1. Martin Luther
Revolutionary or Reformer?

2. Before Martin Luther
In Medieval Times
Fear of Authority and Fear of God
Catholic Church was the only church in
Western Europe
The Bible was only to be read by priests or
Bishops

3. Before Martin Luther
People believed....
If you died with a dirty soul you would either go
straight to hell or to Purgatory
You had to go to church to get your soul clean
If you died with a clean soul you would go to
heaven

4. Before Martin Luther
On the eve of the Reformation....
People (Hus, Wycliff, Erasmus) were calling for
reform because of the corruption within the
Catholic Church
People like Thomas More wanted a better society
here on earth (not in heaven) - a Utopia
Pope(s) seemed more concerned with politics rather
than spirituality
Julius II, the “warrior pope,” even led armies
against his enemies

5. Before Martin Luther
Things were changing....
People, not just priests, were learning to read
People started reading the Bible on their own
People stared to think on their own, and not listen to the priests
People started reading the ancient non-Christian Greeks – Homer,
Aristotle, and Plato – once again
New ideas of science and mathematics from the Muslim intellectuals
were being read
New scientific ideas by Copernicus and others questioned the
thinking of the Church

6. Before Martin Luther
Things were changing....
Erasmus and other thinkers were quietly pushing the church for
reform
The new printing press rapidly spread revolutionary ideas
The rulers and priests in Germany were angry at seeing money
earned in their states being sent to Rome to build rich palaces
and churches.
The Muslims now controlled the Byzantine Empire and cut of Italy
from the spices and silks of India and China
The Portuguese now sailed directly to India around Africa, bypassing
the Italian middlemen and thereby offering cheaper prices for
spices and silk

7. What Martin Luther Did
Luther was a German monk who wanted to reform (not break away)
from the Catholic Church
Whilst comparing the Latin Catholic Bible with the
original Greek & Hebrew he found that certain parts
were incorrectly translated.
Luther hung his 95 theses or complaints from his
research on the local Church door in Wittenburg in
1517.
He disagreed with the Pope and began the Protestant
religion.

8. What Martin Luther Did
Angered by corrupt church practices, in 1517
Luther sent a list of Ninety-five Theses to his
church superiors.
They attacked abuses in selling indulgences.
Thousands of copies were printed.

9. What Martin Luther Believed
You don’t have to go to Church to get your soul into heaven.. This is
“Justification of Faith” - his belief that salvation is
personal and not linked to the rituals of the Catholic
Church. The basis of Luther’s beliefs can be found in
The Bible,in Romans, Chapter 10.
Read the Bible in your own language and not Latin.
Its wrong to make an image of God.
The Church is too rich.

10. What Martin Luther Believed
He believed:
Salvation was only possible through faith
Salvation is a gift from God
Salvation can never be won or bought
Why is this a big deal? Because this radically
different idea of faith will lead to:
massive change in the all-powerful Catholic Church
new forms of state sovereignty
new ideas about individualism
years of bloddy wars fought in the name of
religions

11. So What Happened to Martin Luther?
In 1520, Luther called for the German princes to overthrow
the papacy (pope power) and establish a reformed
German church.
The Church excommunicated Luther in 1521.
He was summoned to appear before the imperial Diet (legislative
assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Worms.
The emperor Charles V thought he could get Luther to change his
ideas.
Luther refused, which outraged the emperor.

12. So What Happened to Martin Luther?
The Edict of Worms made Luther an outlaw in
the empire.
His books were to be burned and Luther
delivered to the emperor.
Luther’s local ruler, however, protected him.
http://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/galileo-image-by-marc-scheff.jpg

13. And then what happened?
Luther’s religious movement soon became a
revolution.
It gained support from many German rulers,
who took control of Catholic churches and
formed state churches supervised by the
government.
Luther set up new services to replace the Mass,
featuring Bible readings, preaching the word of
God, and song.
His doctrine became known as Lutheranism, the
first Protestant faith.

14. What about the politics of this religion?
From the beginning Luther’s movement was tied
to politics.
He believed the state was called by God to
maintain the peace and order necessary to
spread the gospel.
The Holy Roman Emperor (not the Pope but
leader of this geographical area of Germany)
Charles V ruled an empire consisting of Spain,
the Austrian lands, Bohemia, Hungary, the
Low Countries, Milan, Naples, and Spanish
territories in the New World.
Luther’s preachings threatened his power!

15. Politics of the German Reformation
Charles V’s chief political problem was his rivalry with
Francis I, king of France. Pope Clement VII also
opposed him.
The pope joined the side of the French in their wars with
Charles V.
Charles also had to send troops against the advancing
Ottoman Empire.
Finally, many individual rulers of the German states
supported Luther.

16. What happened in the German reformation?
Eventually Charles (the Holy Roman Emperor of
Germany) was forced to make peace with the
Lutheran princes.
It is the Peace of Augsburg

17. What happened in the German reformation?
Peace of Augsburg
It accepted the division of Christianity within Germany.
German states could choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism.
All states would have the same legal rights.
Rulers could choose their subjects’ religion.