Luther lived in Mansfield and was the son of a miner. He later went on to study at Eisenbach and Magdeburg. After studying at these institutions he moved on to study at the University of Erfurt. Luther started out studying law, but then went on to enter the religious life. He went into the religious life due to the fact that he felt that he would never earn his eternal salvation. He didn't feel that all of the prayer, studying and sacraments were enough. Therefore, Luther felt that he would never be able to satisfy such a judging God. Not being able to satisfy this God meant eternal damnation. After entering the religious life he later became an Augustinian monk and entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt in July of 1505. While in this monastery Luther became a well known theologian and Biblical scholar. In 1512

Luther took his religious vocation very serious. This led him into a severe crisis in dealing with his religion. He wondered, "is it possible to reconcile the demands of God's law with human inability to live up to the law." Luther then turned to the New Testament book of Romans for answers. He had found, "God had, in the obedience of Jesus Christ, reconciled humanity to himself." "What was required of mankind, therefore, was not strict adherence to law or the fulfillment of religious obligations, but a response of faith that accepted what God had done." In other words he realized that religion is based on love and not fear. Basically, he realized that everyone is burdened by sin because it happens as a result of our weaknesses. He concluded that man could never earn his salvation by leading a blameless life or by performing holy acts. Instead, man's salvation was a divine gift from God resulting from faith in Jesus, especially the saving power of his death and resurrection. This was known as the protestant doctrine of "justification by faith alone." The fact that Luther believed this, lead him into his first confrontation with the Catholic Church in 1517. All of this influenced Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517.

Luther married Katharina Von Bora, a former nun, in 1525. This displayed his rejection towards living in a monastery as a monk and for clerical celibacy. After this marriage he spent the rest of his life writing, teaching and preaching.

Luther earned his doctorate in theology and became a professor of Biblical literature at Wittenberg University.

How did Luther view the power of God and what can a person do without God's grace? He believed that God's power was completely beyond man's comprehension and could only be accepted on faith al

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