Martin Luther is known by many as the father of the Reformation. It was after his attacks on how the church was operated that the Reformation began. He fueled the fire against the Catholic church. Luther went against the church's practices because he believed that faith in God was the only way to earn true forgiveness, not by purchasing indulgences. The starting point for Luther and the Protestant Reformation was when he wrote his 95 Theses and posted them on the door of Castle Church in Wittenburg. This day is known as Reformation Day. On January 3, 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. He was sentenced to be arrested but was intercepted by masked horsemen sent by Prince Frederick III. While in hiding, Luther translated the New Testiment of the Bible from Greek to German. This Bible sold over 5,000 copies in 2 months. Luther then decided to translate all of the Bible to German so that normal people could understand it. When Luther started the Reformation, many people who followed him broke away from the Catholic Church and were apalled by how the church was truely run. Soon after him, Calvin and Zwingli followed. Zwingli started about the same time as Luther, but when Luther was excommunitcated, it was Calvin's writings that stirred the Reformation.
1 comment:
Yes, i do agree that Luther was the father of the reformation. Luther translating the bible was the greatest reason why his ideals spread so quickly. He was able to get common people to relate to the bible and fully understand the holy scripture.
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