HIST 101
American Military University
Kristin Sawicki
The Protestant Reformation began in Wittenberg Germany in October of 1517 with Martin Luther who was a German Augustinian Monk. Martin Luther criticized the Roman Catholic Church feeling the church had lost its way and openly accused them of corruption and false teachings by posting a document he authored called the “95 Theses”. Martin Luther was the first to stand up to the Catholic Church and singlehandedly set Protestantism in motion and paved the way for others such as Philipp Melanchthon and John Calvin who also left the Catholic Church in 1530 and also later openly criticized the Catholic church for their corruption as well.
The Protestant Reformation was a movement aimed at calling attention to the Roman Catholic Church practices and doctrine …show more content…
However Martin Luther was steadfast in his beliefs and appeared to be quite brave in the face of the very powerful and oppressive Roman Catholic Church. He was quite educated, and though he was very critical and confrontation in his written and spoken words, he was nonetheless peaceful in his actions. His words and works brought about significant change. Depending on religious points of view, some may agree and others disagree with Martin Luther and his specific teachings. However, one thing that few if any would disagree with is that Martin Luther changed the world he lived in for what he believed to be the better. He stood up for his belief system and tirelessly worked toward a goal of change and reform. He had the courage to stand in the face of an empire – one in which he was a part of and put down his foot and say “this isn’t right” and then go on to make things different. In the end that is exactly what being a leader is all