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| Luther's 95 Theses |
Although Martin Luther set out to be a religious revolutionary, he also reluctantly became a cultural and political revolutionary.
The reactions and rebellions inspired by his writings were unanticipated by Luther who believed he was only carrying out his Christian duty.
Luther was a religious revolutionary in the sense that he awoke the public to the notion of freedom of faith.
This was a principle included in the 95 theses Luther nailed to the Church door.
Freedom of faith meant that the individual should not need to go through a middle man to reach God.
Martin Luther shocked the public with the revelation that the Church’s seven sacraments were the creation of church leaders, since the Bible only lists the Lord’s Supper and baptism as sacraments.
Martin Luther was a truly inspiring religious revolutionary because he spoke for what he believed to be right in the face of excommunication in pursuing what he felt was his duty.
Luther’s idea of freedom of faith from authority other than God sparked an unforeseen political and cultural revolution.
Many interpreted Luther’s writings to mean freedom from authority in general.
For the first time, the common German realized that he could have a say in the way the Church was run.
The people of Wittenberg stunned Luther when they took over their public administration and schools in a political act that showed the Holy Roman Empire that people were unhappy with the way the Empire was run.
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| Wittenberg - "The Birthplace of the Reformation" |
Serfs were also inspired by Luther to rebel against the authority of their lords and to stand up for themselves as individuals, an act that was rare in this culture.
Although this rebellion resulted in the slaying of many serfs, violence unexpected by Luther but in the end encouraged by his writings since he believed that the peasants were influenced by the Devil, it shows that Luther’s writings empowered the individual to take action for a cause.
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| Matin Luther's German Bible |
Martin Luther was important to the German lands because he inspired the Germans to take religious and political action of their own without answering to the Empire.
His writings empowered the Germans, in the address to the Christian nobility of the German nation and “On the Babylon Captivity of The Church,” with their common and easily comprehensible language.
Also, for the first time, he presented a German translation of the Bible that was accessible to the common man.
This allowed ordinary Christians to read and interpret the Bible through a lens unstained by the teachings of the Church.
Martin Luther gave Germans the chance to experience freedom of faith and a sense of individuality.
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| Martin Luther |
What I believe is most interesting about Martin Luther is that his writings inspired so many different responses.
Not only did the serfs rebel and the German public begin to stand on their own, but different forms of Protestantism sprung up across the world, ranging from Calvinism to the practice of Protestantism in America by the Pilgrims.
I was also surprised that Luther encouraged violence in response to the actions of the serfs, and that he warned against Jews saying that their beliefs and practices defamed God.
While it is unquestionable that Luther stimulated great and positive change with his writings, I think it is also interesting to note that his texts also encouraged some negative perceptions.
