Germany and the germans - Essay Example

17 April Reaction paper about Martin Luther’s life: Born into a poor family in Eisleben which is a small town in Germany and grown up to be recognized as one of the greatest Protestant reformers and religious figures of all times, the life of Martin Luther is surely one fraught with riveting stories in the history of Christianity. Though hailing from a relatively poor background, Luther’s father worked hard to raise the family’s status and later Luther decided to foment that status and respect by becoming a lawyer. At that time, Luther underwent a religious crisis which changed his focus and perception of life forever due to which he changed totally as a person. It would not be untrue if said that religion took its complete toll on him and the course of his life changed forever after experiencing some personal hardships. Here is actually where the climax in the life story of Martin Luther develops because after experiencing a serious emotional turbulence episode one day as he was returning to Erfurt after visiting home, he actually decided to become a monk later on and gave up his law studies in favor of other newly developed interests. This change of plans and decisions did not gain him much appreciation from the family and friends circle in the start, but later on things got better for him when he got appointed as a priest in the church and then he immersed himself in advanced theological studies (Advameg, Inc). This phase of his life is considered to be very critical by all historians because that was when he began to develop ideas and arguments against the traditional and orthodox Christian beliefs.
Works cited:
Advameg, Inc. “Martin Luther Biography.” 15 Dec. 2008. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.
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17 April 2012.
Reaction paper about Martin Luther’s qualities:
Martin Luther is a very powerful figure in the history of Christianity and studying his life and different events related to it holds immense fascination in itself. This is because Luther entered a monastery when he was quite young and not many people feel any strong bondage with religion when they are that young. Luther, however, is quite distinguished in respect that not only he underwent complete religious transformation as a youth but he also decided to give up his law studies in order to become a monk and then later on in life, he went on to study theology. By this time, he began developing many theories and arguments that openly defied the traditionally established Christian rules which gained him much criticism from the Roman Catholic Church. That was a very hard time for Luther because in spite of so much antagonism and repulsion, he decided to stay firm on his writings which were already distributed throughout Germany. If on one hand he was considered to be the prophet of the Lord by his followers, then on other hand he was marked as the demolisher of Christendom by the opponents (Bainton 2). His theological thought regarding indulgences also troubled his relations with the Roman Catholic Church. The theme of his works and theories revolved around granting supreme power to the Bible and other religious Scriptures, rather than assigning the supreme authority to the Popes or Church. He was of the view that Popes should not be considered the supreme protectors of religion which laid the foundation for Protestant Reformation.
Works Cited:
Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. USA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Print. Read More