1517, Martin Luther posted a document directly striking the Catholic Church. Corrupt practice, selling “indulgences” to absolve sin, were something Mr. Luther thought was detrimental to the Bibles teachings. His “95 Theses” sparked a religious movement, the Protestant Reformation. I feel that Martin Luther was the main reason of this reform. The priests of the Roman Catholic Church were conducting their own business during the late 1400’s. The Great Schism of Western Christianity provoked wars between nations, uprisings among the people, and major concern over corruption in the church. No one who challenged the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church was allowed to stay alive. Anyone who was ambitious enough to start their own church, or create their own view on Christianity, was labeled a pagan or heretic. Their property was seized, and they and their followers were murdered. Practices of the Roman Catholic Church encouraged indulgences. Indulgences were when a priest would say that your loved one would be sent to heaven, if you provided a payment.The pope established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, thereby establishing a new …show more content…
However, he had challenged the authority of the pope to offer the sale of indulgences. In a charged political climate, it was seen by some as an attack on the papacy and therefore on the Church. Luther was summoned to Rome to answer charges of heresy. Luther did not respond to the summons, which led to an escalating controversy between Luther and those who defended the absolute authority of the papacy. Luther continued writing about salvation by faith alone as well as other reforms that he saw needed to occur in the church. As a result, the rift between Luther and those who wanted to defend the authority of the papacy, as well as to protect the lucrative source of income from the sale of indulgences, fueled a growing