ipl-logo

How Did Luther Influence The Catholic Church

805 Words4 Pages

Martin Luther Thump, Thump, Thump. These hits of a hammer on a nail would change the course of Christianity and its influence on others for the rest of time. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was an influential figure which dictated daily life and spread the teachings of Jesus Christ. With the power to control how people live, the Catholic Church eventually became corrupt. The Catholic Church’s flawed ideas on how people should prove themselves worthy of God’s protection eventually led to public disapproval. One man, named Martin Luther, had an idea to denounce the method of the Catholic Church that would influence the world and change Christianity forever.
When the Catholic Church was first formed, its goals were to spread and to help people follow …show more content…

It achieved this goal by creating devout Christian followers who wanted to spread their newfound devotion to religion. While the church was first created to spread good, the church became increasingly corrupt during Martin Luther’s time. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church decided to teach that salvation was possible through works of righteousness that pleased God. While this statement does encourage acts of good, the church abused its meaning by proposing a new means of absolving oneself from sin. This new method was purchasing indulgences. Indulgences, for a sum of money, would exempt a person from the punishment of sin while appearing to please God. The selling of indulgences would also help fund the church. The idea of selling indulgences was received well by the churches and they began selling them immediately. The opposition of selling indulgences was seen in Germany where indulgences were promptly banned. Although indulgences were outlawed, churches still sold them

Show More
Related
737 Words | 3 Pages

In the sixteenth century of Europe, religious reform and changes led people away from the Catholic Church. From Martin Luther’s exposition of the church’s corruption to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy, these two religious figures broke away from the Catholic Church in favor of alternative religions. Their lives were heavily involved in their personal and political motives to change the church’s religious practices and beliefs. In the German states, Martin Luther realized that the priests were often unqualified, immoral, and corrupted.

Read More
682 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther was a german theologian who brought on the reformation by demanding changes in the Catholic Church (“Martin Luther”). Martin grew with a father that was a miner and grew up working and being very religious (“Martin Luther”). One year later he followed out his promise by leaving everything behind and being ordained a monk (Martin Luther, World History Ancient and Medieval Eras). Many people believe Martin spoke badly about the church because he was corrupted by temptation. Martin Luther was ordained a monk in 1507 and did this hopefully find inner peace however, temptation made

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

The Reformation: The protestant reformation changed the world due to the fact the it opened up the world to the probability of individualism and gave them the fuel to keep the idea alive till it became a more solid practice. Martin Luther was the one that metaphorically threw a wrench in the Catholic Church's machine of exploitation that they used to drain the peasants of their funds, he did this by releasing his 95 thesis document and releasing in out into the public. one of the statements was *" This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy," which in term meant that it is not the word/action of the clergy that makes you worthy of gods light, you

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

People were unhappy with the way the clergy were treating their people and it was clear that corruption was throughout the Catholic church. The state of the Catholic church, while significant, was simply a backdrop for Martin Luther in his early life. Ironically, he was on the side of the Catholic church in his early life; he was “a university professor of theology and a member of the Catholic clergy,” (Dutton, 390). This close integration with the church made it surprising that he was the one to lead a religious reformation. However, it was his knowledge of scripture that made his message so

Read More
167 Words | 1 Pages

Possibly the ultimate religious forerunner the world has ever seen, Martin Luther is seen as the catalyst to the Protestant Reformation. Several saw him as a heretic while others viewed him as an believer for religious sovereignty and truth. In the present-day, most Christians would recognize Luther as the most significant person to help form the state of Protestant Christian religion. The Lutheran church division is named after him.

Read More
587 Words | 3 Pages

For example, Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses, which are 95 statements that are to help to be the better version of the Christian faith. These theses were rejected and seen as an insult by the Pope, which led to Martin Luther’s ban and Luther creating his own for of religion, Lutheranism. Lutheranism, very similar to the Catholic faith, was more reformed and allowed for less corruption and a more profound justification. Some of Luther’s theses include, “Because, by works of love, love grows and a man becomes a better man; whereas, by indulgences, he does not become a better man, but only escapes certain penalties.” and “Any Christian whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys plenary remission from penalty and guilt, and this is given him without letters of indulgence.”

Read More
134 Words | 1 Pages

Martin Luther, a German professor and monk, made a large impact on society in the fifteen hundreds. His new ideas of Christianity changed the concept of how religion was viewed and practiced in the 16th century. Within his Ninety-five Theses, he questioned the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and brought to light the corruption surrounding the church while stating how Christianity should be practiced in different ways rather than what is being taught. It is important to understand his stances on religion to explain how different groups reacted to his ideas. While some parts of Europe accepted his ideologies into practice, others reject Luther for many different reasons.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther, the man who changed the Christian religion, and was best known for uncovering the truths and revealing the false teachings of the Pope who led the Catholic Church. As a college professor of theology, and a priest himself, Luther was highly knowledgeable about what the Bible taught. Luther used this knowledge to wake Christians up to what the Bible taught, versus what the people were being tricked into believing for the purpose of the Pope’s own personal gain. As one of the ways for Luther to reveal the truth, and share his concerns with the church, he wrote the Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. This Address aimed to tear down the walls around the church that gave it so much power and authority.

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

The results of Protestant Reformation had came out to be the developments of individual values toward religion tolerance. As the heretics endured prosecution, more people yearned for an acknowledgement for religious freedom and

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

The early sixteenth century was a time of great discontent within the Catholic Church, as many individuals and groups had long called for reform. This dissatisfaction was fueled by a variety of factors, including corruption within the church hierarchy, the sale of indulgences, and the perceived neglect of the spiritual needs of ordinary Christians. Against this backdrop, the ideas of one reformer, Martin Luther, found a receptive audience across Europe. Luther's central ideas centered around the rejection of the Catholic Church's authority, the importance of individual faith, and the concept of salvation through grace alone. By challenging the traditional religious and social order, these ideas appealed to various groups throughout Europe,

Read More
624 Words | 3 Pages

By questioning the sale of indulgences and arguing that the pope does not have complete authority over forgiveness of sins and, to a larger extent, salvation, Luther established a precedent for the word of the Church to be called into question rather than it having absolute authority. Given that Luther opens his 95 Theses with “out of love and concern for the truth,” it is clear that his intentions are not necessarily to completely undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, but rather to open a dialogue between the Catholic Church and its faithful on what is actually true in regards to God. The collective judgment of the Catholic community, particularly those who did not have positions of power in the Church, would then have a much greater effect on the direction in which the Catholic Church took than it would have before Luther’s 95 Theses.

Read More
923 Words | 4 Pages

Indulgences are slips of paper, which were believed to have extraordinary, immortal power. Indulgences were

Read More
939 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther was strict about these rules of the Protestant Reformation. He felt that people should confess their sins, and depending on how bad the sin is, he thinks that God should judge it. Simultaneously, he didn’t believe that “indulgences,” or state of satisfaction, can pay off the price for one’s sin because he believes that it is not holy nor righteous (“Martin Luther”). In the end, this movement was spread to many countries of Europe such as Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and many

Read More
702 Words | 3 Pages

In the early sixteenth century, Martin Luther highlighted some of the key problems that he and others found with Roman Catholic traditions and doctrine in his 95 Theses. This act brought to light some of the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church’s traditions and doctrine which the Protestants would soon attempt to correct. Such a correction would take a huge amount of effort and time, so the question arises: Why would the Protestants work so hard to create their own doctrine and tradition if in the end they remained believers of the same religion as before? But while followers of both the Roman Catholic and the Reformed doctrine are considered “Christians,” these doctrines differ drastically on essential details having to do with Scripture, man’s relationship with God, and the way that man receives his salvation.

Read More
489 Words | 2 Pages

These ideas prompted many Catholics into finally correcting the church themselves and seeking Reformation. Martin Luther became the leading figure of the Reformation because he had openly challenged the authority of the Pope and attacked the practice of indulgences in his “Ninety-Five Theses” letter. Several other prominent Theologians such as John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli seized upon Luther’s beliefs and Reformation swept across 16th century Europe, leading eventually to

Read More

More about How Did Luther Influence The Catholic Church

Related Topics

Open Document