Luther09

**media type="custom" key="4677525"Jordan Crawford**

**__Script__** Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony. He came from a hard-working family that consisted of his mother, Margaret, his father, Hans, and their nine children. Hans Luther worked as a miner and, after staying in the mining industry for quite some time, he became the owner of several small mines. In the year 1510, Martin Luther was sent on a business order to Rome and had never felt so calm in his life; this was very odd because he was a very high-strung person. Luther always caught himself questioning his own salvation, so he confessed his sins to God frequently. This personality led Martin Luther to pursue in the field of Sacred Scriptures. His early education consisted of several different institutions in Germany. These schools focused on a teaching technique known as the "trivium"; grammar, rhetoric, and logic. After progressing through some of his school years, Luther became such a good student that even his parents were already thinking of the finanicial success that Martin would have in the future. In the year 1501, Luther entered the University of Erfurt. He would later desribe the school of being a beerfest and a whorehouse. However, he stayed at the school and recieved his master's degree in 1505. Hans Luther always dreamed for Martin to become a lawyer, so Martin attended law school, but he immeadiately dropped out because he thought that law represented uncertainty. In the year 1508, Martin decided to become a teacher, so he became a professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg. After several years of great teaching, he was appointed to //Doctor in Bible// and remained there the rest of his teaching career. On his way back to his university after a visit back home, Martin Luther was almost struck by a lightning bolt while on his horse.Luther would later tell his father about this incident and about how he now greatly feared death and divine judgement, Martin then cried out, "Help! Saint Anna, I will become a monk!". Luther then viewed his outcry an obligation that he could not break; he had to become a priest. On July 7, 1505, Martin Luther entered a closed Augustinian friary in Efurt, Germany. He devoted himself to fasting, long hours of prayer, and frequent confession to God. In 1507, Luther followed up on his vow to Saint Ana and was ordained a priest. Between the years 1516-1517, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, was sent to Germany by Pope Leo X to sell indulgences to raise money for the rebuilding of Rome's St. Peter's Basilica. Johann Tetzel's famous slogan was "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs." The sale of indulgences really angered Martin Luther because he completely believed that you could only make it to Heaven from faith alone and not from donating money to some phony fund. On October 31, 1517, to express his anger, Luther wrote the "95 Theses", a letter to show his displeasure about abuse of the sale of indulgences, to Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeberg. Long story short, Albrecht did not reply Martin, but rather had them checked for heresy in Rome in December 1517. Luther would later try to disprove the negativity of his "95 theses" with Cardinal Cajetan. However, Martin crossed the line and shouted out that the papacy should not be part of the church. This incident sparked Pope Leo X to finally excommunicate Martin Luther from the church on January 3, 1521. Some other important facts about Martin Luther include his marriage to Katharina Von Bora, an escaped nun, on July 13, 1525; his creation of the idea of justification by faith, which means that you can make it to heaven by faith alone; and, while hiding at the Wartburg Castle, translating the New Testament of the Bible from Latin into German. Moreover, his most important accomplishment was the creation of an all-new religious sect, Protestantism. This religion is still widely practiced today and its beliefs are based upon a single bible verse, Romans 1:17. It reads, "The righteous will live by faith." Martin Luther died from natural causes on February 3, 1546. He is one of the people in history that will never be forgotten because of his gutsy efforts to fight for what he believed in and his many amazing achievements.

__**Research**

 __**Summary of His Early Life**__**:**
 * The Life of Martin Luther**__
 * Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony.
 * He came from a hard-working family that consisted of his mother, Margaret, his father, Hans, and their nine children.
 * Martin's parents were extremely strict; he was violently beaten by both his mother and father just for minor offenses. This was common at the time.
 * Hans Luther worked as a miner.
 * Hans later became the the owner of several small mines, which put the family in financial comfort.
 * In 1510, he was sent on a business order to Rome and had never felt so calm in his life.
 * This sense of relaxation was odd because Luther was a generally high-strung person.
 * Martin Luther would always find himself extremely worried about his own salvation.
 * Because of this, he confessed his sins to God very frequently.
 * This state of mind is what led him to pursue further in the field of Sacred Scriptures.
 * He viewed God as someone that serves us and that we all need to serve him back together.
 * The Scriptures were his "happy-place" because he saw such a welcoming being in God.


 * __Education__:**
 * In 1490, Martin Luther attended a latin school located in Mansfield, Germany.
 * In 1497, he attended a school in Magdeberg, Germany that was run by a group of lay people called "The Brethren of the Common Life".
 * After showing of his academic abilities at his schools in Manfield and Magdeberg, he enrolled in a school in Eisenach, Germany.
 * At this school is where he met his role model, Johann Braun, who was a dedicated cleric.
 * At these three school, they focused on the "trivium", the teaching of the subjects: grammar, rhetoric, and logic.
 * Even his parents were already thinking that the finanicial success that Martin would make in the future would be good enough for them in their latter years.
 * In the year 1501, Luther entered the University of Erfurt. He would later desribe the school of being a beerfest and a whorehouse. However, he stayed at the school and recieved his master's degree in the year 1505.
 * His father always dreamed for Martin to become a lawyer, so he attended law school, but he immeadiately dropped out because he thought that law represented uncertainty.
 * This time in his life was when he decided to pursue in the fields of Theology and Philosophy. He showed much interest in Aristotle.
 * He would soon drop the study of Philosophy and focus solely on Theology, because Philosophy offered reasons to unknown questions, but it expressed nothing about loving God.
 * In the year 1508, he became a professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg.
 * After several years of great teaching, he was appointed to //Doctor in Bible// and remained there the rest of his teaching career.


 * __Monastic Life__:**
 * On his way back to his university after a visit back home, Martin Luther was almost struck by a lightning bolt while on his horse.
 * Luther would later tell his father about this incident and about how he now greatly feared death and divine judgement, Martin then cried out, "Help! Saint Anna, I will become a monk!"
 * He viewed this cry for help as an unbreakable vow; he had to become a monk.
 * On July 7, 1505, Martin Luther entered a closed Augustinian friary in Efurt, Germany.
 * He devoted himself to fasting, long hours in prayer, and frequent confession to God.
 * In 1507, Luther was ordained a priest.

--- On July 13, 1525, Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, an escaped nun. --- He and his spouse moved into "The Black Cloister", a former monastery. It was a wedding gift from John The Steadfast, the new elector. --- They had 6 children, but only 4 survived to become adults. --- When they married, Katharina was 26 and Luther was a whopping 42 years old. --- Katharina worked by farming the land and welcoming boarders into their home. ---Martin Luther died from natural causes on February 18, 1546.
 * __The Reformation__:**
 * Between the years 1516-1517, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, was sent to Germany by Pope Leo X to sell indulgences to raise money for the rebuilding of Rome's St. Peter's Basilica.
 * Indulgences are described as "a particial remission of the temporal punishment that is still due for a sin or sins after absolution" by dicitonary.com.
 * A famous slogan used by Tetzel to attract buyers was: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."
 * The sale of indulgences really angered Martin Luther because he completely believed that you could only make it to Heaven form faith alone and from not donating money to some phony fund.
 * On October 31, 1517, to express his anger, Luther wrote the "95 Theses", a letter to show his displeasure about abuse of the sale of indulgences, to Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeberg.
 * He did not get a reply back from Albrecht, but Albrecht had them checked for heresy in Rome in December 1517.
 * While trying to disprove the negativity of his "95 Theses" with papal legate Cardinal Cajetan, Luther got into a shouting match with Cajetan about how the papacy should not be a part of the biblical Church.
 * He wasn now an enemy of the pope, who now wanted to arrest him.
 * Later that night, Luther slipped out of town without the permission of Cardinal Cajetan.
 * Theologian, Johann von Eck, was determined to defeat Luther. He compared his ideas to Jan Hus, a Czech heretic that was burned at the stake in the year 1415.
 * With all of the negative hype surrounding Luther, Pope Leo X made the decision to excommunicate him from the Church on January 3, 1521.
 * Martin Luther was declared an outlaw and could be killed by anyone with no legal consequence, so he plotted an escape to Wartburg Castle with Fredrick III, Elector of Saxony.
 * The plan was executed perfectly; two masked horsemen came and snatched Luther quickly and returned him safely to the castle.
 * During his hiding at the Wartburg castle, Martin Luther translated the New Testament of the Bible from Latin into German, so more people could read it and see what he was talking about.
 * To sum it up, Martin Luther's letter, "95 Theses", is what sparked the start of the Protestant Reformation.
 * __Personal Life__:**

---** Luther started the idea of justification by faith; this meant that the only way to get to heaven is by faith alone. --- Martin Luther's biggest achievement was the creation of a whole new religious sect, Protestantism. --- Protestantism is based on the beliefs of Martin Luther and is still practiced by many today. --- Martin Luther started the Protestant Relgion based on a verse in the Bible, Romans 1: 17. It reads, "The righteous will live by faith."
 * __Other Facts__:

---"A preacher must be both soldier and shepherd. He must nourish, defend, and teach; he must have teeth in his mouth, and be able to bite and fight." -Martin Luther ---"Christ is the Master; the Scriptures are only the servant. The true way to test all the Books is to see whether they work the will of Christ or not. No Book which does not preach Christ can be apostolic, though Peter or Paul were its author. And no Book which does preach Christ can fail to be apostolic though Judas, Ananias, Pilate or Herod were its author." -Martin Luther ---"Christ will remain a priest and king; though He was never consecrated by any papist bishop or greased by any of those shavelings; but he was ordained and consecrated by God Himself, and by Him anointed." -Martin Luther ---"Love is an image of God, and not a lifeless image, but the living essence of the divine nature which beams full of all goodness." -Martin Luther ---"There is no justification without sanctification, no forgiveness without renewal of life, no real faith from which the fruits of new obedience do not grow." -Martin Luther
 * __Famous Quotes__:**

"Martin Luther." //http://en.wikipedia.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. . "Martin Luther."// www.s9.com//. N.p., 15 Feb. 2007. Web. 19 Sept. 2009. . "Martin Luther Biography."// www.biography.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2009. . Saari, Peggy, and Aaron Saari.// Renaissance & Reformation Biographies: Volume 2: L-Z//. Detroit : Thomas Gale, 2002. Print. Wilson, Derek.// Out of the Storm: The Life And Legacy of Martin Luther//. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007. Print.
 * Works Cited:**