Martin Luther and Reformation - Essay Example

Religion and Theology Martin Luther and Reformation Martin Luther King is the oldest religious reformist who led to the emergence of the protestant chances. In early Christian life, Roman Catholic was the absolute religion and all people shared the doctrines laid by this church. After serving as a religious priest in the Roman Catholic, Luther criticized the ideas of the church and the pope excommunicated him. He became the protestant reformist and provided a change in the way of worship. His ideas and beliefs have led to the emergence of many denominations today.

Martin Luther was committed to reforming the Roman Catholic after realizing that the Latin Catholic Bible’s translation differed with the original Greek & Hebrew Bible. He put his 95 theses from his research on the local Church door in Wittenberg in 1517 and later disagreed with the Pope prompting him to begin the Protestant religion. He was against corrupt practices in the Roman Catholic and he attacked abuses in selling indulgences. He did not believe in going to church to get one’s soul in heaven instead, he argued that salvation is personal and are not associated with the rituals of the Catholic Church.

Luther’s different and radical ideas of faith greatly contributed to a massive change in the all-powerful Catholic Church new agenda of state sovereignty. It is apparent that Martin Luther succeeded in reforming the German Church even after several attempts by the emperor to get him change his ideas. His religious movement became a revolution and gained support from many German rulers. Martin Luther came up with services that replaced the traditional Roman Catholic mass and featured Bible readings, preaching the word of God leading to a doctrine known as Lutheranism.

In his ninety-five theses, Luther presented his main ideas and provided a justification for them. First, he believed that the Roman Catholic Church was materialistic and that it was becoming oppressive to the poor in the society. He gave the example of Pope whose wealth had grown excessively and yet this he earned from the poor. However, the Pope would not fund the construction of the church but the poor had to contribute. His idea was that the church should avoid materialism and focus on the religious teachings.

Another idea was that the church did not have any power to forgive or to save the people. He claimed that the people would not be saved by contributions and the indulgences they made. To him, this was like bribing God to forgive them (Bainton 269). The Pope felt that the priest intimidated the sacrament of confession that the church viewed as a channel for forgiveness of sins. Resultantly, the church excommunicated him and he became the protestant reformist. Luther justified his argument on salvation on faith.

He said that Christians can only be saved by God for the faith that they manifest and not the indulgences that they made to the church. He referred to the letter of St. Paul to the Romans and the words that “he who through faith is righteous shall live” to justify his argument on the need for faith in salvation. When he translated his theses, he received great support and formed the protestant community. He also brought the idea of clerical marriage by marrying, an act that was against the doctrines of priesthood in the Catholic Church.

This formed a new era when religious leaders had the freedom to marry and have a family (Marelic Para. 1-10). His believes and traditions have portrayed him as a religious reformist in the society. In conclusion, Martin Luther King is religious reformists who led to the emergence of the protestant churches. His theses expressed the idea that the Catholic Church was exploitative and suggested that this stop to give the church dignity. In addition, he believed the church was not a guarantee of salvation and that Christ himself was the savior.

He encouraged the people to acquire personal faith to win God’s salvation. He became the first priest to marry and formed a new style of religion in which priest could marry and start own families. His believes and testimonies formed the foundation for the protestant churches in the society. Works Cited Bainton, Roland. Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther. New York: Penguin, 2000. Print. Marelic, Marko. Martin Luther King and the Reformation. 2012. Accessed from: [Accessed on 19th Feb, 2013]