Luther, Martin (1483–1546)

Martin Luther, a German priest, monk, and theologian, was among the leading figures of the Reformation. As part of the exceptional role he played in the history of religion during his lifetime, Luther added some new thoughts to Christian thinking about time.

He was born to a burgher family. from approximately 1490 onward, Luther attended a variety of schools. In 1501, he began his basic philosophical studies at the University of Erfurt; these basic studies were required for further studies in theology, medicine, or law. In the spring, Luther decided to follow his father's wishes and began to study law. On July 2, 1505, he experienced a severe thunderstorm and, believing himself to be in mortal danger, vowed to become a monk if he survived. Fifteen days later, he joined an Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. In spring 1507, he received his ordination to the priesthood. In the same year, also in Erfurt, he began his studies of theology, which were to continue later in Wittenberg. from November 1509 to April 1510, he traveled to Rome on behalf of the brotherhood. In 1512, he received his doctorate in theology, was appointed as professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, and became subprior of the monastery in Wittenberg.

On October 31, 1517, he sent 95 theses about indulgences to archbishop Albrecht of Mainz and other theologians with the demand to discuss them. In these theses, Luther proclaimed that the selling of indulgences as it was practiced at this time was not the right way to salvation. The theses were followed by turmoil in the church. Luther was asked to abjure his theses, but he insisted on having a disputation. In 1518, he wrote to Pope Leo × to inform him better of the situation. The answer was the issuing of a Papal Bull in 1520 in which 41 of Luther's theses were called heretical and which contained a warning that Luther risked excommunication.

In consequence of his refusal to recant, Luther was excommunicated from the church on January 3, 1521. In May 1521, he was ordered to the Reichstag zu Worms (Diet of Worms) with the promise of free passage on the way. Luther refused once again to deny his claims without their falsification by arguments from the Bible. On his way back to Wittenberg, Luther was kidnapped by men of his own sovereign and supporter, Frederick III of Saxony, and brought to the Wartburg in Eisenach to be kept there hidden in safety. In this exile, Luther translated the New Testament into German.

Luther stayed in Eisenach until March 1522, when he returned to Wittenberg to moderate the movement for religious reform, which was initiated by Andreas Karlstadt and which exceeded Luther's goals. In the following years, the reform movement quickly spread, first to Saxony and later to other parts of Europe. from 1524 to 1526, peasants whose discontent had been fueled by Luther's writings revolted. After attempting to pacify the peasants, he took a position on the side of the sovereigns in this evolving war. In 1525, he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun. Over the years, there were many debates, especially with Mntzer, Karlstadt, and Zwingli, on the right course of the reformation and its theological contents.

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