Luther and the Reformation
Martin Luther was a revolutionary thinker born during the latter part of the fifteenth century in Catholic Germany. During this time the papacy in Rome was growing in stature and in corruption. Pope Leo X was working on the St. Peter's Basilica and was being creative in its financing. In order to accomplish his goals he needed more money and he received the answer to his prayers in the form of indulgences, and their sales. This is partly the trouble with the Catholic faith during this time. In order to accomplish earthly good the Pope believes that it's okay to be somewhat corrupt in its financing. This is seen by Martin Luther to be an atrocity of the church and he forms a very different opinion of indulgences than that of the Pope. Martin's ideas were radical for their time and place. He thought that salvation was a gift, everyone should read the Bible, and that the laity was just as important as the clergy in their worship. This was a very different view from the !standard Catholic's idea that the clergy was there to pray for and interpret the Bible and its rules for the common man. Another place where the Catholics and Luther differ is the idea of salvation. In his point of view Luther sees salvation as a gift be
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Clarke, Peter B. The World's Religions: Understanding the Living Faiths. Marshall Editions Developments Limited, 1993. This disturbance moves from being just unrest to full-out war when kings use nationalism and religious fever to have the Catholic versus Protestant grudge match in Thirty Years War. This falls right into the hands of the Turks who have just taken Constantinople and are on their way to conquering Vienna when a Christian coalition is formed just long enough to stop the Turks and reprimand King Francis I of France who decides to support the Turks because of Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. Nationalism and stubborn pride of the Catholic French are behind the near collapse of Christian Europe. The ensuing riot had many faces. It was about the oppression of the common man in North and Central Europe and it was the spark of nationalism in Feudal Europe. People from all walks of life joined with varying ideas of how their fate was involved with God and Luther. Rich lords joined so that they might have more control over their fiefdoms, serfs join in because they have the hope of an education and possible position with the clergy of the new church, and women join because they are more valued by the Protestants than their Catholic sisters. This shakes up several new ideas. The idea Luther took his view of how salvation and faith are determined right from the Bible.
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Approximate Word count = 994
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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