Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Martin Luther

Good Essays
862 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Martin Luther
Mia Cavilia
12/5/12
Western Civilization
Martin Luther Paper
Professor Maher

Martin Luther had many core and new ideas that he brought forward during his time. Three main fundamental ideas that he focused on included an emphasis on the importance of the bible, that people are saved by the grace of God through faith and that all members of the church are equal. Martin Luther’s fundamentals were largely based on reforming the church from the circus it had became back to based upon faith and religion.
A major idea of Martin Luther happened to be that the entire faith of Christianity should be based on the Bible itself. Luther said that the Bible alone should be the guide to leading a Christian life. He became the first major leader to openly reject and oppose the Pope. He also said that German-Christians in no way were required by law of the Bible to follow the Pope in Italy. Luther openly taught that the Bible alone should be used as doctrine for all Christian people to follow. He saw the Bible as if God himself had written it through divine intervention of the real contributing authors and prophets. Martin Luther revered and believed in the Bible above all other Christian teachings and writings. He wanted all people to read the Bible themselves. Some thing he did to make this dream more possible was he had the Bible published a German translation of the New Testament in the year 1522. He later in the year of 1534 completed his translation of the Old Testament. This was when the entire translation was finally completed and published as well. His thoughts on the importance of the Bible became a crucial component to his reformation. He said the Bible and the Bible alone must establish the Church’s teachings and preaching’s. In all of his major practices he always saw the bible as beyond crucial the structure of Christianity.
Another very important fundamental teaching and idea of Martin Luther was that Christians will be saved by grace through faith in God, and that Grace alone. The idea was that Christians would not be allowed to spend eternity with God through the selling or buying of indulgences. They also wouldn’t be allowed in heaven by the viewing or touching of ancient relics or saint statues. A person could only be granted salvation from God. This contradicted the Catholic Church of the time. It went against their practices of selling indulgences and making people pay money to touch and see relics. In a quote from Martin Luther in the year 1517 he stated, “ We are saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone, According to scripture alone”. Luther was a strict believer that the way to salvation was through practicing and following strict guidelines and being devote to God. He taught that it was Gods decision whether or not a person deserved and stood worthy of salvation and it was not based on the person’s life necessarily. His writings suggest that perfect faith in God will result in good works. For example a person of good faith will do good works of God but a person who does good works does not have to have faith and hence won’t receive eternal salvation.
A component to the ideas of Luther that cannot be overlooked is the fundamental idea that the clergy and laity did not play a different role in the church than the congregation. This fundamental idea showed that the laity had no real power to meditate to God for the people. He saw each person as able to be able to speech with God and receive forgiveness from themselves. This differed greatly from the Catholic Church’s belief. The Catholic Church during Martin Luther’s time believed that one could only be forgiven with the mediation of a clergy member and could only reach God with one of them as mediator. Martin Luther wrote ‘To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation’. In this text he explained three main points concerning the leaders of the Church at that time. He explained that in baptism we all become priests. By saying this he greatly diminished and undermined the importance of priests to the Catholic Church by seeming them as no different than a member of the laity. He also in the text disputes the Church’s stance that it is solely the job of the Pope to interpret, confirm or deny any scripture. Lastly he says that all people of the Church should have the power to call a council if they see a problem that must be addressed rather than just the Pope being given that luxury. Martin Luther’s belief that the clergy held no more power than any other member of the Church was one he held very strongly and committedly to.
Luther saw Christianity in Rome as a circus and took it upon himself to make changes to restore Christianity. He brought about the fundamental ideas that the Bible must be followed very strictly, that a person receives salvation based on their faith in God, that all people of the Church coexist as equals in God’s eyes.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the sixteenth centenary the Roman Catholic Church was the ruling power in Europe. They had created an empire and controlled the land and the people. There was nothing more that people feared at this time than being excommunicated from the church. For this reason, people would not dare challenge the church as they feared going to hell. A man by the name of Martin Luther joined the Catholic church as he searched to find himself and save his soul. He quickly realized that the Catholic church was full of corruption and took a stand. Martin Luther wanted to expose the church and follow God the right way. Luther believed that faith alone and a change of heart was enough for a person to be saved from the hell. Martin Luther had a conservative way of thinking however he had many liberal ideas.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Question: What was Luther’s fundamental religious problem with the Catholic Church? Trace the development of this problem and why Luther solved it.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther made radical statements challenging Papal authority, the deliverance of relief of purgatory via a monetary gain by the church, and exposing the corrupt dogma that exemplified the Roman Catholic Church. Luther, after stating the errors of the church, established what he believed was justification by faith. Luther reduced the amount of sacraments to those that were plainly supported by scripture verses the church’s use of sacraments by conjecture, he denounced the sale of paradise, and propounded that the Bible was the true religious authority, whereas, the church gave authority to a fallible man. Furthermore, Luther’s original intent was not to initiate a reformation, but was to allow for academic debate. Luther found questions regarding the church and theological misconduct that would force him to separate from the church in Rome and establish…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther has impacted many people. He was a professor of theology and a German priest and wrote the 95 thesis. His revolutionary ideas served as the catalyst for the eventual breaking away from the Catholic Church and were later instrumental in forming the movement known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther wrote his radical “95 Thesis” to express his growing concern with the corruption within the church. In essence, his thesis called for a full reform of the Catholic church and challenged other scholars to debate with him on matters of church policy. Luther published his “95 Thesis” fully realizing that he faced excommunication and even death for protesting the traditions and beliefs of the Catholic church. To do so was considered heresy…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ap Euro Dbq

    • 1700 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In his opinion, religion should be inner piety; your own love and dedication to God, not that of the church. Luther believed that indulgences were a disgrace to religion. The beliefs stemming from the church, that in order to earn salvation, one had to pay money, or have specific requests, was ludicrous. Justification should be achieved by doing good deeds and having faith in God. Martin Luther completed his 95 theses, which communicated his ideas of what religion should look like. Gutenberg's printing press helped spread these ideas, even though Luther's works were banned and burned in the Holy Roman…

    • 1700 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    martin luther king

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The purpose of this letter was to explain the goals of these nonviolent demonstrations and the letter is directed to the white clergymen who had criticized these demonstrations and also called him an outsider and troublemaker.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beliefs of Martin Luther stated that every individual possessed their own relationship with God. This statement is prevalent in Luther’s work, “The Sermon on Good Works”. In this piece of writing, Luther stated that only faith in God would get an individual salvation. Good works, acts made throughout life to better something or someone, would not help a person receive salvation. This went against the Catholic Church’s doctrine, which stated that an individual would receive God’s grace and salvation by accomplishing these Good Works. Essentially, Luther’s statements were revolutionary. To rally against a prevalent theme in the popular religion was a brave, if not inspired way to introduce a different method of thought.…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    By the 1500’s many issues shows signs of disorder within the Church. The idea of selling indulgences (forgiveness for sin) for clergy benefit began to negatively spread throughout the people, along with opposition to pluralism (holding more than one office). This sparked many attempts to reform the church through individual groups, one of which being the Brotherhood of Common Life. One of their accomplishments was starting schools for the poor, in which educated none other than Martin Luther. By the time he became a priest, many people had already failed to reform the church. When Martin Luther entered Rome, he briefly supported the church before realizing the hidden corruption, and his optimism towards converting the Jews was accounted for before realizing their stubborn views of God. While his loving ideas towards peasants turned into hatred of rebellion, it proved to be a consistency because he had always believed peasants belonged in their place. These ideas changed due to the naïve spirit he entered with before being awakened by the truth.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther was a man of many great things, Martin standout amongst the most persuasive figures in Christian history when he started the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Martin received a Master degree in arts where he wanted to study law. During the early 1500 Martin life change which put him on a new path from what he was doing. Martin was put in a life or death situation where he sob out for a Savior, right then and there he vowed if he made if through the storm in was in he would become a monk. Martin thought that by becoming a monk and doing Gods will he would find…

    • 113 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He brought attention to how the indulgences are wrongdoings, raising a lot of suspicion against the priests. Luther talked about how salvation was something earned through faith, and that scripture is as one interprets it; it’s wrong to against ones own conscience. He also said that a “higher” being isn’t necessary to tell you what to believe; beliefs are based off of how you read and interpreted the writing. Luther believed that your spiritually authority relied on you, and churched were there to guide you to straight the path, saying that each man is his own…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Two that he was especially fond for were the stability of the social realm, and Eucharist as part of the church. Luther's' ideas became popular very fast due to the ability of the printing press to print in mass production allowing Luther's ideas to travel through Europe at a very high speed. Though much of Luther's work was for the good it did have some bad side affects. In some cities the people fought/revolted for what they wanted using Luther as the theologian to back up their revolts thinking that Luther would be all for his ideas spreading, but to their dismay Luther was sound to the old-fashioned beliefs of little social change and no peasant revolts. Although Luther saw many flaws in the Roman Catholic way of worship, and seeking forgiveness, he did see a point to Eucharist (Holy Communion/Lord's Supper). He did see a relevance in performing the Lord's Supper as a reminder of the Last Supper that his lord Jesus Christ performed before he died on the cross. He thought of it slightly differently though, he saw it as after the consecration of the bread and wine the later undergo a spiritual change whereby Christ is really present but the bread and wine are not transformed like they are in the catholic…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I thought that there was a few key points that should be acknowledged. I thought that justice was one of the key points that he talked about. I thought it would be one of the key points because according to Martin Luther King nobody should be separated from others because of their race and that all of God’s children should be able to join together as brother and sisters in Christ which is very true. Two other key points are Peace and Freedom which talk about freedom for all people and equal rights between all people.…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther King

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    | He believed for America to be a great nation, people had to stand side by…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen. His letter was a rebuttal to the clergymen's unjust proposals. He informs the clergymen of his views and the reasons for his “direct action” on the issue of desegregation. King also attacks the “white moderate” on their actions and expresses his disappointment with their unconstitutional measures. His powerful words, "...it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative." By using the phrases "even more unfortunate" and "no alternative", King is able to emphasize that there was absolutely nothing else the Negro population in Birmingham could do. After devising this compelling statement, King then proceeds into his argument concerning the essential steps of any nonviolent campaign. King's asserts the reasons and underlying conflicts that are fueling the unrest among blacks and whites in Birmingham. He explains the existence of an injustice; the intense segregation present in Birmingham. In fact, he uses extremes such as "Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States," to strengthen his point of view.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Martin Luther King

    • 3785 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Martin Luther King is the most important member of the Civil Rights movement of the 20th century. There has never been, nor will there ever be, one who is able to best the accomplishments which King achieved, as well as the inspiration which he motivated within millions of Americans, both who had been oppressed and those who felt the apathy for the oppressed, yet had never been inspired to act on their convictions. Martin Luther King brought these two people together in record numbers and in a way never seen before or since and incited within them, the desire to change the culture in which they lived and been affected by, for too long.…

    • 3785 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays