Martin Luther

Pictures: upper left(Luther in 1533), right("Luther Before the Diet of Worms") Bottom(Door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg)

Martin Luther, both a priest and theology professor, was an important figure in German history. Martin Luther was a rebellious type of person who went against the current norms of society. He believed that one could escape punishment for sins by paying for them with money. He believed salvation was not acquired through good deeds, but rather was a gift from God due to faith in Jesus Christ. His ideas demonized the authority of the Roman Catholic Church’s Pope who taught the bible was the only source of divine knowledge. Luther resisted the church during a time period when churches had power over the secular leaders. The video mentions, Luther’s main goal was to decentralize the power found in the Catholic Church to allow for the people to have more of a voice in the religious realm of their state. Luther noted the bible discussed only had two sacraments. He brought the forefront how the amount of power held by religious authority was unnecessary. Luther realized the Catholic Church divided people from the words of God. Luther was important because he had taken the steps to bring Germans a voice in their country. He was the first to translate the bible into German, which allowed the people of Germany to gain some religious power. Luther’s translation of the Bible made it more accessible to the local people of Germany. causing a major impact on the church and German culture. This translation brought about a standard version of the German language. Roman priests had once ruled that the bible was only to be read by priests. The priests were believed to have the right to interpret God’s words, unlike any of the other commoners in Germany at the time. Luther fought against this notion leading to the Protestant reformation.