Martin Luther Case

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 near Eisleben, Germany. His parents, Hans and Margaret Luther. Luther was still a baby when his parents moved from Mansfeld, where his father found work in the mines. Martin, his brother, and his three sisters did not have the easiest childhood in this underprivileged family. During his school years Luther was too poor to have enough money for his own expenses, so he had to sing in the streets. It was common for Luther to see other students as poor as him standing in front of the homes of wealthy citizen. Sometimes they were invited to come in for some food. When he was thirteen, Luther moved to Eisenach and attended The School of St. George. Ursula Cotta heard Luther singing in the street for money, so she and her husband, Conrad, invited Luther to come into their beautiful home and share its comforts with them.

As devout Catholics, Luther's parents had raised their children in the Catholic Church. As he began to mature and experience life, Luther began to fear that God's wrath was being stored up against him. Luther, however, did not look to the Bible for an answer to his burning questions. He has been taught to look to the Roman Catholic Church answers. As he struggled with questions of sin and eternity, he was advised to become a monk if he wanted to be picture-perfect and have a great reward in heaven. Luther struggled with this advice; .he wanted to be perfect in heaven, but he did not want to be a monk.

Certain happenings in Erfurt seemed to warn him that the end was near for him, so he left the university and went home. On July 2, when he was on his way back to the university, he was overtaken by a severe thunderstorm. Luther thought the devil was after him. Luther made a vow that he would become a monk if he survived the storm. When he told his friends, they tried to talk him out of it, but Luther had made up his mind, and he stuck with it. At the monastery, however, Luther discovered that even all monks are good people. He had not solved the problem of how to be good enough for heaven.

In February 1507, Luther was ordained a priest. Then in May, he celebrated his first mass. His father, who had been upset when he joined the monastery, came with some friends and gave his son a present from him. But when Martin tried to explain why he choice this life, all his father could say was "Have you not heard that a man should honor his parents?"

In Wittenberg, they were building a new university and invited Luther to become a lecturer on moral philosophy. The time he spent lecturing at Wittenberg University was one of the happiest time in his life. Then a dispute occurred, so Luther was chosen to go to Rome to report to the pope about this problem. Luther and John Von Mecheln of Nuremberg set off to Rome with each other. Their walk there was hard, and several times they thought that they would never make it to the great city. Luther spent four weeks in Rome. Luther visited the chapel Sancta Sanctorum, and when he was making it up the flight of stairs, he heard God say, "The just shall live by faith." This was when Luther started to begin to see that faith in Jesus Christ and His divine power will save.

Luther was made a regular professor after his return from Rome. Luther became professor of theology at Wittenberg University. He studied and took part in practical, religious, and social questions of the times, and he tried to use his learning for the betterment of these departments of life. John Tatzel, who was an agent of the Pope of Rome, came up into Germany to sell indulgences everywhere. Tatzel claimed to be greater than St. Peter. He told people that as soon as their money was rattling in the collection-chest, their loved ones would be lifted out of purgatory. This made Martin Luther extremely furious. He was determined to do what he had to do to save the unfortunate people from being robbed of their money. This was when Luther wrote out his famous ninety-five theses.

When Pope Leo heard about the theses, he sent Cardinal Cajetan to tell Luther to come to the trial about his theses. The trial was to be held in Augsburg before a court of the Romish representatives. He also made it clear that no one was to house or hide Luther; anyone who did would also be punished. When Luther heard of this, he supposed that he would never return alive. The Cardinal asked Luther to admit that he was wrong, and Luther refused. The Pope then decided to send Charles von Miltitz to come talk to Luther. Miltitz found out that many were in favor of Luther's movement. When Luther and Miltitz met, they decided that Luther should write a note to the Pope and apologize .All Luther had to do was keep silent. Soon, however,Eck and Luther were debating at Leipzig. It became clear that the gap between Luther and the Roman Catholic Church was growing wider and wider. Luther waged a continual battle with the papacy. Luther's beliefs on the matter were that, after confession, absolution relied upon the sinner's faith and God's grace rather than the involvement of a priest.

At this point, Luther did not advocate an actual separation from the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, Luther felt his suggested reforms could be implemented within Catholicism. If this had taken place, the Protestant Reformation would probably not have ever seen the light of day and might not have been necessary. However, the theological practices in the Roman Church insured that there was little chance at that time for any great deviations to occur within its folds. The Church of Rome was thoroughly monolithic and set in its ways and was not about to mutate into something else. If a change had happened within the Roman Catholic Church, Luther would have had a different destiny. However, Luther's fate was sealed, and his job was cut out for him.

Concerning Luther and the Reformation,

The turning point of the Reformation and of church history over-all is the experience of an Augustinian monk in his monastic cell--Martin Luther. Martin Luther did not merely teach altered doctrines; others had done that also, such as Wycliffe. However none of the others who protested against the Roman system was able to change it. The only man who made a breakthrough was Martin Luther. He is responsible for the fact that a purified Christianity, a Christianity of the Reformation, was able to establish itself equal terms with the Roman tradition.

What we should remember today, then, is not that Luther founded a denomination called Lutheranism, but that he was able to see what was wrong with the Church of Rome and was willing to take a stand for what was right. He broke through the theological restraints and misrepresentations of the Roman Catholic religion. Protestantism, a religion that was generated from the Reformation, had other leaders

...