of God's grace in Christ received by faith alone". In other words Luther believed that the only way to salvation is through absolute belief. The Bible has some books that talk about that specific subject matter and there are books that talk about salvation by deeds and not faith. What Martin Luther was trying to say with the 95 thesis is that the church was completely corrupted by the choices the popes and priests were making and that they needed to follow the rules written in the Bible, but since even the bible had its contradictions, Martin Luther decided to bring those up as well in the 95 thesis.

Martin Luther did many controversial things that put him in situations were he could have been executed. For example, Luther once wrote an essay on how he felt about confession in the Catholic Church. In the essay he "rejected the laws by the church that forced people to go into private confessions". To the church this was absurd, but some how it was slowly making sense to listeners.

The Church and Reformation

The church did not just change form one day to the next; it took time, patience and careful consideration for the believers of this corrupted system. Martin Luther, because of his opposing views, faced many dangers. He sometimes had to be specially escorted to places he was allowed into so that nobody would try to kill him. For example he was once granted "safe-conduct" into Wittenberg by Frederick the Wise: "he arranged for him to be taken into safe custody on his way home by a company of masked horsemen".

"Luther's main point of difference with the Church of his time was theological, not practical", claims Frans van Liere, meaning that the problem wasn't with the people of the church, but how men can "partake" in God's salvation. Luther was definitely not the first person to bring up the issue of reformation.

The decline of the Medieval Church

The history of the medieval church divides into three periods - dissemination, domination, and disintegration, but late in the eleventh century the Church, directed by strong popes, became the most powerful institution in the West. The church then seemed indisputable in its prestige, dignity, and power. Yet that strength soon came under new attack, and during the next two centuries the processes of disintegration were to gain a lot of influence. With the help of Martin Luther, attendants of the church began to feel cheated and robbed of their possessions in exchange for guaranteed salvation. They began to protest the sale of indulgences and questioning the traditional form of confession, caused by the essay written by Luther about confession. "While criticisms increased, the church continued to decline in spiritual leadership." It slowly came crumbling down.

"Among the outside pressures that led to the church's decline, the growing spirit of inquiry resulted in a new critical attitude toward the institutionalization of the church" in other words because of external influences, including Martin Luther, the attitude toward the church was one of questioning and criticism. Church concepts became ludicrous and almost absurd to some believers.

The 95 Thesis

"Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis on church door of Wittenberg in order to promote the reformation of the church". It was a document written by Martin Luther in 1517 that challenged the "teachings of the Catholic Church on the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences". It sparked a theological debate that fueled the Reformation and "subsequently resulted in the birth of Protestantism and the Lutheran, Reformed and Anabaptist traditions within Christianity". Luther's action was in great part a response to the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel, a Dominican priest, hired by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X. The purpose of this campaign was to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Even though Luther's prince, Frederick the Wise as mentioned above, and the Duke of Saxony, forbade the sale in their lands, Luther's followers traveled to purchase them. When these people came to confession, "they presented the absolute indulgence", claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document promised to forgive all of them.

Below are 5 arguments from the document:

1. Only God can give salvation - not a priest (#2)

2. It is nonsense to teach that a dead in purgatory can be saved by money (#27).

3. Christians should be taught that buying of indulgences does not compare with being forgiven by Christ. (#42)

4. it is wrong to think that pardon papal pardons have the power to absolve sin (#75)

5. Salvation by faith ALONE.

All of these arguments are excellent and strongly supported by texts in the bible. Argument #5, in short, states that salvation can only be achieved by faith alone, no deeds needed. In some (Acts, Romans, Ephesians, Titus etc...) books of the Holy Bible it says