Martin Luther: A Film Review
The film Luther is a story about Martin Luther, a monk who reformed Christianity to a level that he never imagined. Luther made the basis of Protestantism but it came at a cost -- millions of lives and the fall of an empire. He felt conflicted with himself but also with the power of the Roman Catholic Church and Emperor of Germany, Charles V.
At the beginning of Luther 's journey to the basis of the new religion, Protestantism, Luther had religious doubts especially towards the church. He felt as though he was sinful and he wasn’t good enough to be a priest. He fell into this abyss of self-hatred and judgement. Luther genuinely believed that mixed with his first encounter as being a priest and his overall morals, …show more content…
This ended up being a religious battle between Protestantism and Catholicism, which studied the religion correctly. On one hand, with the Catholic Church, they have been ruling over the continent for hundreds of years with the notion that the general public should learn from those chosen by God, priests and monks. Peasants were to trust the word of the priests and how they portrayed the bible more than the actual text. However, on the basis of Lutherism – a form of Protestantism, the public had a right to access the bible and study it. Luther executed his by translating the bible into German by hand, ignoring the Church’s wishes. This, of course, angered the Church –which beforehand already took away his privileges of church activities and preaching, but Luther believed in the word of God more than the politics of the Church. In fact, Luther hated the politics of the Church, especially indulgences which was a grant by the Pope of the Church allowing a free pass to heaven without the trip to purgatory to anyone who can afford it. When he first witnessed how the Church manipulated these people to get money for a simple piece of paper, he was outraged. He knew that it meant nothing but money and power over the public, the fear of those who wanted to be saved from sin. He believed that …show more content…
In the Diet of Worms, Luther publically humiliated Charles V by calling out the Pope and the council by stating how they contradict themselves. In the hall, Luther refuses to recant his books, stating that they are helpful to understand the Christian faith and how they state the heresy the Popes – past and present – have committed. Although he states that he has written harshly on a few of his writings, Luther refuses to recant on the bases that the Church is wrong. Charles V main conflict with Luther is the conflicting views on religion and status. The emperor expects Luther to respect his authority and his upper-class status, especially since he was so close with the Church, and do as he’s told. However, when Charles V is basically told off in front of the council and everyone, Luther gains the upper hand, leaving him embarrassed and downright humiliated. The emperor immediately signs an edict to burn all of Luther’s books in all of Germany trying to gain that status back. Politically, Charles V is losing his power over the people and now that the Church is losing followers, there’s no real backbone for him to fall on. The emperor’s view on Luther that he was trying to convey to the rest of his subjects was the fact that Luther was the devil in religious clothing, ready to deceive and spread a distorted version of the
The film Luther is a story about Martin Luther, a monk who reformed Christianity to a level that he never imagined. Luther made the basis of Protestantism but it came at a cost -- millions of lives and the fall of an empire. He felt conflicted with himself but also with the power of the Roman Catholic Church and Emperor of Germany, Charles V.
At the beginning of Luther 's journey to the basis of the new religion, Protestantism, Luther had religious doubts especially towards the church. He felt as though he was sinful and he wasn’t good enough to be a priest. He fell into this abyss of self-hatred and judgement. Luther genuinely believed that mixed with his first encounter as being a priest and his overall morals, …show more content…
This ended up being a religious battle between Protestantism and Catholicism, which studied the religion correctly. On one hand, with the Catholic Church, they have been ruling over the continent for hundreds of years with the notion that the general public should learn from those chosen by God, priests and monks. Peasants were to trust the word of the priests and how they portrayed the bible more than the actual text. However, on the basis of Lutherism – a form of Protestantism, the public had a right to access the bible and study it. Luther executed his by translating the bible into German by hand, ignoring the Church’s wishes. This, of course, angered the Church –which beforehand already took away his privileges of church activities and preaching, but Luther believed in the word of God more than the politics of the Church. In fact, Luther hated the politics of the Church, especially indulgences which was a grant by the Pope of the Church allowing a free pass to heaven without the trip to purgatory to anyone who can afford it. When he first witnessed how the Church manipulated these people to get money for a simple piece of paper, he was outraged. He knew that it meant nothing but money and power over the public, the fear of those who wanted to be saved from sin. He believed that …show more content…
In the Diet of Worms, Luther publically humiliated Charles V by calling out the Pope and the council by stating how they contradict themselves. In the hall, Luther refuses to recant his books, stating that they are helpful to understand the Christian faith and how they state the heresy the Popes – past and present – have committed. Although he states that he has written harshly on a few of his writings, Luther refuses to recant on the bases that the Church is wrong. Charles V main conflict with Luther is the conflicting views on religion and status. The emperor expects Luther to respect his authority and his upper-class status, especially since he was so close with the Church, and do as he’s told. However, when Charles V is basically told off in front of the council and everyone, Luther gains the upper hand, leaving him embarrassed and downright humiliated. The emperor immediately signs an edict to burn all of Luther’s books in all of Germany trying to gain that status back. Politically, Charles V is losing his power over the people and now that the Church is losing followers, there’s no real backbone for him to fall on. The emperor’s view on Luther that he was trying to convey to the rest of his subjects was the fact that Luther was the devil in religious clothing, ready to deceive and spread a distorted version of the