Martin Luther Protestant Reformation Analysis

The source I will be analyzing is a primary source by Martin Luther into English. Martin Luther was a monk in the Catholic Church who would go to start the Protestant Reformation through his criticisms of the church and of the Pope. In this work Martin Luther challenges the Pope and the Catholic Church by accusing them of being impious for the act of selling indulgences to Christians. He goes on to lambaste the Pope in detail, stating that he is using Christians for personal gain and ignoring the will of God. Ultimately Luther believes sins can only be forgiven by God and not by the Pope or anyone else.

When looking at this source to fully understand it as an historian why Luther wrote it, we must look in great detail at who the …show more content…
The sources audience was everyone, but the focus is on the church hierarchy and the pope. In the source he talks about Christians, the church, and the Pope. The interesting part that stands out to me though is in the introduction, quoted earlier. In the introduction he mentions a debate. This debate, I assume would not be for general Christians, but instead for Theologians and members of the church order. Given a normal citizen would not have the respect that a theologian or members of the church order would have. Another important aspect not mentioned in the source is the fact that Luther nailed the “95 Theses” to the front door of the church. This would allow everyone to see the document and read it, if able. Knowing this information, however, I must believe that the source was more geared towards those involved in church affairs. Especially knowing that he had a debate planned and he would not be debating citizens, it would be the church officials in support of …show more content…
Society was nearing a cross-road. As the Catholic Church became more and more scandalous and greedy, the public became more and more skeptical. Word surely got around and Theologians like Luther started to address the issues. The way Luther handled the situation shows us the type of Christian Martin Luther was. He was incredibly dedicated to serving God and in the best way possible, which is why he challenged the Pope and the church in the first place. An act considered suicide, given the Pope was considered the represented of God on earth. This makes me wonder though. Martin Luther clearly had been building up to writing this source for a while and in the intro he mentions the following “Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.” The fact that he mentions “us” makes me wonder who else is participating in the debate and supporting Martin