Martin Luther Letter To German Nobility Summary

Martin Luther’s “Letter to the German Nobility”
Martin Luther, a professor of the Wittenburg University, wrote an open letter to the Christian nobility of the German nation. The document gives an explicit indication of its destination by its name. The source of the document is given - the author’s name mentioned in the beginning of the letter. In the materials from the letter, a few main statements can be explored. Martin Luther presents his ideas about the pope’s rights, pilgrimages, the office of the ministry, festivals, begging, and his writings. The professor believes that the pope is not allowed to have control over the emperor. Martin states that the pope only has the right to anoint and crown the emperor at the altar. From his perspective, it is the devil, who has invented the pope’s ideas about ruling the whole world and becoming rich. He confirms the devilish plan with the example of Christ forbidding even his disciples to have money. The next topic Martin discusses is pilgrimages. The people overestimate the significance of pilgrimages. The professor states that God commanded every man to take care of his
Martin Luther aims to implicitly offer his statements within his new religious movement. He offers his propositions and improvements in the spheres of papal power, pilgrimages, the office of the ministry, holy days vs. working days, begging, etc. So, he gives reasons why the Christian nobility of the German nation should think about a new religious doctrine. In his letter, Martin Luthers’ ideas and propositions remain pretty clear. However, some may see another interpretation of the ideas from the letter. It may seem that he was simply resentful because the church refused him in conducting debates. Another point of view can be that Luther was angry and jealous that the Catholic Church had so much power. As a result, he started his own religious doctrine in order to take that glory