Enlightenment Draft
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Professor Marilyn R. Stern
English II
September 23, 2013
The First Spark to Fuel the Age of Enlightenment
Revolution cannot be achieved without first, a revolt. During a time where religion held social authority over its own people, Martin Luther rebelled against over a hundred and a half centuries of Christian fundamentals. Luther made critical objections against the church even when faced with the possibility of being burned alive at the stake. He is considered to be the father of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that transformed humanity.
Prior to the era of Enlightenment, Protestants set a significant example that influenced the revolutionary movement. Thinkers of the Enlightenment period developed their motives and views by straying away from superstition. Martin Luther was one of the first to do this very act. The Catholic Church was depriving society of a mind free from its irrational guidelines. Ultimately, preventing the progress of humanity developing a new world of reason and logic. If this force had be left unchallenged, the transition to the Enlightenment may never have succeeded.
During the 16th century, corruption lied beneath the foundation of Catholic Church. Luther saw these flaws and decided to take action against those who he deemed responsible. His first accusation was directed towards an indulgence salesman “Johann Tetzel, a … commissioner for indulgences, sent … by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences” (Wikipedia: “Martin Luther.”). Money was collected by the church through Tetzel in a misleading manner. In Bainton’s print, “Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther “, he quotes Tetzel saying, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory … springs." Luther decided to take a stance against the church. “In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, a series of condemnation of Church practices, to the door of the Cathedral at Wittenberg” (Grosse, "The Reformation and the
Professor Marilyn R. Stern
English II
September 23, 2013
The First Spark to Fuel the Age of Enlightenment
Revolution cannot be achieved without first, a revolt. During a time where religion held social authority over its own people, Martin Luther rebelled against over a hundred and a half centuries of Christian fundamentals. Luther made critical objections against the church even when faced with the possibility of being burned alive at the stake. He is considered to be the father of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that transformed humanity.
Prior to the era of Enlightenment, Protestants set a significant example that influenced the revolutionary movement. Thinkers of the Enlightenment period developed their motives and views by straying away from superstition. Martin Luther was one of the first to do this very act. The Catholic Church was depriving society of a mind free from its irrational guidelines. Ultimately, preventing the progress of humanity developing a new world of reason and logic. If this force had be left unchallenged, the transition to the Enlightenment may never have succeeded.
During the 16th century, corruption lied beneath the foundation of Catholic Church. Luther saw these flaws and decided to take action against those who he deemed responsible. His first accusation was directed towards an indulgence salesman “Johann Tetzel, a … commissioner for indulgences, sent … by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences” (Wikipedia: “Martin Luther.”). Money was collected by the church through Tetzel in a misleading manner. In Bainton’s print, “Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther “, he quotes Tetzel saying, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory … springs." Luther decided to take a stance against the church. “In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, a series of condemnation of Church practices, to the door of the Cathedral at Wittenberg” (Grosse, "The Reformation and the