Martin Luther Influence

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* Why Martin Luther became disillusioned with the Church of Rome * Martin Luther was one of the most influential figures in Christian history. He was a controversial figure in the Reformation movement. In this essay, the intent is to point out the reason as to why Martin Luther was disappointed with the methods and intention of the Roman Church. How he entered into monastery work, how his Catholic upbringing contributed, and his 95 theses on the issue of indulgences. * Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Roman Catholicism in the small town of Eisleben, Saxony, in modern southeast Germany. His parents, Hans and Margarette Luther, were of a peasant lineage, but Hans had some success as a miner and ore smelter. In 1484, the…show more content…
He was shocked by the unbiblical behavior of church officials and the sale of indulgences. In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the remission of the physical and temporal punishment for sins that is endured in Purgatory after death, even though the legal guilt has been pardoned by absolution. The Pope, according to his discretion from the "treasury of merits from the saints," sold religious merits in exchange for refurbishing the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. Those who purchased these indulgence documents were promised a reduced punishment for their sins, for the sins of departed loved ones, and in some cases, total forgiveness from all sin. The slogan attributed to the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel epitomized the sale of indulgences: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs." Luther did not believe this was something that could be sold. He believed that a person's sins could only be forgiven by God's…show more content…
This act of nailing his Thesis to the church door has become a symbolic defining moment of the birth of the Protestant Reformation. * In conclusion, Martin Luther was disillusioned with the Church of Rome because of the unbiblical behavior of church officials, the sale of indulgences, and the amount of power given by the Church to its hierarchy. Luther became a prominent theologian; his desire for people to feel closer to God led him to translate the Bible into the language of the people, radically changing the relationship between church leaders and their followers.
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