Who Is The '95 Theses' By Martin Luther?

Throughout the 15th century major reforms were made in the religious world. These changes can be accredited through the works of Martin Luther. Martin Luther was born in Germany (formally known as Saxony) to parents whom at first were unsupportive of his religious path, and would have rather him become a lawyer. When Luther reached his 30’s he began developing doubts about certain practices displayed by the Roman Catholic Church. Luther highly disagreed with the church’s selling of indulgences, and other acts they followed. In order to formulate his thoughts he composed what is known as the “95 Theses”, which entails a list of questions and statements Luther had concerning the Roman Catholic Church. Following his discoveries, on November 1517,

Worship services and the bible of the Lutheran church were in German, opposing to the Roman Catholic Church who had theirs in Latin. The Lutheran church also had a reduced number of sacraments, having two instead of seven (the Eucharist and Baptism). Martin Luther also allowed the marriages of church leaders, permitting his marriage with former nun Katharina von Bora. However, one catholic belief that was continued in the Lutheran church is the belief in the Eucharist. Luther believed that the body and blood of Christ are actually present in the bread and wine and that Holy Communion was not a mere symbol of the Last Supper. In 1521 Luther was able to defend his statements at the Diet of worms (meeting in a German city). At the Diet of Worms, Luther stated that “the just shall live by faith alone”. Luther’s eminent statement displays his beliefs that faith alone was sufficed enough for an individual to gain eternal reward. Luther’s ideas rapidly spread throughout Europe, due to the Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press. The public became informed of the possibility of entering heaven through even individual study of the