Martin Luther: Saint or Sinner
By Harrison LeGoullon
Saint
Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of a Catholic church in Germany. Catholic leaders of course looked upon this as a sin but many people looked upon it as a good thing. He challenged the church by coming up with new and better ways for it to work which would have been good for many people.
He believed in your sins being forgiven by God through faith not by the indulgences. Many looked upon the indulgences as a bad thing so he tried to correct this within Lutheranism
Martin Luther also believed that the Bible was the only religious authority and that members of the clergy could not force you to do anything. This was a corrupt problem that he corrected within his own religion.
He also believed that the church community was every believer and not just the members of the clergy. This made Catholic clergy member mad because this suggested tat they had the same authority as everyone else. He also says that all occupations/jobs glorify God, not just church occupations/jobs.
Luther was also not afraid to speak out against the church and speak his mind. He would not silence his beliefs because they weren't looked upon as correct. He spoke out against a corrupt system and helped change religion.
Sinner
Martin Luther began many religious wars between Protestants and Catholics. Many wars and battles happened because of his attempted reformation.
Had many radical ideas like the Pope was the Antichrist sent by the devil. I find this ridiculous and almost a little crazy.
Sent away from Monastery to the University of Wittenberg for being annoying and over confessing by his sins. This could be saying he is an annoying and not easy to get along with.
Was known to be a racist, directed mainly at Jewish people. Many dislike him for the looking back upon history nowadays.
Had many hateful and negative ideas and thoughts about people in other religions. He believed his religion was the best. Many historians look at this now as a negative thing that he did incorrectly.
Works Cited
- http://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2012/10/31/what-was-luther-doing-when-he-nailed-his-95-theses-to-the-wittenberg-door/
- http://catholicsilentcrusade.blogspot.com/2013/08/3-what-happened-to-martin-luther-did-he.html
- http://www.slideshare.net/johnricard/ap-euro-ch-14-martin-luther
- http://oneinjesus.info/2011/02/instrumental-music-martin-luther-and-instrumental-music/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_wars_of_religion
- http://www.religionnews.com/2015/08/26/vatican-backs-plan-name-rome-square-martin-luther/
- https://inomics.com/martin-luther-university-halle-wittenberg
- http://gulfcoastsynod.org/events/germany/