Date of Birth: November 10, 1483
Died: February 18, 1546 Parents: Hans Luther & Magarathe Spouse: Katherine Von Bora Religion: Lutheran Martin Luther was born to two Catholic middle-class parents in 1483. He went to law school and although he was dedicated to God, he focused on his studies. When two of his friends died, he became more interested in religion and left law school to become a monk. His father wanted him to become a lawyer and felt that Luther was throwing away his life, so he disowned him. Luther became a very dedicated monk and would fast for many days. He later commented on this period of his life saying, "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made him the jailer and hangman of my soul." He felt that such devotion is not necessary, and that the only thing that matters is that you follow God and the word of the lord (the Bible). Although he felt that way, he was not ready to share his beliefs and in 1507 he became a priest. Throughout his priesthood, he advocated against selling of indulgences. The Catholic church had said that faith alone cannot guarantee good conscience, the only thing that can is being active in church and donating money to the church. In 1516 when Johann Tetzel came to collect money to rebuild a church, Luther was outraged and sent letters to his bishop, saying that selling indulgences is not fair. He said that faith alone can guarantee happiness and that those who said otherwise were in error. He became to study the bible more, and found other errors the church was making. In response to these discoveries, Luther wrote the 95 Theses and it soon became widespread. His main idea is that there are only three rules- or the three solas. The three solas are Sola scriptura (scripture alone), Sola fide (faith alone), and Sola gratia (by grace alone). Luther soon also became against the pope, and even told the pope that he thought he was the antichrist. The pope did respond well to this and excommunicated Luther from the church. He soon started his own religion, Lutheranism, and it grew popular in Germany. Henry VIII wrote the Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (Defense of the Seven Sacraments) in 1521, declaring Luther a traitor and was given the title 'Protector of the Faith' by the Catholic Church. There is some speculation today of whether he actually wrote this article or if Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, or Bishop Fisher wrote it. There is no certain way to know who wrote it, but Luther took advantage of the speculation and wrote about how this article was not to be taken seriously because it was not written by the king, even asking for the king's friendship. Henry refused his friendship, but when Henry broke away from Catholicism and started Anglicanism, the two came to an understanding. Through out his life, Luther was able to break away from the Catholic church, and start an organization that he felt was pure and good, as well as gaining support from the people. |
1500s |
Martin Luther |