Top Dog Analysis: Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a major player of the Renaissance and Reformation time period. Martin Luther was the first person to really oppose the traditional Catholic Church and actually take action in making a change against them. His ultimate accomplishments were founding Protestantism and Lutheranism.
Born in 1483, in Germany, Martin Luther became a monk, priest, and theologian. In 1512, Luther became a professor at the University of Wittenberg, where he truly began his religious revolution. At the same time he arrived at Wittenberg, Johann Tetzel, another friar, was traveling around Germany trying to sell indulgences on behalf of the Catholic Church. Luther opposed this because he believed it was scamming innocent believers. In 1517, Luther posted his 95 theses on a church in Wittenberg, and began advocating for a new religion that had educated priests and integrity.
Luther did not escape without a response from the Catholic Church, though. Pope Leo X threatened Luther with excommunication multiple times, and in April of 1521, at the Diet of Worms, Luther was asked if he was stood by his writings or if he wished to revoke them. Luther did not recant, and was excommunicated for heresy that same year.
Martin Luther’s preaching over the years and refusal to recant his beliefs in front of the Catholic Church gained him much support. His translation of the bible into German allowed many people to read and interpret the scripture for themselves. For the first time the masses were able to make their own opinions on the truth of the bible. Luther’s courageousness during the Renaissance and Reformation allowed for the development of Lutheranism and encouraged other reformers, such as Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, to make their own Protestant reformations. Without Luther’s changes, the Catholic Church may never have transformed into hundreds of new religions that Luther’s Protestantism created.
Born in 1483, in Germany, Martin Luther became a monk, priest, and theologian. In 1512, Luther became a professor at the University of Wittenberg, where he truly began his religious revolution. At the same time he arrived at Wittenberg, Johann Tetzel, another friar, was traveling around Germany trying to sell indulgences on behalf of the Catholic Church. Luther opposed this because he believed it was scamming innocent believers. In 1517, Luther posted his 95 theses on a church in Wittenberg, and began advocating for a new religion that had educated priests and integrity.
Luther did not escape without a response from the Catholic Church, though. Pope Leo X threatened Luther with excommunication multiple times, and in April of 1521, at the Diet of Worms, Luther was asked if he was stood by his writings or if he wished to revoke them. Luther did not recant, and was excommunicated for heresy that same year.
Martin Luther’s preaching over the years and refusal to recant his beliefs in front of the Catholic Church gained him much support. His translation of the bible into German allowed many people to read and interpret the scripture for themselves. For the first time the masses were able to make their own opinions on the truth of the bible. Luther’s courageousness during the Renaissance and Reformation allowed for the development of Lutheranism and encouraged other reformers, such as Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, to make their own Protestant reformations. Without Luther’s changes, the Catholic Church may never have transformed into hundreds of new religions that Luther’s Protestantism created.