Why Was Martin Luther Considered A Radical

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Martin Luther did not set out to separate or be excommunicated from the church, only to reform the church to be more pure, as he saw it was becoming corrupt due to the greed of the papacy. He is considered a radical for challenging the power of the Pope and then current views of papacy. His attempts to call for reform and regression back to a more orthodox church led to a view of him as conservative. A radical is defined as “someone favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institution” (Merriam and Webster Dictionary.) Luther challenged existing religious conditions and institutions by presenting evidence from the scripture that proved that the papacy had no control over a man’s grace, and therefore indulgences were