martin luther biography

1. Prepared by: G. Peter Sreekanth (Sippy)
S/O. Rev. G. T. Prema Raj

6. Who is Martin Luther?
Martin Luther, a 16th-century monk and theologian,
was one of the most significant figures in Christian
history.
His beliefs helped birth the Reformation—which would
give rise to Protestantism as the third major force within
Christendom, alongside Roman Catholicism and Eastern
Orthodoxy.

7. Martin Luther, (1483-1546) was a German professor of
theology, composer, priest, monk, and a seminal figure in the
Protestant Reformation, when he challenged the Catholic
Church's teachings starting in 1517.
The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement
that swept through Europe in the 1500s.
Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the
Roman Catholic Church.
He strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences.

8. Birth of Martin Luther:
10 November 1483,
at
Eisleben, Germany

9. Martin Luther was born in Germany, in Eisleben,
on
10th November 1483 (Saturday),
Baptized on 11th (Sunday)
in St. Peter's Church, 3 miles away from Eisleben.
10th, November is the Celebration Day of St. Martin.
Luther (Luder in German) is the family name.
Hence, he was named Martin Luther.

10. Martin Luther's Parents, Hans and Margarethe Luther

11. Martin Luther's House
in Wittenberg

12. Luther’s Education:
1505 M.A.
1509 B.D. (Bachler of Divinity)
1512 D.D. (Doctor of Divinity)

13. Luther the Monk
On a stormy afternoon in July, 1505, Martin Luther and his
friend were walking along a country road on the way back
to the college.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightening hit the ground near his feet
in which his friend died. In his terror, he cried out to
St. Anne, vowing to become a monk if he survived.
Two weeks later, on 17th July, 1505, Luther joined the
Augustinian Order in Erfurt; his father was furious.

14. CONDITIONS OF THE CHURCH IN 15TH CENTURY
1. Pope was the head of the Roman Catholic Church, most powerful
and held the title, “the vicar of Christ”. All authorities, emperors,
kings were under his authority.
2. No one should read the Bible, except the ordained Church
Fathers.
3. Bible was chained
4. Corruption in the Church.
Popes were power mongers, corrupt, lived luxurious and immoral
lives. Some times, two are three fought for the office of Pope.
5. Church was more powerful than the Government
6. All worships were conducted in Latin

15. The Chained
Bible

16. Wrong Teachings Introduced by the Roman Catholic Church:
1. Salvation by doing good works
2. Worship of the dead saints
3. Worship of Mary
4. Praying (Mass) for the dead
5. Indulgences (An indulgence was a "get out of purgatory
card“(A Passport to escape hell) that could be obtained
for oneself or others by paying a certain sum to the
church)
6. The Purgatory (A place, where the spirits of the dead reside)

17. Luther, doing all good works with all fear and reverence to attain Salvation:
1. Participating in the Mass and the Holy Communion regularly
2. Praying the Rosary
3. In 1510, Luther Prayed on the Pilate’s Steps in Rome: (Roman Catholic
Church taught that, the steps on which Jesus Christ climbed in Pontius
Pilate’s palace on the day of his judgement were brought from
Jerusalem to Rome by the Angels. And when one climbs these 28 steps
(Scala Sancta) on their knees and pray (Pater Noster) and kiss the steps,
28 spirits in the Purgatory will be delivered). Luther prayed on these
steps, when he visited Rome in 1510.
But all these actions did not bring peace to Martin Luther.

18. Praying the
Rosary
Rosary

20. Pilate’s Steps in Rome

21. Bible Portions that opened the eyes of Luther:
1. Psalm 31:1 “In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to
shame; deliver me in your righteousness”.
2. Habakkuk 2:4 “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not
upright—but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness”.
3. Romans 1:17 “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is
revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is
written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
4. Galatians 3:11 “Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified
before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”

22. Luther understood that the
Salvation is
not by works, but by faith in Jesus Christ,
who died on the cross and shed His blood for
the deliverance of man.

23. What influenced Martin Luther's theology?
Justification by faith alone
From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, and
on the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As
he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to view
the use of terms such as penance and righteousness by
the Catholic Church in new ways.

24. What did Martin Luther believe about salvation?
For the Lutheran tradition,
the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith
alone in Christ alone is the material principle upon
which all other teachings rest.
Luther came to understand justification as being entirely
the work of God.

25. What influenced Martin Luther's theology?
Justification by faith alone
From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, and
on the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians.
As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to
view the use of terms such as penance and
righteousness by the Catholic Church in new ways.

26. What are 3 causes of the Reformation?
Unquestionably, the most prevalent causes of the
Reformation were
1. The Indulgences,
2. The changing values of the Renaissance,
and, above all,
3. Corruption within the church.

27. What did Martin Luther do to the Catholic Church?
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his
Ninety-five Theses against papal indulgences,
or the atonement of sins through monetary
payment, on the door of the church at Wittenberg,
Germany.

28. The 95 Theses
Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses in 1517 as a
protest against the selling of indulgences.
After he sent a copy of the theses to Albert of
Mainz (who sent a copy to Pope Leo),
Luther continued to write, elaborating on the
issues raised.

29. On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his
ninety-five theses, or points of
discussion, on the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg.
The document was in Latin and invited
other scholars to debate the statements
set out.

30. Out of love for the truth and from desire to
elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther,
Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary
lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend
the following statements and to dispute on them in
that place. Therefore he asks that those who cannot
be present and dispute with him orally shall do so
in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Amen.

31. The Church Doors in Wittenberg

32. Wittenberg Town Square

33. A Summary of the 95 Theses
He makes three main points in his 95 theses.
Here they are, in his own words:
1.Selling indulgences to finance the building of St. Peter's
is wrong.
2.The Pope has no power over Purgatory.
3.Buying indulgences gives people a false sense of security
and endangers their salvation.

34. What are three factors that helped spread Luther's
reforms across Europe?
•Printing press.
•Translation of the Bible.
•Government leaders.

35. What happened after Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses?
The Theses were quickly reprinted and translated, and distributed
throughout Germany and Europe.
They initiated a pamphlet war with the indulgence preacher
Johann Tetzel, which spread Luther's fame even further.
Luther's ecclesiastical superiors had him tried for heresy, which
culminated in his excommunication in 1521.

36. Upheaval in Germany
The protest against the indulgences set off a conflagration which,
step by step, resulted in most of Northern Europe breaking away
from the authority of the Catholic Church.
The reaction of the Church initially was to try and suppress the
attack on indulgences by suppressing Martin Luther.
Pope Leo directed the head of the Augustinians to: "quench a monk
of your order, Martin Luther by name".
He also allegedly remarked, "Luther is a drunken German. He will
feel differently when he is sober".

37. The Pope wanted to bring Luther to Rome and deal with
him, but the German princes, including the Holy Roman
Emperor, Charles V, said Luther should be given a
hearing on the issue in Germany.
A debate was held in Leipzig, with Luther challenging the
authority of the Pope to decide doctrine and maintaining
that many church practices, including most of the
sacraments, were bogus because they conflicted with
Scripture.

38. (See Protestant Reformation for a list of the doctrinal
differences between Luther and the Church.)
Pope Leo sent Luther a notice that he would be
excommunicated unless he renounced his heretical views
within 60 days.
Luther responded by publicly burning the letter, or "bull" in
Wittenberg, along with a stack of Church writings.

39. Pope Leo X

40. The Diet of Worms
Every year or so, the Holy Roman Emperor would
call a meeting of the German princes and
bishops. These meetings were called Diets and in
1521, Emperor Charles V summoned Martin
Luther to the meeting to be held in the old
cathedral city of Worms in western Germany. (Diet
of Worms is pronounced "dee-ate of vohrms".)

41. Charles V was a very devout Catholic, but about
half of the princes were sympathetic to Luther.
Luther was given safe conduct to attend the
meeting and defend his positions.
At the Diet of Worms, Luther was shown a table
with a pile of his books and other writings.
He was offered the opportunity to recant, but
refused.

42. Luther's reply was written down as he spoke it:
“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason –
I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for
they have contradicted each other -- my conscience is
captive to the word of God. I cannot and I will not recant
anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.
God help me. Amen."
The printed document released after the Diet of Worms
also contained the famous words,
"Here I stand, I can do no other”.

43. In Hiding: Wartburg Castle
Luther was allowed to leave Worms, but he was
now considered an outlaw. Emperor Charles issued
the Edict of Worms, declaring Luther a heretic and
ordering his death.
Frederick the Wise of Saxony favoured Luther and
arranged for him to be "kidnapped" and taken
to Wartburg Castle near the town of Eisenach.

44. Wartburg Castle

45. Luther disguised himself as a nobleman,
grew a beard and called himself "Junker Jörg".
He was safe in the Wartburg, a strong
fortress on the top of a mountain, under the
protection of the local prince.

46. Junker Jörg

47. He spent nearly a year there, writing furiously
and fighting depression and numerous
physical ailments.
It was in a small study in the castle in 1522
that he translated the New Testament from
Greek into German and profoundly influenced
the form and standardization of the German
language.

48. Protestantism spread rapidly over northern
Germany and to the towns of Augsburg,
Nuremberg and Strasbourg in the south, as
well as Switzerland.
By the time of Luther's death, it was well
established, mostly in the form Martin
Luther created.

49. Katharina von Bora: Luther Gets Married

50. Martin Luther was influenced by…
1.Desiderius Erasmus
2.Jan Hus
3.John Wycliffe
4.Augustine of Hippo
5.Girolamo Savonarola
6.William of Ockham
7.Duns Scotus
8.Gregory of Rimini

51. What are the 5 Solas of the Reformation?
What are the five Solas in Latin?
The word sola in Latin means only or alone, and these five truths are:
Sola gratia - saved by grace alone
Sola fida - through faith alone
Solus Christus - in Christ alone
Sola scriptura - as revealed by Scripture alone and
Soli Deo Gloria - to the glory of God alone
The five solas state that Christians are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in
Christ alone, as revealed by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

52. The Death of Martin Luther
Luther had been ill off and on for most of
his life and his health had been deteriorating as
he got older.
He died on a visit to Eisleben, the town of his
birth, in 1546 at the age of 62.
He was buried in the Castle Church in
Wittenberg in front of the pulpit where he
delivered many of his sermons.
His grave is still there.

53. Martin Luther's Grave