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27 March 2011

Martin Luther: The man who pushed the Catholic Church toward Counter-Reformation Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk who profoundly studied religion and theology. Luthers call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible resulted in the formation of new traditions within Christianity and the Counter-Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, culminating at the Council of Trent (Greatsite). He read and studied the bible as part of his degrees and got to learn how far from God's teachings the Catholic Church was. He expressed his disgust in the 95 Theses he wrote accusing the church of heresy. He affixed that to the church's door and hundreds of copies were made and distributed by the people around Europe. That did not make the pope happy... "Luther was summoned to either renounce or reaffirm [his Protestant views] at the Diet of Worms on 17 April 1521." Fiero lists on page 119 some of those 95 Theses, and the next five were included in her list: 27 They were wrong who say that the soul flies out of Purgatory as soon as the money thrown into the chest rattles 32 Those who believe that, through letters of pardon [indulgences], they are made sure of their own salvation will be eternally damned along with their teachers. 37 Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has a share in all the benefits of Christ and of the Church, given by God, even without letters of pardon. 43 Christians should be taught that he who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy man, does better than if he bought pardons.

44 Because by works of charity, charity increases, and the man becomes better; while by means of pardons, he does not become better, but only freer from punishment. The popular 95 Theses were the turning point at the time: "In 1520, Pope Leo X issued an edict excommunicating the outspoken reformer" (Fiero 120) and Luther was charged with heresy the following year. He did not take back what he had accused the church and Christians of and that led to Luther's breaking with the church completely. Others before Luther (like John Wycliffe, John Hus, Thomas Linacre, and John Colet) had tried to fight the church domination and ruling, but most people regard what Luther started as the real beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Luther gathered a lot of followers and his works became part of German literature. Luther made people think, think about what God really represented and how His teachings were being carried out. The belief that God was not a judge, but a father to all, removed great weight from peoples shoulders and made them see religion as liberating instead of a punishment. That feeling made Lutheranism very popular and served as base for other religions, such as Anglicanism, Puritanism, to name a few. The popularity of Lutheranism not only brought peace in the hearts of the followers of those religions, but also forced a traditional religious institution like the Catholic Church to analyze their doctrine and reinvent themselves. In the end, Luther got what he aspired for when he wrote the 95 Theses: the attention to the need of change in the Catholic Church.

Works Cited Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition Book 3 The European Renaissance, the Reformation, and Global Encounter. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill College, 2011. Print.

---. The Humanistic Tradition, Book 4 Faith, Reason, and Power in the Early Modern World. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill College, 2011. Print.

"Luther, Martin [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. http://www.iep.utm.edu/luther/.

"Martin Luther." GREATSITE.COM: Antique Bibles, Rare Bibles, Ancient Bible Leaves. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/martinluther.html>.

"Martin Luther | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/>.