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Martin Luther

Questions concerning Martin Luther, the theologian. His history, work, and rise to prominence in the Protestant Reformation.

647 Questions

Why was Martin Luther important?

Martin Luther is an important figure in history. He became fed up with the excesses of the Catholic church, and decided to form his own Christian denomination, Lutheranism. Martin Luther King, Jr. is named after Martin Luther.

Where did Martin Luther post the 95 theses?

Popular legend has it that Luther posted his theses on the door of his church in Wittenburg. Although no solid historical evidence exists that he actually did this, today the doors of the church have Martin Luther's theses permanently inscribed in them.

What was it about martin Luther that helped him to succeed?

His faith in god was his influence. In his "I have a dream" speech he speaks of god frequently and it is very obvious that he is christain

What was one situation Martin Luther King Jr attempted to change?

As Martin Luther King was black himself he had gone through experiences of what it was like to be brought up on the bad side of life. He worked more then other white people and he still was paid less and he also got second best to white people. He started to see that this was not fare and saw there was no reason to be treated differently just because there skin colour was different.

What church denomination did martin Luther start?

I HAVE READ THAT HE STARTED THE REFOMATION BECAUSE PRIEST WHERE TAKING MONEY FROM PEOPLE TO HELP GET THEM TO HEAVEN .....

Answer

Some priests were indeed selling " Indulgences ". This is no longer the case . Martin Luther had issues with the Pope . He took John Wesley with him. There are now Lutherans and Weslyeans, as these two also parted ways.However, there were Catholics before Luther and we are still here. We chose to work on our problems internally rather than abandon our Church .Some people choose to " jump ship " when the going gets tough, and others just row harder.

What did the pope and the catholic church do to martin Luther?

The Pope issued a papal bull threatening to excommunicate Luther if he did not recant in 90 days. Luther is said to have burned copies of the bull. Luther was excommunicated and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was told to kill him on charges of heresy. Charles summoned him to Worms (verms) to be examined. Luther was declared a heretic. Luther had thirty days to return home before being declared an outlaw. On the way back to Wittenburg Luther was kidnapped by his friend a prince of Germany. the prince took him to a castle where luther lived in safety and translated the New Testament into German. Because Charles was busy with foreign affairs Luther was not bothered for the remainder of his life which he spent mostly in Wittenburg.

What did Martin Luther think a man was saved by?

Martin Luther believed you could be saved by having a " I have a dream speech" saying NOMATTER what color skin you are we are all the same.

What school did martin Luther go to when he was kid?

The school Martin Luther King Jr. attend was More House

What degree did Martin Luther have in?

Martin Luther received a master's degree from the University of Erfurt in 1505. He also obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biblical studies in 1508, and another focused on the Sentences by Peter Lombard in 1509.

Did martin Luther die a catholic?

Martin Luther most certainly did not die a Catholic. However, he had gained the respect of his Catholic adversary, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who commanded his troops to not disturb Luther's burial site during their invasion.

How was Martin Luther different from Catholics of his time?

He was different from Catholics of his time, in that when he had questions about his Faith, he started his own religion, that conformed to his own personal beliefs - so, we may say he was a "trend-setter." Now, thanks to Luther, you may choose the faith that suits your needs

Why was Martin Luther critical of the Roman Catholic Church?

The short answer is abuse of wealth and power in Rome. He believed that salvation was offered by God, not the church or its emissaries. At the time, the church was selling "indulgences", pieces of paper that got you into heaven, for a price.

He never intended to split away from the church, but he would not be quieted about what he thought the church was doing wrong. He wrote "Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum", known as the 95 Theses and nailed it to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany. The idea caught on like wildfire. Thus the Protestant Reformation was born.

Why did Martin Luther King Jr. Do what did?

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who stood Up for what was right and wrong. He changed the world and made it look like it looks like today. Black and white Unite Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who stood Up for what was right and wrong. He changed the world and made it look like it looks like today. Black and white Unite

Who did Martin Luther marry in 1522?

Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora on June 13, 1525. He was 41 years old at the time of the wedding and she was just 26.

Why was Martin Luther important in the Reformation?

Martin Luther was the one who wanted to reform the Roman Catholic Church. In other words... Change some things... He watched there was a lot of corruption and he as a But as at that time there was so much corruption, he wrote a letter to the Priest and nail it to the door of the church. He thought that the Priest didn't knew about this (but actually he was the one behind all this).

Why did Martin Luther object to the state of the Catholic Church?

A:

There were few periods in the long history of the Catholic Church when corruption was more openly present than during the Renaissance period. The sale of indulgences was becoming a prime source of personal income for popes, cardinals and bishops, as were the sale of ecclesiastical offices and the imposition of many corrupt fees and charges.

In 1514, Albrecht of Brandenburg had been raised to the archdiocese of Mainz, but since he intended not to surrender his previous diocese of Magdeburg, and was also under the canonical age to be a bishop, the pope was able to insist on a considerable fee. He agreed in return that 50 per cent of the monies raised from the preaching of the indulgence in Albrecht's two dioceses could be set against this sum. This shoddy deal, made more offensive by the vigour and lack of sophistication with which the indulgence was preached around Magdeburg by the Dominican friar Tetzel, spurred Luther to action.

Catholic AnswerMartin Luther objections to the state of the Catholic Church were primarily through ignorance. Attached at the link below is a list of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. A casual glance through all 95 Theses reveals a startling ignorance in Martin Luther. Many of his requests are actually (and were at that time) perfectly valid Catholic theology. Others were totally off the wall, and made no sense. Martin Luther, unbeknownst to himself, was a primary illustration of the problem in the Church at that time - abysmal education of the clergy. This was the first problem that the Council of Trent addressed. At the second link is a list of the 95 Theses to which the Pope objected. Reading through the entire 95 Theses is quite enlightening as the theses to which the Pope did NOT object are actually quite offensive to modern protestants!

Are Martin Luther's children living?

Yes all but one, Yolanda (The Oldest Girl)died 2 or3 years ago of a heart attack, but the others (Dexter, Bernice, and Martin Jr. are still alive and is in the process of fighting it out in court over their parents estate. I live in Atlanta and I watch the news everyday and they are always in the news, Bernice and Martin Jr. is accusing Dexter of Stealing money from the estate. Dexter is in charge of the estate and was chosen by his mother Coretta because of his business savvy and intelligence but they are ruining their parents legacy, in my opinion. Hope this answered your question.

What kind of protesting did Martin Luther King Jr use?

He protested by giving a speech and sticking up for his own race and hoping that little black boys and girls and little white boys and girls would play together and he protested by walking along the road with all his family and well-beings to make both the races come together as one,

What happened after Luther posted the 95 theses?

Martin Luther condemned clerical abuses, especially the sale of indulgences in the Ninety-Five Theses. This document is considered the catalyst of the Reformation.

What were the three main beliefs of martin Luther?

The Bible is the only religious authority, baptized Christians are a universal priesthood, and salvation is free.

Was Martin Luther King Jr shot in a hotel?

Martin Luther King Jr. was at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, because he was speaking a Speech called " Equally Treatment" at the Mason Temple Church. The day before he had just given a speech about how he going to continue to fight against unequal rights for African Americans, then the next day he was shot by James Earl Ray, who people all over the world say is " innocent".

Who was Martin Luther?

Martin Luther was a German theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of the Protestant churches in general, and the Lutheran church in particular. Luther openly questioned the teachings of the Roman Catholic church, in particular, the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. The Reformation of the church began on 31 October 1517, with Luther's act of posting his Ninety-Five Theses, more fully known as the "Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The document contained an attack on papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by church officials.

Controversy raged over the posting of the 95 Theses. Luther was excommunicated several years later from the Roman Catholic church for his attacks on the wealth and corruption of the papacy, and his belief that salvation would be granted on the basis of faith alone rather than by works. In 1521, the same year in which he was excommunicated, Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms. The Diet was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that occurred in Worms, Germany, from January to May in 1521. When an edict of the Diet called for Luther's seizure, his friends took him for safekeeping to Wartburg, the castle of Elector Frederick III of Saxony. Here, Luther continued to write his prolific theological works, which greatly influenced the direction of the Protestant Reformation movement.

See the Related Links for "Martin Luther 1483-1546" to the bottom for the answer.

Who criticized the church for selling indulgences?

Many have condemned the sale of indulgences over the centuries, but the most famous of these is Martin Luther.

Martin Luther (10 November 1483 - 18 February 1546) initiated the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.

Martin Luther taught that salvation is not from good works, but a free gift of God, received only by grace through faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptised Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with Luther's teachings are called Lutherans.

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Catholic AnswerThis is another, "when did you stop beating your wife?" question. You can't answer it, because the premise is a lie. The Catholic Church never sold indulgences, ever. Nor, for that matter do indulgences have anything to do with forgiving sin. You need to understand the Christian concept of the Body of Christ: we are all members of the Body of Christ by our baptism. When one of us sins, we hurt the entire Body. Our Blessed Lord died on the cross to forgive our sins. We apply that forgiveness to ourselves in various ways, the first of which is baptism which wipes out everything up to that point in our lives. After baptism, Our Blessed Lord provided another Sacrament to remove serious sin (and venial {less serious}), that is confession. When you go to confession you must have contrition for your sins, confess all of them, and resolve to never to them again. Let me see if I can explain this another way:

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To understand indulgences you must first understand sin and its consequences:

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When one sins, one damages the Body of Christ, as, by our Baptism, we are all members of the Body of Christ, and everything we do, for good or ill, affects everyone.

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Say you are in the street in your neighborhood playing softball. You hit one and it goes flying across the street and through Mrs. Neighbor's front window. You put the bat down, walk across the street, knock on the door, and apologize to Mrs. Neighbor. She forgives you, since you were nice, and owned up to your fault. Up until now we have the basic scenario of someone going into confession and confessing their sins.

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But wait, notice that in my example, the window is still broken. You have to go home and confess to your father and mother that you broke the window, they, in turn, take your allowance for the next several years and pay to have the window fixed. The broken window is the example of how we damage the Body of Christ. The allowance that you have to fork over for the next several years is your penance.

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Now, an indulgence is based on the fact that when Jesus was a man living on the earth, his mother, and the other saints down through the centuries, have done more good works than they need to do their penances (in the case of Our Blessed Lord, and His mother, they had no need of penances, so all their good works are surplus), so, the Church, through Her power of the keys, can apply the merits of those good works to your penance. So in the example above, the indulgence is your parents fixing the window for you, and you are still going to get your allowance. You might have to fork over some of it to help, but they are not going to impoverish you for the next several years.

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That is what an indulgence is: it is the application of the good works of the saints to make up for your penances. Please note that they are only applicable to someone in a state of grace who has already been forgiven. They have NOTHING to do with the remission of sin. Without prior remission of sin, there can be no indulgence.

. Now, any good work can be used to obtain an indulgence in the Church, the classic works of penance are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The one that causes so much trouble back during the protestant revolt was an indulgence attached to almsgiving. For instance, you can earn a plenary indulgence now if you go to confession, go to Mass, receive Holy Communion, pray for the Holy Father, and do a good work, say a Rosary in front of the Blessed Sacrament, or in a family group. You used to be able to earn a Plenary Indulgence for all the same conditions, but instead of saying the Rosary, you could donate ANY sum of money for some good work the Church was involved with. In this particular case, it was rebuilding St. Peter's Basilica. Because of all the hysterics and false rumors, that is no longer possible. Bottom line? The Church has never sold indulgences, ever.