R&R Article Summary "Martin Luther Burns at the Stake, 1521"

Martin Luther, born in Saxony, decided to become a priest when a bolt of lightning struck him; thanking God, he devoted his life to being an Augustinian monk. After studying for many years, he began an incredibly thorough inspection of the Bible which revealed to him that the only way to receive repentance from Christ was to live a faithful life. He made this discovery in a time of indulgences which were payments for the forgiveness of sins. In response, on October 31, 1517 Martin Luther release ninety-five theses, or objections, to the Catholic Church to open up discussion. These humanist statements supported the individuals betterment of his or herself and the need to work for the remission of sins. The Pope heard of this question to his papal authority and called him to Rome in 1518 to explain his objections. However, Frederick of Saxony, Luther’s suzerain, forced the German emperor at the time to move Luther’s meeting to Germany due to Frederick’s political influence in getting the current emperor’s nephew the title of future leader. At this discussion, Luther stated that “The Pope is not above, but under the word of God” which obviously angered the Pope. He retaliated by stating that everyone must obey his teachings on indulgences. Shortly after, another theologian, John Eck, challenged Luther stating that Jan Hus, a man Luther had previously denounced, had criticized indulgences and the power of the Pope. Luther realized that Hus spoke the truth, and that he would have to do the same. After further inspection of the Pope’s practices, he said “I am in deep turmoil since I can hardly doubt that the pope is the true Antichrist whom everyone has been expecting.” He also wished the church to treat heretics with more respect by asking that they not simply denounce them, but try to argue their beliefs. In further denial of the Pope, Luther stated that “Every man is his own priest” suggesting that priests, bishops, or popes are not needed when communicating with God. Later, Eck said that 41 of Luther’s theses were doctrinal errors and asked him to recant; if he did not, he would be excommunicated. In defiance, Luther burnt this decree. The month after that the Pope excommunicated him and then asked Charles V to outlaw him. After further political maneuvering from Frederick, Luther was allowed a hearing in early 1521. This came to be known as the Diet of Worms. At the same time in Switzerland, Huldrych Zwingli agreed with Luther and started his own reformation movement. Luther’s revolution is different from many peaceful ones that are well known today (such as Gandhi’s or Dr. King’s marches) because it included him writing in a room to inspire people. He could not openly protest against the government due to fear of being killed by the almost omniscient church. At this point, if Charles V had burned all these critics, it would have been too late to stop real change from occurring. The printing press made copies of reform doctrines too widespread to completely wipe out. Another three major political concerns at the time prevented Protestant teachings from being obliterated. Killing Luther’s doctrines would have angered Fredrick, a high tax payer, and Charles needed Protestant troops and taxes to fight the incoming invasion of the Turks. Also, it would be incredibly hard for him to support any of these decrees as he tried to put down a major rebellion in Spain. However, without Luther, the world would lack his translation of the Bible for a while as well as 3,100 of his other publications. These publications started the grassroots movement that formed the multiple branches of Protestantism that are known today. This would have prevented the cohesiveness of the movement as well as destroying a suitable ideological barrier against the future Counter-Reformation. The lack of a solid movement fighting for a single cause is very effective as shown by Martin Luther King’s uniting influence on the American civil rights movement of the 1960’s On the other hand, the less aggressive revolution without Luther may have dragged the papacy into a calm state which could have paved the way for a recombination of the Protestant-Catholic schism. Also, without Luther, the Dutch Revolt and the Thirty Years War, both religious wars, may not have happened. Without Luther’s guiding influence, there may have been a Reformation, but it would have looked completely different.