Martin Luther: The Monk Who Changed Europe
- In This Quick Guide:
- Salvation by Faith
- The Ninety-Five Theses
- The Teachings of Luther
The Protestant Reformation was one of the most divisive events in European history; its impact on world history can’t be overstated. Many of the ideas and institutions of the West—and, as a result, the world—are influenced by the ideas and results of the Reformation. And it all started with a German monk named Martin Luther (14831546).
Martin Luther was born to middle class parents who wanted him to be a lawyer, but legal training was not his style and he decided to become a monk. (There’s a story that Luther, coming home late one night, got caught in a storm and after lightning nearly struck him, he decided to enter a monastery.) After joining the ranks of the Augustinian Order and becoming a teacher of religion at the University of Wittenberg, he appeared to struggle with his soul’s salvation. Some claimed to have heard him wrestling with the devil late at night in his cell at the monastery. In fact, what Luther was wrestling with turned Europe inside out and struck at one of the sources of the European structure and tradition.
Salvation by Faith
While reading the letters of Paul in the New Testament, Luther was struck by the apostle’s idea of faith. At this time, the Church taught that people entered heaven through their good works. What bothered Luther was that, no matter how many good works he performed, he did not feel sufficient to enter heaven. Paul, in his letters, approached it from an angle the Church seemed to ignore. Paul believed that we enter heaven by faith alone. Simply and truly believing in God was all that we need to enter heaven.
Luther took Paul’s idea and advanced it further by teaching that works of the Church—rituals of the sacraments and other actions—were meaningless and useless for one’s salvation. Thus Luther dropped a bombshell at the University of Wittenberg, where he began to teach this new perspective of salvation, putting the Church’s teachings into question. And he wasn’t done yet.
The Ninety-Five Theses
Luther also began to protest what he saw as abuses by the Church. The abuse that most bothered him was the selling of indulgences, certificates awarded by the Church that reduced the punishment for people’s sins. During Luther’s time the Church pushed this practice to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
By 1517 Luther had had enough of the Church, its teachings, and indulgences. So on October 31, he submitted the Ninety-five Theses or statements to the church in Wittenberg, detailing what he saw as all of the wrongs of the Roman Catholic Church, hoping to generate debate and reform in the Church. The response Luther got was quite unexpected.
To say that the Catholic Church was not entirely open to Luther’s criticism would be an understatement. Once the news of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses reached Pope Leo X in Rome, Luther was excommunicated, and his writings on the subject of justification by faith and the abuses of the Church were banned. It would appear that all had gone wrong for Luther and that his issues with the Church were not going to be heard. But several German princes were listening.
The German princes were motivated to do the morally responsible thing for the people of their respective small German kingdoms. In addition, the Church had traditionally appeared to represent Italian, not German, interests. The fact that most of the popes were Italian seemed to prove the point. Finally, the Church was one of the largest landowners in Europe. A break from the Church might mean that Church lands were up for grabs and available for the German princes.
The Teachings of Luther
So with the support of the German princes, particularly Prince Frederick of Saxony, Luther continued teaching and writing despite the actions of the Church. He went on to translate the Latin Bible into German, so all people would have the opportunity to read it. Eventually giving up on reform within the Church, Luther broke completely from the Roman Catholic Church to form the first Protestant (from the word “protest”) faith: Lutheranism. He also developed his ideas and teachings through the years as his new version of the Christian faith grew. The following represent the belief system that Luther advanced:
- Salvation is obtained by faith alone, not works.
- Religious truth and authority can only be found in the Bible.
- The Church should not be a hierarchy of clergy but a community of believers.
- All jobs are important, not just the occupations of priests, monks, or nuns.
- The worship service should be in the language of the people for them to understand.
- There are only two sacraments—baptism and marriage.
Once Martin Luther challenged the Church, others followed in his path. While the teachings of the Church began to be questioned, a variety of theological teachings sprang up, as religious-minded reformers began to develop new ideas that did not even agree with the teachings of Luther.
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World History by Timothy C. Hall, M.A.
