Life And Times Of Martin Luther example essay topic

'Martin Luther, the Great Reformer' by J. A Morrison, is a book telling about the life and times of Martin Luther. He was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany, in the province of Saxony. His protestant view of Christianity started what was called the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Luther intended to simply reform the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but firm resistance from the church towards Luther's challenge made way to a permanent division in the structure of Western Christianity. Luther lived in Mansfield and was the son of a miner. He later went on to study at Eisenach and Magdeburg.

After studying at these institutions he moved on to study at the University of Erfurt. Luther started out studying law, but then went on to enter the religious life. He did this because he felt that he would never earn his eternal salvation otherwise. He didn't feel that all of the prayer, studying and sacraments were enough and felt that he would never be able to satisfy such a judgmental God.

After entering the religious life he later became a monk and entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt in July of 1505. While there, Luther became a well-known theologian and Biblical scholar. In 1512 Luther earned his doctorate in theology and became a professor of Biblical literature at Wittenberg University. Luther took his religious vocation very seriously. This led him into a severe crisis in dealing with his religion.

He wondered, 'is it possible to reconcile the demands of God's law with mankind's inability to live up to that law?' Luther then turned to the New Testament book of Romans for answers. He realized that everyone is burdened by sin because it happens as a result of our weaknesses. He concluded that man could never earn his salvation by leading a blameless life or by performing Holy acts. Instead, man's salvation was a divine gift from God resulting from faith in Jesus, especially the saving power of His death and resurrection. This was known as the protestant doctrine of 'justification by faith alone.

' The fact that Luther believed this led him into his first confrontation with the Catholic Church in 1517. The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo X, was trying to raise money in order to build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In order to do this, the Pope offered the sale of indulgences, which were donations of money that would give partial 'forgiveness' for people's sins. Driven by his opposition to these practices, on October 31, 1517, Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses (or propositions) on the door of the Wittenberg Catholic Church. These Ninety-Five Theses denied the right of the Pope to sell indulgences for the forgiveness of sins, among other things. His authorship of the Ninety-Five Theses would make Luther the leader of the religious movement towards Protestantism.

Pope Leo X forced Luther to appear before Cardinal Caj etan in Augsburg. Here the Cardinal demanded that Luther take back everything that he said in his Ninety-Five Theses. Luther said that he would if his Theses could be proved wrong by use of the Bible. Later in 1521, Pope Leo X issued a 'Bull of Excommunication' towards Luther. Emperor Charles V was expected to enforce the Excommunication. Charles V formed a 'diet' in the town of Worms and asked Luther to attend this meeting so that he could be examined.

Once again Luther was asked to take back everything that he had said in his Ninety-Five Theses. Luther refused again and was outlawed. Anyone could kill Luther and they would not have been held accountable to the law for punishment. Luther decided that it would be best to relocate under these circumstances. He had a friend that was an elector of Saxony that helped him escape.

Luther disguised himself and went off to hide in the castle of Wartburg. While he was in Wartburg he began translating the New Testament into German. At that time the emperor was occupied with a war waging in France. This distraction helped Luther return to his work with the aid of his followers in Wittenberg.

Some of his followers went too far in carrying out the reform, which caused the German peasants to use his teachings as a reason to revolt. Luther believed that God's power was completely beyond man's comprehension and could only be accepted by faith alone. He did not believe that humans could understand how God, with all His greatness, became man through Jesus and was susceptible to weakness, sin and death. His thoughts were that man could accomplish nothing without God's grace, and felt that all participation in church activities such as following religious rules, ceremonies and doing good works were idolatrous. He believed that these practices would not help us gain eternal salvation for only faith in God alone could do that. He felt that all these religious practices were merely for show and to look holy before men.

According to the Word these practices were far from God and were, therefore, idolatrous in nature. Luther married Catherine Von Bora, a former nun, in 1525. After this marriage he spent the rest of his life writing, teaching and preaching. Even amid these duties, Luther found time to spend time with and enjoy his six children. In the last few years of his life, the effects of all his struggles became apparent. His ill health and darkening days were deepened by the deaths of two of his children.

Even through these times, Luther did not lose faith in, or turn from God. His Faith held him strong in spirit, but not in body, until his last day. Luther-borne Protestantism encouraged people to decide individually what they needed to do to be saved. This caused people to stray away from traditional beliefs and look towards God, faith, and the Bible. They viewed Martin Luther's teachings as the beginning of a new era.

In my opinion, Martin Luther, The Great Reformer is a well-written book that enables us to get a glimpse into the life of someone who had a major impact on Christianity today. Even in circumstances that looked impossible, he leaned on and recognized the true grace and protection of God. He was a man that was born for a reason, and allowed God to use him for His Will. I would recommend this book to anyone facing many challenges in their lives. It will inspire even the least of us to live life to the fullest.