Martin Luther

Who Was Martin Luther?

      Martin Luther (1483-1546) was an important figure in the history of the Christian religion. Luther is best known for his 95 Theses, and his impact in forms of Christianity we have today, including Lutheranism. 

     Living as a theologian (a religious teacher), his disagreement with the fundamentals beliefs of the Catholic Church didn't start until he was confronted with something that troubled him despite his efforts to ignore it: the selling of indulgences. This means that members of the Church would pay to be forgiven for their sins. The Catholic Church abused this to get money. Over time, Martin Luther gained many followers and caused a change in Christianity that changed the world forever.

Martin Luther's Life

      Martin Luther was born in Germany in 1483, to a religious family. His father wished for him to become a lawyer, but when Luther was stuck in a thunderstorm he vowed that if he survived he would dedicate his life to his religion. 

     When Luther became a religious teacher, he realized that he had some problems with the way the Church ran. He disagreed with the selling of indulgences. He believed that salvation was a gift from God that you were guaranteed if you were a believer.  Luther wrote his 95 Theses, which got some excited and others anxious or angry. To calm down the disagreement, he made a pamphlet to explain his Theses. 

      As Luther became more popular, a new denomination of Christianity was formed. He created a church that focused on studying the Bible that he had translated into German. His church often got into fights with Catholics, but these were resolved with the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.  This treaty stated that each ruler could determine the religion of his subjects. 

Martin Luther's Accomplishments

• Martin Luther's Accomplishments

• 95 Theses 
  

  • The 95 Theses focused on the selling of indulgences and the Catholic Church's abuse of power.

• Creating his own denomination of Christianity

  • Lutheranism is a branch of Christianity that stems from Martin Luther.

  • Today, there are 65 million Lutheran in the world, with 11.5 million of them coming from the United States.

• The Peace of Augsburg

  • Since the Lutheran and Catholic churches were often fighting, they came up with this treaty to solve it.

  • The treaty stated that the ruler would decide the religion of his subjects.