The Reformation: Martin Luther's Impact on Protestantism.
In the 1500s, the Roman Catholic Church dominated Western Europe and its power influenced not only faith and spirituality, but also economics, politics, and society (CrashCourse). The Church and the Pope seemed invincible in their authority until the right man at the right time came along, Martin Luther. Luther was a German monk and while teaching at Wittenburg University, he came across Romans 1:17, “The just will live by faith.” (KJV) This verse inspired him to write the Ninety-Five Theses against the Roman Catholic Church, beginning the Protestant Reformation, whose effects continue to impact religion today.
At this time, the Catholic Church was selling indulgences, which believers thought would keep them from temporal punishment in purgatory, to raise money for different projects. This angered Luther because he knew that forgiveness and salvation shouldn’t be for sale and it was giving believers false hope. In response, he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses challenging the Catholic Church on many of its ritualistic ideas and false authority. These ritualistic acts didn’t have the power to save souls because true salvation can only be achieved by faith through Christ. Luther also opposed the Pope’s authority, he thought that he was corrupt and even called him the Antichrist. He proposed a “priesthood of believers”, meaning that the individual believers that make up the church have access to God and the ability to interpret the Scriptures without a priest or higher authority.
Luther wasn't the first person to defy the Catholic church, but with the help of the printing press and the political mood of Europe at the time, his ideas spread quickly. The Bible was being translated into other languages for the first time, meaning that the common people could read it for themselves, instead of relying on the Latin version read by priests. Luther’s ideas along with the availability of Scripture led to rebellion against the Catholic church’s authority. Luther said in his article about the papacy, “For the merit of Christ is [apprehended and] obtained not by our works or pence, but from grace through faith, without money or merit; and is offered [and presented] not through the power of the Pope, but through the preaching of God’s Word.”
Luther’s argument against the Catholic Church led to his excommunication and sparked the emergence of a new religious movement. Protestantism broke the Church’s tight control and allowed for a new religious freedom and ability for personal interpretation of the Scriptures. Protestantism is the large umbrella term for all of the denominations that emerged from the Reformation, many of which still have large followings like Baptists, Lutherans, Puritans, Methodists, Calvinists, etc. I believe that Luther’s original aim wasn’t to start a new religion but to remove the corruption from the Catholic Church. As his ideas spread though, his followers grew and created new religious groups as they interpreted the Scriptures differently. Lutheranism, a branch of Protestantism that follows the teachings of Martin Luther, is still a large denomination today.
Works Cited:
CrashCourse. “Luther and the Protestant Reformation: Crash Course World History #218.” YouTube, 29 Nov. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o8oIELbNxE.
KJV. “Romans 1:17 KJV - - Bible Gateway.” Www.biblegateway.com, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201:17&version=KJV.
Luther, Martin. “Article IV - of the Papacy.” Bookofconcord.org, bookofconcord.org/smalcald-articles/ii/of-the-papacy/.
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