Luther

Luther Video Blog Post:

Cameron Wirtz

October 10, 2013

Martin Luther, a prominent religious figure during the sixteenth century, was a priest of the Catholic Church. He questioned the Catholic Church’s authority, specifically the selling of indulgences and the corruption within the church. The Church, recognizing Martin Luther’s effect on the community, ordered him to recant his statements, but he refused. Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door, outlining the criticisms he had of the church. This spread like wild fire because of the printing press. Although the Bishop believed Luther was not so radical, the Church decided to burn Luther’s work, so Luther burned the church’s work. Luther was then forced into a trial, known as The Diet at Worms, where he was accused of being a heretic. The trial was not over in one day, it was completed after two days. Luther still did not recant and the people supported him. On his way back to his home his patron, saving him from being arrested or murdered by his enemies, kidnapped him.

He then begins to write the New Testament into vernacular literature (German). Once he finished, it was distributed everywhere because of the printing press and many ordinary people could read the works of God. There were problems as well. The peasants were getting violent in the name of Luther’s works. They did not understand the works properly. Luther then got married to Kate, a runaway nun who fell in love with Luther, leading to a change in the rules for marriage. In the end, the Emperor of Germany allowed the ordinary people to read the Bible in their own language. Luther lived 16 more years with his wife and died.