The Middle Ages were marked as a time of religious corruption within the Catholic Church. A scenario was created in which the church followers became very disenchanted. The Great Schism, as well as corrupt popes such as Alexander VI (1492-1503), led to an undermining of the Church. People saw in Luther a moderate leader that embodied their ideas for reform. His movement did away with the religious hierarchy that the people so dreaded, allowing a personal connection to God, without middlemen. Although many leaders of the time found his ideas radical, several of his beliefs were in fact very similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church.

Luther's dissolving the seven sacraments down into two, was a radical act. The seven sacraments acted as one of the most fundamental parts of the Roman Catholic Church. They created man's spiritual link to God. Man was able to, both, eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ during the Holy Eucharist, according to the Catholic Church. In Luther's writings titled, "the Babylonian Captivity of the Church," from the Manifestos of the 1520s, he heavily challenges the Sacraments. He begins his passage speaking about the Eucharist and e

Both Lutheranism and Catholicism make it clear that man's spiritual side, proceeds the temporal. This in account, it is the faith itself that brings about the good deeds. Luther makes clear the idea that faith is the most important aspect of religion a man can have. A Christian must have a direct link to God. In his writhing "On Christian Liberty", Luther supports the idea that a "good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit" (Documents Reader, Odin Reader no. 2454, pg. 43). First man must find his faith. Once he has found a spiritual link with God, good works will follow. The spirituality will precede the good works.

Luther's main proposition in his essay, "On Christian Liberty," deals with the freedom, as well as the bondage, both, associated with being a Christian man. He states in the beginning of the passage how a true Christian, is, of all men, the most free. He is able to worship on his own and have a direct link with God. Through his faith he can find salvation, while at the same time his faith forces him to be a servant to his fellow Christians. This idea, displays both sides of Luther; the moderate as well as the extremist. This idea, once again brings into play the idea of faith and good works. As seen earlier, good works are both necessary and inevitable once one has faith, according to both Boniface VIII and Luther, but faith must always come first. His quote seems as if it is attempting to pull from both the radical side of his ideas, as he deals with spiritual freedom, as well as the moderate, concerning spiritual servitude.

The Papal Bull explains how man is made up of both the body (temporal) and the soul (spiritual). The soul contains everything inside oneself. It deals with salvation, faith, and a connection with God. Luther, through his ideas in his writing "On Christian Liberty", portrays this same idea. "On Christian Liberty" comes from Luther's writings of the "Manifestos of the 1520's," in which he attempts to explain the ways, and for what, a true Christian should live. In it he creates separate hemispheres for both the body and the soul, just as Pope Boniface did in the 14th century. Both men even go as

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Approximate Word count = 1445
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)