Martin Luther Essay -- essays research papers

Martin Luther Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer, who started the Protestant Reformation, and whose vast influence during his time period made him one of the crucial figures in modern European history. Luther was born in Eisleben on November 10, 1483 and was descended from the peasantry, a fact that he often stressed. Hans Luther, his father, was a copper miner. Luther received a sound primary and secondary education at Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In 1501, at the age of 17, he enrolled at the University of Erfurt, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1502 and a master's degree in 1505 . He then intended to study law, as his father had wished. In the summer of 1505, he abandoned his studies and his law plans, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. The decision surprised his friends and appalled his father. Later in his life, Luther explained his suprising decision by recollecting several brushes with death that had occurred at the time, making him aware of the fleeting character of life. In the monastery he observed the rules imposed on a novice but did not find the peace in God he had expected. Nevertheless, Luther made his profession as a monk in the fall of 1506, and his superiors selected him for the priesthood. Ordained in 1507, he approached his first celebration of the mass with awe. After his ordination, Luther was asked to study theology in order to become a professor at one of the many new German universities staffed by monks. In 1508 he was assigned by Johann von Staupitz, vicar-general of the Augustinians and a friend and counselor, to the new University of Wittenberg (founded in 1502) to give introductory lectures in moral philosophy. He received his bachelor's degree in theology in 1509 and returned to Erfurt, where he taught and studied. In November 1510, on behalf of seven Augustinian monasteries, he made a visit to Rome, where he performed the religious duties customary for a pious visitor and was shocked by the worldliness of the Roman clergy. Soon after resuming his duties in Erfurt, he was reassigned to Wittenberg and asked to study for the degree of doctor of theology. In 1512, after receiving his doctorate, he took over the chair of biblical theology which he held till his death. Although still uncertain of God's love and his own salvation, Luther was active as a preacher, teacher... ...ependence of rulers from papal supervision won him the support of many princes. His fame made Wittenberg an intellectual center. By 1537, Luther's health had begun to deteriorate, and he felt burdened by the resurgence of the papacy and by what he perceived as an attempt by Jews to take advantage of the confusion among Christians and reopen the question of Jesus' messiahship. Apprehensive about his own responsibility for this situation, he wrote a violent polemic against the Jews, as well as polemics against the papacy and the radical wing of the reformers, the Anabaptists. In the winter of 1546, Luther was asked to settle a controversy between two young counts who ruled the area of Mansfeld, where he had been born. Old and sick, he went there, resolved the conflict, and died on February 18, 1546, in Eisleben. Luther left behind a movement that quickly spread throughout the Western world. His doctrines, especially justification by faith and the final authority of the Bible, were adopted by other reformers and are shared by many Protestant denominations today. As the founder of the 16th-century Reformation, he is one of the major figures of Christianity and of Western civilization.