Martin Luther: The Father Of The Reformation

Martin Luther was world-renowned, influential, and one of the greatest preachers of the fifteen century. He wrote prolifically, and expounded the Scriptures so the common people could fully comprehend it. He exhorted sermons that were biblical, doctrinal, and practical. (Wiersbe and Perry, 1984). Furthermore, he was a catalyst to the Protestant Reformation and was titled “Father of the Reformation.” He challenged the Roman Catholic Church, established his own catechisms, and left us an enormous theological legacy with his works. (Enns, 1989). None of it could happen without him being disillusioned with the Roman Catholic Church. In the following, the reasons and causes of his disillusionment will be explained. A chain of events which began at an early age was what directed Luther towards his disillusionment. Peasant born from a family of the Catholic faith in the year of 1483, Eisleban, Germany, adolescence as he knew composed of constant hardships, unpleasant memories, and severe discipline. One occasion, he was mercilessly flogged fifteen times to the point of bleeding at both home and school. Oftentimes, the family had to move around …show more content…
(Atkinson, 1968). During the time of his studies, a religious sense of salvation surfaced and steadily vexed him. The vexation intensified at an incident where a thunderstorm raged while on a journey. The thought of eternal damnation seemed more real than ever. Desperate, he knelt and prayed to St. Anne for deliverance with the promise of him becoming a monk. He kept his promise after much inner conflict. In monastery life, he tormented himself in an extremely undesirable fashion in thirst of receiving God’s acceptance. He failed miserably, and was deluded that he angered God. Day by day, his doubts and anxieties sharpened, it was not cured. The same time, he found peace by studying and entirely trusting the Word of