Martin Luther: A Critical History Essay

During his life from 1483 to 1546, Martin Luther was the grand architect of a bridge leading out the the European Medieval Era and into the modern age (Harrison, dir., “Reluctant Revolutionary”). Historian Michael A Mullett asserts, “Luther has to be ranked as one of the great emancipators of human history.” In the midst of the Renaissance, a period of cultural flourishment in Europe, Martin Luther condensed the public’s mounting uneasiness with the secularity of the Church into a strongly aimed rebellion. Through his persistence, unwavering faith, and galvanizing propaganda, Luther successfully took the first step of defiance against the Holy Roman Church. Martin Luther is a revolutionary of 16th to 18th century Europe as he ignited the fire of rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church, prompted huge social and religious reform, and fathered the new Christian denomination, Protestantism.
After witnessing the unjust and morally corrupt aspects of the Catholic Church,[1] Martin Luther set forth a new interpretation of the bible and, in doing so, “redefined the relationship between man and God” (Edwards, Mark “Reluctant Revolutionary). In his book, “On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” Martin Luther argued that contrary to the Catholic Church’s belief in seven sacraments, only two of them were true: The Lord’s [2] Supper and Baptism. Luther discarded the other five sacraments as “inventions of the church”(Harrison, dir., “Reluctant Revolutionary”). According to historian Michael A. Mullett, the other five sacraments, “were mechanisms that made people rely on clergy to intermediate between [them] and the divine.” He continues, “What Luther was saying all along is that that relationship must be one to one, unmediated, and direct.” Martin Luther’s vision was of a world without the superiority of the pope and clergy and one where every ordinary man possessed the power to connect with, repent, and ask for forgiveness from God. His sentiments were that “all of the faithful are God’s priests.” In 1517, Luther publicly accused the Church of selling indulgences and declared the true sacraments of the bible in the form of 95 Theses, posting them on the door of The Castle Church of Wittenberg. With the aid of the printing press, Martin Luther’s theses were rapidly filtered through masses of people and began the Reformation.

As Martin Luther’s new theological ideas gained ground, he began working in earnest to change the power and freedom of any non-ordained individual and, in doing so, completely changed the social dynamics of 16th century Europe. After writing his famous 95 Theses, Luther began to focus on the “democratization of religion”(McGrath, Alister “Reluctant Revolutionary). Historian Alister McGrath describes, “through a radical agenda Luther argued that not only the clergy but ordinary Christians had a God-given role to play in the running of the Church.” While speaking at the Diet of Wormz on April 18th, 1521, Luther shattered the medieval understanding of human liberty when declaring to the powers of Europe, “I cannot and will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against my conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me. Amen.” Alister McGrath states that Luther’s words are “the defining moment in the emergence of our modern understanding of personal and institutional freedom.” Historian Susan Karant-Nunn adds, “This moment in Wormz is very powerful… Its a time when a man stood up, spoke the truth, spoke for the truth, and spoke for liberty of conscience.” After the Diet of Wormz, as Martin Luther was sequestered from society in Wartburg, he additionally advanced the power of the common man by translating the bible from Latin into German. This final momentous act sealed [3] his argument that clergy was unnecessary as they were no longer needed as translators. Through his visionary ideas, Martin Luther built up the power of the common man while simultaneously disassembling the authority of the Catholic Church.
Although “Luther had never envisioned such change with such speed,”[4] an accumulation of his ideas swept across 16th century Europe in the form of Protestantism and religiously divided the continent (Harrison, dir., “Reluctant Revolutionary”). After creating his famous 95 Theses in 1517, Luther gained multitudes of supporters known as Lutherans. The term “Protestantism” became the title of Luther’s movement after Lutheran Princes in Germany signed a protest in 1529 arguing the Church’s condemnation of Luther’s writings as heresy. In the following years, “The torrent of reform that Luther had released remained unstoppable [as it] swept across Germany, and then onto France, The Netherlands, and Belgium” (Harrison, dir., “Reluctant Revolutionary”). As Protestantism was interpreted by different people throughout Europe, it developed new sects- John Calvin created Calvinism in Geneva, King Henry VIII created Anglicanism in England, and Pilgrims in America based their new colonies off of Protestant ideals. With the inception of this new and widely adopted non-Roman Catholic faith, Martin Luther and his followers had religiously divided Europe. Historian Miri Rubin explains, “Luther’s ideas, and the specific historic moment when they emerged and the reception they received meant an extraordinary change for the conception of what Europe is… Its no longer one Christian Europe.” As regions of the Holy Roman Empire began to draw borders separating Protestant and Catholic territory, localized governments created Protestant nation-states which did not abide by papal law. In addition, within two decades following the 95 Theses, entire nations, such as England, separated from the Catholic Church and became Protestant countries. Through Protestantism, all of Luther’s revolutionary ideas on the liberty of the individual and man’s relationship with God exploded through Europe and the Americas in the 16th to 18th centuries and forever changed the social, religious, political, and intellectual dynamics of the world.
Martin Luther unleashed an indomitable cascade of skepticism and reform the likes of which had never been seen on the European historical landscape. Martin Luther’s actions exemplified that a single man possessed the power to successfully defy oppression and pursue his conscience for the betterment of others. As his principles of social equality and freedom of the individual gained support, large portions of the population — both rich and poor — began to follow in his footsteps by thinking for themselves, voicing their own opinions, and questioning authority. This innovative movement constructed the foundation of modern Western society and, since then, has directly or indirectly inspired all revolution aspiring for democracy and personal liberty. One monk’s works launched a progressive era in civilization where the common man has an unquenchable thirst for freedom and justice. Martin Luther’s defiance to the status quo transcended his own lifetime and continues to reverberate throughout the world.
Work Cited
- Beck, Roger B., Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, and Dahia Ibo Shabaka. Modern world history: Patterns of interaction. Orlando, FL.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub. Co., 2012.
- Reluctant Revolutionary. Dir. Cassian Harrison. PBS television. Empires/PBS, 2003.YouTube. 30 Mar. 2009. 11 Dec. 2013 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni1gupkGAW0>.

