Martin+Luther

[|martin luther.mp3]Martin Luther was born to peasant stock on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben in the Holy Roman Empire – in what is today eastern Germany. His father was a relatively successful miner and smelter. Two of his brothers died during outbreaks of the plague. Martin started school in Mansfeld probably around seven. In 1501 he enrolled in the University of Erfurt where he studied the basic course for a Master of Arts. In July of 1505, Martin was caught in a horrific thunderstorm. Afraid that he was going to die, he screamed out a vow, “Save me, St. Anna, and I shall become a monk.” On July 17th Luther entered the Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt. Luther was haunted by insecurity about his salvation. In 1510, Luther traveled as part of delegation from his monastery to Rome. In 1511, he transferred from the monastery in Erfurt to one in Wittenberg where, after receiving his doctor of theology degree, he became a professor of biblical theology at the newly founded University of Wittenberg. In 1517, he posted a sheet of theses for discussion on the University’s chapel door. These //Ninety-Five Theses// set out a devastating critique of the church’s sale of indulgences and explained the fundamentals of justification by grace alone. Throughout 1519, Luther continued to lecture and write in Wittenberg. In January 1521, the pope excommunicated Luther. He continued teaching. In 1524, Luther left the monastery. In 1525, he married Katharina von Bora. From 1533 to his death in 1546 he served as the Dean of the theology faculty at Wittenberg. He died in Eisleben on 18 February 1546.

Whitford, D.M. (2006). Martin Luther. Retrieved September 30, 2008, from The internet encyclopedia of philosophy Web site: http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/luther.htm

Luther was born to Hans Luther, and Hans wanted Luther to become a lawyer. Luther went to law school but had a change of heart when God saved him from a severe thunderstorm. He entered the Augustinian order. The vicar general was Johann Staupitz who would later become a good friend to Luther. Luther had a crisis of consciencethat was cnetered upon the fact that he thought his efforts to placate a wrathful God were insufficient. Martin Luther was appaled at the sight of the sale of indulgences and wrote his 95 theses, a list of reforms for the church. Luther was involved in debates withs some other great theologians including, Erasmus, and Zwingli. Finally on the return trip from settling the dispute of two German nobleman, he fell sick and died.

Peters, E.W.Luther. (1973). Luther. In The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography

There are several ironies incumbent on Luther's pivotal role in history: 1) he doesn't really represent a break with the past, but rather a flash point where ideas and trends which had been smoldering in Europe for several centuries suddenly blazed aflame; 2) Luther initially saw himself as a great reformer of the Catholic church, a simple monk who thought the force of his ideas would single-handedly redirect the Leviathan of the church; in the end, however, he divided Christianity into two separate churches and that second division, Protestantism, would divide over the next four centuries into a near infinity of separate churches; 3) finally, Luther (and all the other reformers) saw themselves as returning Christianity to its roots, they believed that they were setting the clock back; in reality, their ideas irreparably changed the world and pushed it kicking and screaming, not into some ideal past, but into the modern era. Hooker, R. (1996). Martin Luther. Retrived October 1, 2008, from World Civilizations Web site: http://wsu.edu/~dee/REFORM/LUTHER.HTM

The demands of study for academic degrees and preparation for delivering lectures drove Martin Luther to study the Scriptures in depth. Luther immersed himself in the teachings of the Scripture and the early church. Slowly, terms like //penance// and //righteousness// took on new meaning. The controversy that broke loose with the publication of his 95 Theses placed even more pressure on the reformer to study the Bible. This study convinced him that the Church had lost sight of several central truths. To Luther, the most important of these was the doctrine that brought him peace with God.With joy, Luther now believed and taught that salvation is a gift of God's grace, received by faith and trust in God's promise to forgive sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross. This, he believed was God's work from beginning to end. Luther's work contains a number of statements that modern readers would consider rather crude. For example, Luther was know to advise people that they should literally “//Tell the Devil he may kiss my ass.//”

1997). Martin Luther. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from GREATSITE Web site: http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/martin-luther.html

Script

Martin Luther is characterized as some by the as the most influencial person of the 16th century, at least as far as religion goes. Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eislebin. Luther's father, who was a successfull miner and smelter, wanted Luther to become a lawer, which can probably atest to the fact that he had an exceptional education, first at Mansfield, and later at the university of Erfurt. In July of 1505, Luther was caught in a very severe thunderstorm. Thinking he was going to die, he screamed out a vow, " Save me saint Anna and I shall become a monk." On July 17th Luther joined the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt.In 1510, Luther traveled to Rome with his monestary and eventually transfered to a monestary in Wittenburg where he recieved his doctor of theology degree and became a professor. The demands of getting a degree drove Luther to study the bible in depth which prompted his posting of the 95 theses on the university of Wittenburg's chaple door. The 95 theses were a list of reforms that Luther had devised after his revelations of the scripture. His most important and prominant revelation was probably that of understanding that salvation was not achieved by good works alone, but that faith and grace were all-important in being saved. Luther continued teaching until 1525 when he left the monastary. The next year, he was married to Katharina von Bora. Luther was involved in debates with other great theologians including, Erasmus, and Zwingli. On February 18th 1546 Luther died on the trip back from settling a dispute between 2 noblemen. Looking in retrospect at Luther's life, one can determine a number of ironies. For example, Luther saw himself as a great reformer of the church when in fact, he was responsible for the split of the church. Also, Luther believed that he was sending Christianity back to its roots when in fact, he started the modern era.