The main topic of his theses was that the selling of indulgences was getting out of hand, and that true devotion to faith was all that one required to get to heaven and to be faithful. When news of Luther’s theses spread around to the common people, a wide scale uprising took place and launched the Protestant Reformation.
Because of Martin Luther’s ideas, Pope Leo X excommunicated him in 1521. Emperor Charles V summoned Luther to Worms to defend himself in the Diet of Worms. Luther was told that he could either recant what he had said, or he could refuse and be exiled permanently. Luther refused to recant his beliefs, stating “Here I stand, I can do no other”. He was placed under Imperial Ban and had to flee the city for Wartburg Castle. After this, anyone who defended Luther or his beliefs would be officially banned from the Holy Roman Empire and had to forfeit all property and wealth that they had. Luther stayed in hiding for 5 months, and then came out of …show more content…
He reflects the essence of the Renaissance perfectly by springing new ideas and changing long lasting beliefs.
Luther’s pronounced rejection of the church’s ideals by posting his 95 theses clearly and poetically illustrates one of the core principles of the Renaissance. He openly showed to everybody that the church’s way of thinking was wrong, and needed to be corrected. At this time, indulgences were widely accepted activities, and Luther’s words broke away from this to show other people that faith alone was necessary.
Even when Luther was faced with an Imperial Ban he continued to show others his ideas. An act like this is the soul of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo rejecting the ideas of Pope Julius; the artists of the renaissance breaking away from plain paintings of certain people and painting with depth and creativity. All of this contributed to the creation of deep change. Luther paved the way for people of the future to more quickly question the ways that they view the world, and in doing so flawlessly mirrored the base ideas of the