Discuss the political, social, and economic consequences of Martin Luther - Essay Example

The pope, who was considered to be the supreme communicator with God, had considerable sway in the progression of peace, war, etc. As time progressed on, the church became corrupt with power, often restricting the proliferation of scientific works as well as participating in the sale of indulgences. It was not until a man named Martin Luther stepped forward and confronted the dealings of the church that change in the political, social, and economical structures of medieval Europe began to change.

Martin Luther published what he termed the Ninety-Five Theses, which talked about the sale of indulgences and keeping information only in those that were trained to read and write in Latin. By doing so, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the church and declared an outlaw. Martin Luther is often credited of starting what became known as the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther’s followers broke off with him from the Christian church and formed what became known as the Protestant religion of Christianity.

This posed a big change in the arena of how the Christian church played in politics. . This armed the population with knowledge that had previously been restricted. As a result, the public could now read and form their own opinions on events and research, which occurred during this time period. The biggest economical factor, which was affected due to the Protestant Reformation, was the sale of indulgences. Sales of indulgences was basically a way for the church to earn money through people paying money and essentially buying their way into Heaven.

Martin Luther completely disagreed with this saying that people were admitted into Heaven based on the good deeds and merit of their soul that they earned throughout their life. When he shed this information into the light of the public, the church tried to defend themselves and the reason that people were being granted such treatment was because the money was going to fund the churches operations and to continue the spread of Christianity around the world, as was the will of God. Martin Luther was a servant leader of the people.

Being a man of God, he felt that it was his duty to point out the corruption within the church and how the Christian church was using it as a way of exploitation. Martin Luther started out without the intent of starting a new religion, but rather hoped in the reformation of the current one. Socially, however, the new church of Protestantism was formed. In addition, society began to learn, as they were no longer left in the dark when it came to the sharing of knowledge. The Protestant Reformation was only a crack in the mirror because as a result of the first major split in Christianity, more would soon follow leading to the many forms of Christianity that exist today.

References Spielvogel, J.