Author: Martin Luther was a monk who eventually became a reformer when he discovered God and faith and had a supposed spiritual awakening. He is the one that really began the Protestant Reformation, upon realizing that humans are naturally sinful, and no amount of praying or practicing of faith would admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven. Rather, it was through the righteousness of God and was his gift, which is what this document is all about.
Speaker: See above
Context: Though the document was not actually dated, I know that it was sometime during the early 16th century when Martin Luther was beginning the Protestant Reformation, seeing as though it is about his enlightenment. So this document is about a time prior to him publishing his Ninety-five Theses, which will affect him in this document seeing as though he had to struggle to "break from the norm" to find salvation from that which was troubling him before.
Summary: Martin Luther began as a monk. He went against the will of his father to join the monastery, who tried to put guilt on him, even going as far as to say “Don’t you know that you ought to honor your father?” Martin Luther then goes into a memory from his time as a monk, where the prayers would basically drive him crazy. But it was God who saved him from the “torment of prayers”. When thinking of the words “righteousness of God,” his conscience rang loudly and he feared punishment from God. However, after much thought, he realized that salvation is God’s mercy and thus eased his conscience and brightened his spirit. He was no longer afraid of the “righteousness of God” because it was that righteousness that saved, not punished. God led Martin Luther out of his torment, showed him the way to understanding and to cleanse his mind/ease his conscience. It was God and faith that led him to true salvation.
Key Quotations: “…I soon came to the conclusion that if we, as righteous men, ought to live from faith and if the righteousness of God should contribute to the salvation of all who believe, then salvation won’t be our merit but God’s mercy.”
“For it’s by righteousness of God that we’re justified and saved through Christ.”
Overall, you did an outstanding job! Your identifying characteristics are strong and capture the essence of the document. First, you address Martin Luther's background; he was a monk at first, but later turned into a reformer when he came to an epiphany. Second, you explain said epiphany accurately and precisely: he realizes that as righteous men, faith alone is enough for salvation. Lastly, you explain that God was the One who gave Martin Luther both his faith and his epiphany. However, there are a couple points of constructive feedback that I have to offer. For one, while you say that the document was written in the early 1600s, you can go into a little more detail because he references the year 1517 in the document; this means that Salvation Through Faith Alone was either written in 1517 or sometime afterwards. Also, you could have emphasized the fact that the Roman Catholic Church did not like Luther's new ideas. The pope actually excommunicated him and he was an outcast for a time. Finally, you could have focused on the specific Biblical passages that Luther alluded to in order to back his claims (both are from Rom.) All in all, great job, Zack!
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