Martin Luther - amazingly influential European

[Loki]

Martin Luther (10 November, 1483 – 18 February, 1546) was a German monk, theologian, university professor, Father of Protestantism, and church reformer whose ideas influenced the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/Luther46c.jpg/225px-Luther46c.jpg/bmi_orig_img/225px-Luther46c.jpg

Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a universal priesthood. According to Luther, salvation is a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.
At the Diet of Worms assembly over freedom of conscience in 1521, Luther's confrontation with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and being declared an outlaw of the state as a consequence.

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular of the people made the Scriptures more accessible to them, and had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible.

His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.

Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933–45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_luther)

[TheGreatest]

I think Luther and Gutenberg can be grouped together. It was Luther's challenge of the Church that led to a social and intellectual revolution. And it was Gutenberg's press, which rapidly spread across Europe, that allowed this to occur.

[Aemma]

Good article and a great historical figure to bring up Loki. Thanks.

I remember having read a book on Luther's Treatise way back when and thinking that this man's arguments made lots of sense given how totally decadent and out of touch with the business of spirituality the Roman Church had become by then. I'll have to find it and skim it over again just to refresh my memory but I just remember having been struck by his commonsensical approach. I had even admitted to a German Lutheran friend of mine that had it not been for me being a French Canadian Roman Catholic where religion is as much a cultural/ethnic determinant for us as is our language, I wouldn't have minded starting to attend a Lutheran Church. But that was so many years ago and of course my spiritual bent has changed drastically since then. :)

A couple of years ago I also rented a movie on DVD simply called Luther as I recall. The character of Luther was played by Joseph Fiennes. It was a well-made film I thought. Of course it had its bias since it was produced by a Lutheran group. But in the main, it was well done and informative.

One of my goals in the next while (ok, goodness only knows when that will be! :D) is to examine Luther's thinking and extract the Germanic philosophical underpinnings of his arguments. If anything, I think that his arguments could really be seen as the Germanic Soul slashing its way through the veil of a culturally alien creed. (This might be a bit controversial for some of my Christian friends here...sorry about that. But it has definite possibilities as a theme to explore :))

Cheers for now!...Aemma

[Vulpix]

I think I know what you mean :):D! And I agree!




One of my goals in the next while (ok, goodness only knows when that will be! :D) is to examine Luther's thinking and extract the Germanic philosophical underpinnings of his arguments. If anything, I think that his arguments could really be seen as the Germanic Soul slashing its way through the veil of a culturally alien creed.