The Reformation

1. Why is Luther breaking from the Catholic Church? 

• In Europe, the catholic church had a big influence on the people because they held a high amount of power. Martin Luther felt as if God had called him to the church when he kept him alive during a bad storm. He served as a theologian and monk, but quickly found many flaws within the church, like the sale of indulgences. This means the church would profit off of people who have sinned by giving them false hope that it would make them better in the eyes of the Lord. Martin Luther recognized the churches wrongful doings, and stated a relationship with God would do more good than payments. He wrote the 95 thesis as a goal to change the ways of the church, and many people supported and agreed with him. This was known as the protestant reformation and Martin Luther's break from the church.

  

2. Do you think that there is any sense in which Luther is starting a "new" religion? In addressing this question, you must keep in mind the religious context in which all of this is happening

• As Martin Luther had the main goal to fix the church corruption and make it known to people, he created a movement to which the people of Eruope followed. It wasn't his goal to change christianity as a whole - just the way the church took advantage of its people. It did however result in a variety of interpretations of christianity. Some examples of these other interpretations include Calvinism and Lutheranism.