Martin LutherAnd the 95 theses

Life of Luther• Martin was an educated boy who went to

college to earn two degrees in law• He was almost struck by lightening one day

and decided to leave law studies and enter the monastery, a place where he could study the bible and devote his life to God

Luther studies the bible

• As Luther read the bible, he began to disagree with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church– The church said that you can only win favor with

God by doing good deeds– Luther interpreted the Bible as saying that

“salvation is a gift of God's grace, received by faith alone and by trust in Christ's death on the cross as the only means to that salvation."

Luther defies the Catholic Church• Luther particularly had a problem with penance

through the sale of indulgences– Penance is forgiveness of sins by God given by a

priest– Indulgences were papers you could buy from the

church that gave penance• He compiled a list of 95 things that were wrong

with the Catholic Church and nailed them to the door.– This list is known as the 95 theses

Excommunication

• Luther’s actions angered the church so they excommunicated him.– Excommunication means you are no longer part of the

church• Years later Luther was summoned before the Diet of

Worms. – The Diet was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy

Roman Empire that occurred in Worms, Germany.• They ordered he be arrested, so his friends helped him

hide.

Reformation

• While in hiding, Luther worked to translate the entire bible into Germans so more people could read it.

• Luther’s theories about Christianity greatly influenced the forming of other Christian groups .

• These new Christian denominations formed as part of the Protestant Reformation and were separate from the power of the Catholic Church.