MartinLutherOnlineHistory.org

1、martin luther, an obscure german monk. changed the medieval world and threatened the catholic church like no other. charles v, the holy roman emperor from 1500-1558. opposed luther and tried to outlaw him and his followers as heretics. frederick the wise, elector of saxony from 1486-1525. supported

2、luther and his teachings. protected him in his early years so the reformation had a chance to flourish. leo x, one of the most extravagant popes in history. made the mistake of not seeing luther as a threat to the power of the catholic church.hans and margarette luther, pious and hardworking germans

3、 whose son changed the world forever. katharine von bora, luthers wife. luther found peace when he married this ex-nun whom he had helped to escape from a nunnery.martin luther, an obscure augustinian monkmartin luther detail from the freedom window war memorial chapel washington cathedral. (noted a

4、re moses, abraham lincoln, martin luther, paul revere and george washington.) god has given us the papacy. let us enjoy it! pope leo xwe maintain therefore thata man is justified by faith apart from theworks of the law.being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with god through our lord jesus

5、 christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand.”“we, being jews by nature, and not gentile sinners, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in jesus christ, even we had to become believers in christ jesus, that we mi

6、ght be justified by faith in christ, and not by the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.”now that no man is justified by the law before god is evident for the righteous will live by faith. the law is not of faith but the man who does them will live by them.”the

7、 problem of authorityluthers discovery uncovered the problem of authority. is the bible the sole basis for religious authority (as luther claimed) or are the bible and church tradition the basis for authority (as the roman catholic church claimed)? heres how one protestant denomination today charact

8、erizes luthers contribution to reformation theology:pope leo x, luthers adversaryissuemedievalroman catholic churchmartin luthersalvationfaith plus good works required for salvationfaith alone the basis for salvationreligious authorityreligious authority rests with the churchbible is the basis for r

9、eligious authoritymans relationship to godchurch served as intermediary between god and manpriesthood of all believers (no intermediary required)sacramentsbaptism, penance, holy eucharist, confirmation, marriage, holy orders. extreme unctionsacraments, dispensed by the church, are essential for salv

10、ationbaptism, holy eucharistcommuniontransubstantiation: process whereby the bread and wine is transformed into the body and blood of christconsubstantiation: process whereby the bread and wine and the body and blood of christ are both presentcallinglimited to religious vocationsbroader concept of c

11、alling made secular life respectablechurch governmenthierarchical (pope, cardinals, archbishops, priests, laymen)challenged papal authoritycivil governmentchurch has authority in religious matters; state has authority in temporal matters. if there is a conflict, church authority takes precedence.den

12、ied the right of rebellion (e.g., the peasants revolt)doctrinal differences between protestants and catholicsprotestantscatholics (council of trent)justification by faith: christs sacrifice atones for all sins, and it is only necessary to believe in it to be saved. there is nothing humans can do by

13、their own efforts to add or detract from it.both faith and good works (acts of devotion, charity, the sacraments, etc.) are necessary for salvation.the priesthood of all believers: all believers have equal access to god and no other earthly intermediaries are needed. this does not mean that the floc

14、k does not need teachers, but there are no special sacramental functions belonging to any particular class.the catholic priesthood is necessary as only priests can perform the sacraments necessary for spiritual health and correctly interpret the meaning of scripture.the scriptures as the only source

15、 of true doctrine: studying and understanding the scriptures is therefore important to all believers. translating the bible into the vernacular tongues and making it available to all is essential.scripture is only one way in which doctrine is revealed. the decisions of church councils, encyclicals f

16、rom the pope, tradition, etc., are all part of it. only the priesthood of the church can correctly interpret the meaning of scripture. do not try this at home.the lords supper is symbolic and the body and blood of christ are not physically present. to believe otherwise is to commit idolatry.the euch

17、arist is a mystery in which the sacrifice of christ is reenacted; the bread and wine become spiritually transformed into the true body and blood of the lord.no heavenly intermediaries are needed to intercede with god. although the virgin mary, saints, and angels are all in heaven, they should not be

18、 the objects of prayer or veneration. the making of images encourages idolatrous worship that should be directed at the more abstract concept of god.although the saints and angels should not be worshipped, their intercession is valuable and necessary to helping the christian to achieve salvation. th

19、e virgin mary is especially honored by god, and should be also by believers. religious images should not be worshipped, but they help to inspire devotion. (these fine points were often lost on the average peasant.)gods foreknowledge and omnipotence mean that everyone is predestined to their fate: ei

20、ther to be or not to be one of the elect. human action avails nothing.gods omnipotence does not restrict human will, and each individual is still responsible for earning their own salvation.the bible only documents two sacraments: baptism and the lords supper (so called to distinguish the protestant

21、 practice from the catholic eucharist)there are seven sacraments: baptism, holy eucharist (see above), penance (confession/ absolution), confirmation, marriage, holy orders, extreme unction (last rites). of these, baptism can be performed by anyone in an emergency and marriage (a historical newcomer to the list) is technically bestowed by the two partners on one another. all the rest can only be performed by a priest or bishopcharles v, luthers most powerful adversar