Martin Luther's Analysis

Martin Luther, born on November 10th, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany, played a significant role in the history of the Catholic Church. Luther was born during the Modern Period of the timeline of Christianity. At this point in history, Renaissance is fully underway and there is rising controversy within the Church. The Holy Roman Empire still spreads over a large territory but it does not have power as a political empire and therefore does not receive governmental funding which lead to the selling of indulgences as a means to raise money to build church and to fund the Church. During this time, nominalist theology was being taught at the universities, this meant that salvation seen as a contract between humans and God and that to get to heaven all …show more content…
This theology expands on his initial studies of salvation and grace. Justification can be described as to be right with God. Luther believed that God was passively righteous, meaning that righteousness was not a quality that God had but rather a gift the God gives to save people. This gift from God is free; we do not have to do anything in exchange for it. This theology was contradictory to nominalist theology. Luther went on to redefine faith; he says that faith is the response to the word of God rather than something we do. Faith is the equivalent to trust in …show more content…
Luther also wrote On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church that denied transubstantiation during Eucharist and denied penance as a sacrament. I believe that Martin Luther greatly influenced the church with the Ninety-Five Theses but he fell short of influencing the church past that point. Partly due to his excommunication from the Church, I think that many people during the time disregarded what Martin Luther wrote and taught. People during the time were very trusting of the church and did not want to believe that the Church was indeed taking advantage of them with the selling of indulgences. I think that Luther does not deserve an entire chapter in the textbook because while he was successful in exposing the corrupt priests participating in the selling of indulgences, he also believed in things that were contrary to doctrine of the church, such as that the Eucharist was not the body and blood of Jesus and the refusal of penance as a sacrament. He aided in the creation of the Lutheran church, a major Christian church. I believe that Luther was right in exposing the unlawful selling of indulgences but his influence on the Catholic Church stops