I was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany, to Hans and Margaretta Luther. My father saw a somewhat successful miner, and he wanted me to have a better life than him, so at early on I was enrolled in school. When I turned thirteen I moved to Magdeburg to continue my studies to become a lawyer. In 1498 I was transferred again to Eisenach where studied grammar, rhetoric, and logic. In 1501 I enrolled in the University of Erfurt, the best university in Germany at the time. I attained a Master’s degree from the University in 1505. That summer I got caught in a violent thunderstorm, and pledged that if I survived I would become a monk. Needless to say, I survived, and turned away from my studies and started to live as a monk.
The first few years of my life as a monk were quite discouraging as I didn’t find the enlightenment I was seeking. At age 27, I was invited to be a delegate to a church conference in Rome. In Rome I was discouraged by the corruption and immorality of the priests. When I got back I studied at The University of Wittenberg to help find the solution to my spiritual problems. I soon received a …show more content…
For three days I debated with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan, but we couldn’t reach any agreement. Even though the assembly was siding with Cajetan, I did not recant and instead returned to Wittenberg. On November 9, 1518, Pope Leo X stated that my writing were in conflict with the teachings of the Church. I could not say that they weren’t, since they were. Just a year later my teachings were examined by a series of commissions. While the first one found them to be heretical, the next one simply stated that my writings were “scandalous and offensive to pious ears.” One example of why he might have stated so was that in 1519, at a public debate in Leipzig, I declared that “a simple layman armed with the Scriptures” was superior to both the pope and councils that acted without
The first few years of my life as a monk were quite discouraging as I didn’t find the enlightenment I was seeking. At age 27, I was invited to be a delegate to a church conference in Rome. In Rome I was discouraged by the corruption and immorality of the priests. When I got back I studied at The University of Wittenberg to help find the solution to my spiritual problems. I soon received a …show more content…
For three days I debated with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan, but we couldn’t reach any agreement. Even though the assembly was siding with Cajetan, I did not recant and instead returned to Wittenberg. On November 9, 1518, Pope Leo X stated that my writing were in conflict with the teachings of the Church. I could not say that they weren’t, since they were. Just a year later my teachings were examined by a series of commissions. While the first one found them to be heretical, the next one simply stated that my writings were “scandalous and offensive to pious ears.” One example of why he might have stated so was that in 1519, at a public debate in Leipzig, I declared that “a simple layman armed with the Scriptures” was superior to both the pope and councils that acted without