Martin Luther’s contribution to reformation thought
Martin Luther (15th and 16th centuries) was born of a peasant parents, his father being a coal miner. His mother was a godly woman, who insisted that his son receive a good education. Martin Luther was concerned for his salvation, so he abandoned law and entered the Augustinian monastic order. Stages in his spiritual pilgrimage include:
• A study of Paul, which led him to reject salvation by works in favor of salvation by grace based on faith only.
• He advanced greatly in the Augustinian order and, in 1511; he went to Rome on monastic business. He was surprised by the behavior of church leaders there.
• In 1512, he received his doctorate and was recognized as a scholar in the church.
In 1517, John Tetzel arrived from Rome to officially grant indulgence for future sins, with part of the money collected goes into his pocked, part of it to the church leaders, in that area, and part of it to Rome for the construction of St. Peter’s cathedral. Indulgences in practical were payment in advance
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Men and their ideas are kept in check by powerful political and social forces. Once the power weakens, the gates open to uncontrolled movements and the propagation of new ideas. How these ideas are managed can determine the aftermath, whether or not the path is peaceful. Are rarely all the expectations of a reformer met? What appears as ideal is usually taken to an extreme by some who latch onto that idea. Far from being monolithic, the Protestant Reformation spawned many offshoots. John Calvin came from a legal background and stressed the sovereignty of God. Like Luther, he became a formidable force in the Reformation, molding Reformed theology. Zwingli's attitude toward worship is best represented by his statement: Nothing in worship should be contrary to Scripture, but Scripture ought to explicitly sanction what is to be