Martin Luther's Influence On Christianity

This writer believes that Martin Luther should be included on the lists of one hundred most influential people. Luther changed Christianity when he began the Protestant Reformation in 16th-century Europe. Martin Luther (1483-1546), propelled the wave of movements we now call the Reformation. Luther was born at Eisleben in the Holy Roman Empire (Saxony). Martins father wanted him to go to law school and although Luther never felt he was good enough he was a hardworking student, very intelligent and graduated with a Master’s degree, and a PhD in law. Luther was ordained a priest in 1507 and after additional study earned a doctorate of theology. From 1512 until his death in 1546, he served as a professor of the Scriptures at the new University of Wittenberg. Throughout his life, he frequently cited his professorship as justification for his reforming work. However, Luther was very concerned with the sins that he was constantly making, he was severely troubled that many people believed they had no further need for repentance once they had purchased indulgences. His argument was that indulgences …show more content…
After Luther posts his Theses Tetzel sends 95 Theses to the Pope. The Pope sees Luther as a heretic and sends Cardinal Cajetan to question Luther, he determines Luther is a heretic. By the middle of the sixteenth century people of all social classes has rejected Catholic teachings and had become Protestant. Luther advocated a simpler personal religion based on faith, a return to the spirit of the early church, the centrality of the Scriptures in the liturgy and in Christian life, and the abolition of elaborate ceremonies. Precisely the reforms the Christian humanists had been calling for. The Protestant insistence that everyone should read and reflect on the Scriptures attracted literate and thoughtful city