Luther's Historical Faith

"Is not such a soul most obedient to God in all things by this faith? ...What more complete fulfillment is there than obedience in all things? This obedience, however, is not rendered by works but by faith alone." (Luther page 13) In this passage Luther is explaining the inner man versus the outer man. He is showing that if you trust and believe in God then he will never steer you wrong but if you don't then, "what greater wickedness, what greater contempt of God is there than not believing his promise...but to make God a liar or to doubt that he is truthful? That is to ascribe truthfulness to one's self but lying and vanity in God?"

The Reformation period was set during the 16th century and lasted until the 17th century. During the reformation, it was when people wanted to reform and break away from the Catholic church; due to their belief and sale of indulgence. Indulgence was a document that brought away your sins and god’s forgiveness. In the movie Luther, the main character started to questioned the idea of indulgence when he brought an indulgence from John the Baptist when he visited Rome. Afterward when he returned back to his town, John Tetzel persuades the people to buy an indulgence. Luther reformed from the idea of buying your sins and being forgiven by god. Therefore Luther wrote the 95 thesis that supported the Bible as the central religious authority and that

Martin Luther: Against Catholicism, 1535 summarizes many different extracts within an article of Martin Luther. The article is driven from Luther’s Table Talk in which anti-papalism in the Reformation are discussed. The article states that Martin Luther believed that the papists were wrong and that they weren’t the ones that were head of the Church. He voiced that they cannot be the ones that are head of the church because Christ (God) is head of the Church. The Popes shared the power with others around them.

The Reformation was an important 16th century European movement that strived to reform the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, impacted by significant individuals such as Martin Luther and Henry VIII. From Martin Luther’s exposition of the church’s corruption to King Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy, these two religious figures broke away due to different motives. The reformation of the church’s practices were based on Henry’s motives and actions were based on his personal desires for Anne Boleyn, a male heir, and more power over England, while Luther’s were based on reforming the corruptions of the churches in the German states.

Luther uses scripture to interpret scripture he was trying to show that by utilizing the scripture in the context in which is what was written the true meaning would be understood. It is not unexpected that Luther spends a lot of time dealing with the scriptures from Paul because Eramus views Paul as a promoter of free will. Luther shows that scripture denies the freedom of the will and teaches more on the sovereignty of God. This section is important because it ties into Luther’s entire argument about free will. Luther believes that free will is not more than a

When you hear the word “faith,” what comes to your mind? Do you think of religion, purpose, or your belief in something?

Luther had a very strong belief that salvation comes from faith alone. All that is needed to be justified in front of God is to have faith. Michael M. Ramos writes “Martin Luther believed that salvation depends not on human effort or merit but only on the freely given grace of God, which is accepted in faith” (35). Luther believes that first God extends grace, which is the death of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit. God reaches out to man and offers grace. The grace is not because humans deserve it from merit or human accomplishments. God extends grace because he is a righteous God. Now the only thing that humans must do to be justified

This quote explains Martin Luther’s ideas of salvation and justification through only faith. He believed that people like the Pope were just public figures that were abusing their power for their own interests and beliefs. They would use god’s word to intimidate Kings and Queens. He thought that the Pope was out of line using his authority to forgive sins for material objects. Indulgence is a grant given by the Pope to cancel all sins for donations to the church. This made people more willing to just donate if they could get something in return also. Critics told Luther that there is no way you could achieve salvation without good works, but Luther uses bible passages to make a case that faith, alone, is all you need to be a Christian follower set to be in heaven. Martin Luther knew that it wasn’t right nor faithful for the Pope to do this.

The Protestant Reformation began during the Renaissance time period, it was the attempt to reform the Roman Catholic church. It led to the creation of Protestant churches. This reformation began after multiple church leaders started demanding individuals to supply them with such large quantities of goods, food, and money that individuals did not have much left to provide to their own family. Several believed if they did not contribute and present the church with what they asked, they would be denied entrance to heaven once they passed away. People saw how the church thrived while those who contributed were ravenous and penniless. Martin Luther, a monk, noticed several inaccuracies between what the Roman Catholic Church practiced and the Bible as he studied the Bible. He decided to speak out by creating the 95 Theses, and nailing it on the entrance of a catholic church. Protestants who had similar view as Luther’s began Luther-ism. John Calvin, had very similar views as Luther and was even inspired by him to reform the Catholic Church as well. I most admire Martin Luther because of how he spoke up and protested against the Roman Catholic church when he knew it could put him in danger, but I am most similar to John Calvin because of how he believes in predestination and how faith is revealed by living a righteous life.

Martin Luther was an influential scholar, professor, and monk in the 16th century who transformed the Catholic Church by sparking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was written by Luther in 1520. Within the text, Luther challenges the three walls of the Church and instigates an ecclesiastical movement. Luther exhorts and rebukes the authority and ideals of the Roman Catholic Church. Because the walls surrounding the Church are leading to corruption and are hindering transformation, Luther’s argument for completely disbanding all the walls that the Romanists have developed is the best attempt to revolutionize the Church.

with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an

The earliest most famous Protestant reformer, Martin Luther went to the school of Erfurt to study law in 1501, but he quickly became more interested in theology. Luther was exposed to recent humanist writings and read extensively in classical Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In 1505, he enrolled in an Augustinian monastery. He spent a decade educating and preaching and visited Rome. The Reformation was a religious uprising in Europe in the 16th century, prompted by dissatisfaction with the set Roman Catholic Church, which directed to the formulation of the Protestant branch of Christianity.

Martin Luther was arguably one of the most important figures in the entire history of Christianity. If the creation of the Lutheran Church was not enough of an accomplishment, he can also be credited with orchestrating the division of the Catholic and Protestant churches. Even as a young Augustinian Monk Martin Luther was convinced the Catholic Church had lost its way. He obsessed over his purity and relationship with God, and strongly believed the Catholic Church had lost its way over the selling of “Indulgences”. Essentially, how the Church misinterpreted and taught the concepts of sin relative to temporal and eternal punishment. He was destined to confront the Catholic Church which he did and ultimately led to the separation events that are still highly relevant to this day. This was the primary driver for the first phase of his rebellion. The second was his German translation of the New Testament, which he used to both teach anyone to read and learn the holy book.

I too was struck by the power of Luther's statements here. I keep going back to read and reread the oozing (great word choice) Christological statements about faith. I particularly was drawn to, "But this rain Thou, O God, wilt distribute Thyself. "Free rain" could also be interpreted to mean that the teaching of the Gospel is free and that it engenders free hearts, which are no longer bound to externals but live freely by faith. That is the Christian liberty of which Psalm 110:3 speaks: Thy people will be spontaneous" (LW 13: 10). Take note here of footnote 10 where it points to pg 286-287. If you read through these pgs Luther goes on to explain what this would look like in the life of a Christian. In short, we do as God has done, voluntarily

Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox