Lutheranism
Lutherans: Origins, history, beliefs, rituals and worship, ethics and community
Chibunze Uzo
Table of Contents
Origins 2
Beginnings 2
Influences 2
History 3
Early Developments 3
Missions and Expansions 3
Beliefs 3
Sacred Narratives 3
Rituals and Worship 4
Sacred Time 4
Symbolism 5
Ethics and Community 5
Community Organization 5
Leadership 6
Works Cited 7
Origins
Beginnings
Lutheranism began as a reformation against the Catholic Church in the early 16th century with the efforts of a Roman Catholic monk, Martin Luther (1483 - 1546). Luther Started out at the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany generally because he was afraid for his own salvation, and he believed monasteries were the safest places to avoid sin and please God. He trained as a biblical scholar and theologian because he was so intellectually gifted as recorded by his leader at the monastery, Johan von Staupitz. In 1507 Luther was ordained to the priesthood. He went on to become a professor at the nearby University of Wittenberg teaching theology.
Luther began his reformation during a controversy that arose about indulgences in the Catholic Church. Indulgences were legitimate parts of the sacrament of confession, but were subject to abuse. Confession has three parts:
1) contrition (you have to be sorry for your sin);
2) absolution (the priest as mediator distributes Christ's forgiveness); and
3) works
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The message, then, that it was not up to him to earn righteousness, but that it came as a free gift from God, was a tremendous relief for him. This is the central Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith alone, and it lies at the heart of everything Luther said, wrote, and did. Faith for Luther was the confidence that God had graciously forgiven his sins. It had several important consequences that determined the Lutheran sacred narrative of