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Martin Luther
(1483-1546), a German professor of theology,
composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant
Reformation.
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Luther came to
reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He
strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin
could be purchased with money, proposing an academic discussion of the
practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His
refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520
and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted
in his excommunication by the Pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the
Emperor.
Luther taught that
salvation and, subsequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds but
are received only as the free gift of God's grace through the believer's
faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the
authority and office of the Pope by teaching that the Bible is the only
source of divinely revealed knowledge from God and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to
be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with these, and all of Luther's
wider teachings, are called Lutherans, though Luther insisted on Christian
or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed
Christ.
His translation of
the Bible into the vernacular (instead of Latin) made it more accessible to
the laity, an event that had a tremendous impact on both the church and
German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the
German language, added several principles to the art of translation,and influenced the writing of an English translation,
the Tyndale Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in
Protestant churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set
a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy
to marry.
In two of his later
works, Luther expressed antagonistic views toward Jews, writing that Jewish
homes and synagogues should be destroyed, their money confiscated, and
liberty curtailed. Condemned by virtually every Lutheran denomination,
these statements and their influence on antisemitism have contributed to
his controversial status.
Extract from en.wikipedia.org - Read More
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