Martin Luther
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German priest and theologian who triggered the Reformation and the rise of Protestantism in the Christian world.
In his early years Luther was an orthodox Roman Catholic and was ordained a priest.
In 1517, Luther, disturbed by corruption in the Catholic church, pinned a document (called the 95 Theses) to the church door of Wittenberg Castle in which he condemned the sale of indulgences (forgiveness of sins in exchange for payment of money).
The 95 Theses were condemned as heretical and Luther, who refused to recant, was excommunicated in 1521.
Luther realized that he was unable to reform the Catholic Church. He therefore decided to break away and found a new kind of Christian church -- a reformed church (this is where the word Reformation comes from).
Luther wrote the Augsburg Confession (1530) in which he set out his beliefs and doctrines.
These included: a rejection the claim of the Pope of authority over secular rulers; a belief that the individual (not the church authorities) are to interpret the Scriptures; a rejection of the corruption of the Church and of usury and commercialism.
Luther was also famous for his translation of the whole Bible into German, a project which took him ten years to complete and which allowed the Bible to be read by ordinary men and women.
Marin Luther (video)
Martin Luther
Martin Luther and the 95 Thesis and the Protestant Reformation. Music: "Read my Mind" by The Killers from the album "Sam's town"
Runtime: 3:34
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What Luther Said...
"Here I stand. I can do other. God help me."
-- Martin Luther
Here I Stand: A Life of Luther
The most famous biography of Martin Luther
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 10/11/2008)
This biography is the most accurate and unprejudiced ever written on Luther (and I have read dozens of them). Bainton provides very lucid and vivid historical settings, events, people, and such surrounding the life of Luther. What is more, Bainton is quite fair-minded with regard to Luther's personal traits; I get tired of reading other biographers who try to psychoanalyze Luther and draw conclusions about his thinking based on pure speculations. Bainton renders a fair assessment of perhaps why, based on historical settings and events which were occurring during Luther's day, as to why he perhaps did and said some of the things he did.
Bainton really draws his reader into the life of Luther by carefully unfolding historical events which led up to the reformation and events that helped to shape Luther's thinking during and following the Reformation. The book is also nicely lavished with engravings and illustrations which helps the reader get a better understanding of what Bainton is trying to communicate. Moreover, the book contains a very exhaustive bibliography to help the reader branch out into further research and reading.
This book is written in a chronological format from Luther's birth to his death, and every major event which occurred between. This text is certainly a must for anyone who wants a better understanding of Martin Luther. Moreover, it is also a crucial text for anyone wanting a better understanding of the Reformation. I cannot begin to describe the depth and breadth of this work. I highly recommend this text!!!!
Martin Luther (article)
Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 February 18, 1546) was a German monk,Plass, Ewald M. "Monasticism," in What Luther Says: An Anthology. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, 2:964. theologian, university professor, Father of Protestantism,Challenges to Authority: The Renaissance in Europe: A Cultural Enquiry, Volume 3, by Peter Elmer, page 25"Martin Luther: Biography." AllSands.com. July 26, 2008 http://www.allsands.com/potluck3/martinlutherbi_ugr_gn.htm>."What ELCA Lutherns Believe." Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. July 26, 2008 .Saraswati, Prakashanand. The True History and the Religion of India : A Concise Encyclopedia of Authentic Hinduism. New York: Motilal Banarsidass (Pvt. Ltd), 2001. "His 'protest for reformation' coined the term Protestant, so he was called the father of Protestantism." and church reformer whose ideas influenced the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.Hillerbrand, Hans J. "Martin Luther: Significance," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007.
Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authorityEwald M. Plass, What Luther Says, 3 vols., (St. Louis: CPH, 1959), 88, no. 269; M. Reu, Luther and the Scriptures, Columbus, Ohio: Wartburg Press, 1944), 23. and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a universal priesthood.Luther, Martin. Concerning the Ministry (1523), tr. Conrad Bergendoff, in Bergendoff, Conrad (ed.) Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1958, 40:18 ff. According to Luther, salvation is a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.
At the Diet of Worms assembly over freedom of conscience in 1521, Luther's confrontation with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and being declared an outlaw of the state as a consequence.
His translation of the Bible into the vernacular of the people made the Scriptures more accessible to them, and had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation,Fahlbusch, Erwin and Bromiley, Geoffrey William. The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999?2003, 1:244. and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible.Tyndales New Testament, trans. from the Greek by William Tyndale in 1534 in a modern-spelling edition and with an introduction by David Daniell. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989, ix?x. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity.Bainton, Roland. Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther. New York: Penguin, 1995, 269. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.Bainton, Roland. Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther. New York: Penguin, 1995, 223.
Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933?45.McKim, Donald K. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 58; Berenbaum, Michael. "Anti-Semitism," Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed January 2, 2007. For Luther's own words, see Luther, Martin. "On the Jews and Their Lies," tr. Martin H. Bertram, in Sherman, Franklin. (ed.) Luthers Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971, 47:268?72. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.Hendrix, Scott H. "The Controversial Luther", Word & World 3/4 (1983), Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, p. 393: "And, finally, after the Holocaust and the use of his anti-Jewish statements by National Socialists, Luthers anti-semitic outbursts are now unmentionable, though they were already repulsive in the sixteenth century. As a result, Luther has become as controversial in the twentieth century as he was in the sixteenth." Also see Hillerbrand, Hans. "The legacy of Martin Luther", in Hillerbrand, Hans & McKim, Donald K. (eds.) The Cambridge Companion to Luther. Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Interesting Websites on Martin Luther and the Reformation
- Martin Luther
- Interesting article on Luther's life and work. Contains critical comments e.g. how he turned against the peasants in the Peasants War.
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