Martin Luther

MARTIN LUTHER


Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer, who started
the Protestant Reformation, and whose vast influence during his time period
made him one of the crucial figures in modern European history. Luther was
born in Eisleben on November 10, 1483 and was descended from the peasantry,
a fact that he often stressed. Hans Luther, his father, was a copper miner.
Luther received a sound primary and secondary education at Mansfeld,
Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In 1501, at the age of 17, he enrolled at the
University of Erfurt, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1502 and a master's
degree in 1505 . He then intended to study
law, as his father had wished. In the summer of 1505, he abandoned his
studies and his law plans, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian
monastery in Erfurt. The decision surprised his friends and appalled his
father. Later in his life, Luther explained his suprising decision by
recollecting several brushes with death that had occurred at the time,
making him aware of the fleeting character of life. In the monastery he
observed the rules imposed on a novice but did not find the peace in God
he had expected. Nevertheless, Luther made his profession as a monk in
the fall of 1506, and his superiors selected him for the priesthood.
Ordained in 1507, he approached his first celebration of the mass with awe.
After his ordination, Luther was asked to study theology in order to
become a professor at one of the many new German universities staffed by
monks. In 1508 he was assigned by Johann von Staupitz, vicar-general of
the Augustinians and a friend and counselor, to the new University of
Wittenberg (founded in 1502) to give introductory lectures in moral
philosophy. He received his bachelor's degree in theology in 1509 and
returned to Erfurt, where he taught and studied.
In November 1510, on behalf of seven Augustinian monasteries, he made a
visit to Rome, where he performed the religious duties customary for a
pious visitor and was shocked by the worldliness of the Roman clergy.
Soon after resuming his duties in Erfurt, he was reassigned to Wittenberg
and asked to study for the degree of doctor of theology. In 1512, after
receiving his doctorate, he took over the chair of biblical theology which
he held till his death.
Although still uncertain of God's love and his own salvation, Luther was
active as a preacher, teacher, and administrator. Sometime
during his study of the New Testament in preparation for his lectures, he
came to believe that Christians are saved not through their own efforts but
by the gift of God's grace, which they accept in faith. Both the exact date
and the location of this experience have been a matter of controversy among
scholars, but the event was crucial in Luther's life, because it turned him
decisively against some of the major tenets of the Catholic church.
Luther became a public and controversial figure when he published his
Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517.
His main purpose of writing the theses was to show his opposition for
the corruption and wealth of the papacy and to state his belief that salvation
would be granted on the basis of faith alone rather then by works. Although
it is generally believed that Luther nailed these theses to the door of All
Saints Church in Wittenberg, some scholars have questioned this story, which
does not occur in any of his own writings. Regardless of the manner in
which his propositions were made public, they caused great excitement and
were immediately translated into German and widely distributed .
Luther's spirited defense and further development of his position through
public university debates in Wittenberg and other cities resulted in an
investigation by the Roman Curia that led to the condemnation of
his teachings and his excommunication. Summoned to appear before Charles V
at the Diet of Worms in April 1521, he was asked
before the assembled secular and ecclesiastical rulers to recant. He
refused firmly, asserting that he would have to be convinced by Scripture
and clear reason in order to do so and that going against conscience is
not safe for anyone. Condemned by the emperor, Luther was spirited away by
his prince, the elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony, and kept in hiding
at Wartburg Castle. There he began his translation of the New Testament
from the original Greek into German, a seminal contribution to the
development of a standard German language. Disorders in Wittenberg caused
by some of his more extreme followers forced his return to the city in March
1521, and he restored peace through a series of sermons.
Luther continued his teaching and writing in Wittenberg but soon became
involved in the controversies surrounding the Peasants' War (1524-26)
because the leaders of the peasants originally justified their demands with
arguments somewhat illegitimately drawn from his writings.
He considered their theological arguments false, although he supported many
of their political demands. When the peasants turned violent, he angrily
denounced them and supported the princes' effort to restore order. Although
he later repudiated the harsh, vengeful policy adopted by the nobles, his
attitude toward the war lost him many friends. In the midst of this
controversy he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun. The marriage was happy, and his wife became an important supporter in his busy life. After having articulated his basic theology in his earlier writings, he published his most popular book, the Small Catechism, in 1529. By commenting briefly in question and answer form on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, baptism, and the Lord's Supper, the Small Catechism explains the theology of the evangelical reformation in simple yet colorful language. Not allowed to attend the Diet of Augsburg because he had been banned and excommunicated, Luther had to leave the presentation of the reformers' position to his friend and colleague Melanchthon. In 1532 Luther's translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew was published. Meanwhile, his influence spread across northern and eastern Europe. His advocacy of the independence of rulers from papal supervision won him the support of many princes. His fame made Wittenberg an intellectual center.
By 1537, Luther's health had begun to deteriorate, and he felt burdened by
the resurgence of the papacy and by what he perceived as an attempt by Jews
to take advantage of the confusion among Christians and reopen the question
of Jesus' messiahship. Apprehensive about
his own responsibility for this situation, he wrote a violent polemic
against the Jews, as well as polemics against the papacy and the radical
wing of the reformers, the Anabaptists. In the winter of 1546, Luther was
asked to settle a controversy between two young counts who ruled the area
of Mansfeld, where he had been born. Old and sick, he went there, resolved
the conflict, and died on February 18, 1546, in Eisleben.
Luther left behind a movement that quickly spread throughout the Western
world. His doctrines, especially justification by faith and the final
authority of the Bible, were adopted by other reformers and are shared
by many Protestant denominations today. As the founder of the 16th-century
Reformation, he is one of the major figures of Christianity and of
Western civilization.