THE STORY OF MARTIN LUTHER"Hier stehe. Ich kann nicht anders."The moment Martin Luther said those words has been one of the greatest moments in the modern history of man. Refusing to admit guilt for what had repeatedly published over the prior four years, Luther, a German monk, was directly challenging the authority of Western Christendom and the man believed by Catholics to be the human representative of God on Earth: the Pop, more specifically Pope Leo X. Luther was doing just what his ancestors, the Goths, had done centuries before: challenging the power of Rome. But in the 16th century, Rome was not a simple of Roman Authority, but of Christ and Christianity. Luther's word and acti ...view middle of the document...
They neither fear nor love God, they have not thought of the life to come, preferring their fleshy lust to the needs of the soul… they scorn the vow of poverty, know not of chasing, revile that of obedience… the smoke of their filth ascends all around"Luther's role began a day before All Saints Day, on October 31, 1517. Luther posted his "Ninety-Five Theses" on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. Luther's argument was simple: selling "pardons" like souvenirs trivialized sin. He criticized the Pope for claiming to be able to reach beyond the grave and "spring" a soul from purgatory. Following the posting of the "Ninety-Five Theses" the sale of indulgences plunged outside of Saxony, the region surrounding Witten Burg… and as word spread across Western Europe, spontaneous demonstration for or against Luther erupted. According to one historian, Luther had done the unthinkable- he had flouted the ruler of the universe.Various archbishops called for heresy proceedings against Luther to begin immediately. Meanwhile, Luther continued to publish other pamphlets, condemning everything from relics and pilgrimages to the Holy City of Rome and extravagant claims of...
