Martin Luther's Impact On The Church And German Culture

Charnel Coleman
Professor Doll
Humanities
27 June 2013
Martin Luther’s Grievances
Martin Luther believed in making the word of God available to the common man. For centuries the bible was out of reach for most Christians. The only copies that existed were in Latin, which most people could not read or understand. Instead it was left to the clergy, who was educated in the Latin language to meet their own explanations. This was the first time anyone tried to make the words of the Bible available for anyone to read in their own native language. When Martin Luther translated the bible it had a tremendous impact on the church and German culture.
Martin Luther did not agree with the Catholic Church’s demand that one could only earn favor with God through good works. Through his in-depth study of the scriptures, Luther reached the understanding that salvation is a gift of God’s grace, received by faith alone and by trust in Jesus Christ.
Another thing that Martin Luther didn’t agree with was the selling of indulgences.
According to the Catholic Church, an indulgence gave the bearer forgiveness of a past sin or a future sin. If you decided to kill someone you could purchase an indulgence and be forgiven of that sin. Luther said that the selling of indulgences clouded the Biblical message of forgiveness. Also the priests spent more time selling indulgences than they spent teaching about theology. A lot of churches pushed the sales of indulgences so that they could get money to fund new buildings. Martin Luther believed that the pope cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God. Luther then wrote his "Ninety-Five Theses" which challenged the ability of the church to grant forgiveness on God 's behalf in exchange for
money.
Martin Luther also accused the Catholic Church of idolatry. He believed they exalted the Lord’s Supper, it became that Christ was no longer the enactor of the sacrament, but only an example whose power was no longer needed. This compromised Christ’s true role as Savior and Lord, this challenged Luther’s belief that worship is fundamentally an act of God. Luther taught that there were serious spiritual requirements involved before one could join. Martin Luther wanted to draw notice to the “use and benefit” of the Lords Supper to the faithful, and to destroy any works-based ideas among the congregations.
Martin Luther did not agree with the worship of relics or physical objects. Those objects were believed to possess a spiritual worth or power on their own, most people were deceived in thinking that making regular visits would benefit them spiritually. People would stand in line for hours and pay a small amount of money only to spend several seconds in front of the relic. Luther knew that because of his own education and experience, it was his responsibility to take the necessary steps to bring spiritual freedom to the people.

Works Cited
Dieter, Emily A. Martin Luther the Worship Leader. Rep. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2013.
"The Reformation ." History on the Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2013.
Greene, Donna. "Martin Luther 's Outrage against the Catholic Church." YahooVoices. Yahoo! Contributor Network, 26 Sept. 2008. Web. 24 June 2013.