Martin Luther (1483-1546) was born in Eisleben, Germany. His father, Hans Luther, was a copper miner and ore smelter. He wanted his son to become a lawyer.
In July 1505, Luther had a life-changing experience that set him on a new course to becoming a monk. Caught in a thunderstorm where he feared for his life, Luther cried out to St. Anne, the patron saint of miners, that if saved, he would become a monk. The storm subsided and he was saved.
In keeping with his promise, he joined a monastic order becoming an Augustinian friar. He was ordained in 1507.
In 1510, he visited Rome on behalf of Augustinian monasteries and was appalled by the corruption he found there. On October 31, 1517, Luther, angry with Pope Leo X's new round of indulgences to help build St. Peter's Basilica, nailed a sheet of paper with his 95 Theses on the door of the University of Wittenberg's chapel. He intended these to be only discussion points. The 95 Theses was a devastating critique of the indulgences and good works ( which often involved monetary donations) that popes could grant to the faithful to cancel out penance for sins as well as relief from stay in purgatory.
In October 1518, at a meeting with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan in Augsburg, Luther was ordered to recant his 95 Theses by the authority of the pope. He refused. The meeting ended in a shouting match. Soon the process of his excommunication from the Church was initiated.
Luther had come to believe in Apostle Paul's doctrine that Christians are saved by faith alone and not through their works. He called on the Church to return to the message of Jesus in the gospels.
1. As opposed to all the doctrines, laws and traditions of the Church, Luther emphasized the primary of the scripture.
2. As opposed to the thousands of saints and other mediators between God and man, he emphasized the primacy of Christ.
3. As opposed to all pious religious works and efforts by man to attain the salvation of the soul, he emphasized the primacy of grace and faith. (Hans Kung)
In January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther.
In 1525, Luther married Katharina von Bora, a former nun, with whom he had six children. In 1534 he published a complete translation of the Bible into German.
Luther died on 18 February 1546.
Today, many are convinced that Luther was correct in his belief that faith alone and not works (paying for indulgences, going for pilgrimages, veneration of relics and such similar activities) and a life lived by the scripture will bring salvation. He is not the villain or heretic that the dictatorial and feudalistic Catholic Church makes him out to be. The more one understands his thinking, the greater is the appreciation one has for his efforts at bringing Jesus back to the center stage of the Catholic Church. His excommunication by the playboy pope should be revoked and he should be made a saint at the earliest.
In July 1505, Luther had a life-changing experience that set him on a new course to becoming a monk. Caught in a thunderstorm where he feared for his life, Luther cried out to St. Anne, the patron saint of miners, that if saved, he would become a monk. The storm subsided and he was saved.
In keeping with his promise, he joined a monastic order becoming an Augustinian friar. He was ordained in 1507.
In 1510, he visited Rome on behalf of Augustinian monasteries and was appalled by the corruption he found there. On October 31, 1517, Luther, angry with Pope Leo X's new round of indulgences to help build St. Peter's Basilica, nailed a sheet of paper with his 95 Theses on the door of the University of Wittenberg's chapel. He intended these to be only discussion points. The 95 Theses was a devastating critique of the indulgences and good works ( which often involved monetary donations) that popes could grant to the faithful to cancel out penance for sins as well as relief from stay in purgatory.
In October 1518, at a meeting with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan in Augsburg, Luther was ordered to recant his 95 Theses by the authority of the pope. He refused. The meeting ended in a shouting match. Soon the process of his excommunication from the Church was initiated.
Luther had come to believe in Apostle Paul's doctrine that Christians are saved by faith alone and not through their works. He called on the Church to return to the message of Jesus in the gospels.
1. As opposed to all the doctrines, laws and traditions of the Church, Luther emphasized the primary of the scripture.
2. As opposed to the thousands of saints and other mediators between God and man, he emphasized the primacy of Christ.
3. As opposed to all pious religious works and efforts by man to attain the salvation of the soul, he emphasized the primacy of grace and faith. (Hans Kung)
In January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther.
In 1525, Luther married Katharina von Bora, a former nun, with whom he had six children. In 1534 he published a complete translation of the Bible into German.
Luther died on 18 February 1546.
Today, many are convinced that Luther was correct in his belief that faith alone and not works (paying for indulgences, going for pilgrimages, veneration of relics and such similar activities) and a life lived by the scripture will bring salvation. He is not the villain or heretic that the dictatorial and feudalistic Catholic Church makes him out to be. The more one understands his thinking, the greater is the appreciation one has for his efforts at bringing Jesus back to the center stage of the Catholic Church. His excommunication by the playboy pope should be revoked and he should be made a saint at the earliest.
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