Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation Research Paper

Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation - Research Paper Example Martin Luther, the German monk, initiated reformatory ideas into the context of Christian faith in Europe. One can see that the Lutheran Reformation or Protestant Reformation provided ample importance to the concept of salvation and individual faith in god. On the other side, the Christian church considered that donating money to the Church as a proof of one’s faith can help one to attain salvation. These differences between the Christian Church and Lutheran ideas related to faith and salvation eventually led to Lutheran Reformation. To be specific, Martin Luther was not ready to agree with the concept of the sale of indulgences as the source of revenue to the Church. Instead, his aim was to inculcate innovation to Christian faith in Europe. Thesis statement: The Lutheran Reformation unveiled the difference between individual faith and religious salvation, it bridged the wide gap between the believers and the Christian Church, and it is important because it’s socio-poli tical, religious and cultural impact unleashed the possibilities of individual faith in god, especially in Christianity. Martin Luther and Lutheran Reformation One can see that Martin Luther’s influence is not limited to the sphere of religious reformation because it extends to other fields like education, culture and literature. His deep knowledge in Latin was helpful to translate works in Latin to German language. Luther’s graduation and post-graduation were at the University of Erfurt. Later, he decided to study law, but lost interest in the same and joined a monastery in Erfurt. But he was not ready to give up his education and became a professor of Theology. John Scott makes clear that, â€Å"The one is, that his learning, genius, and capacity, were of the first magnitude: the other, that his life was without blemish.†1 While he was serving as a professor, he became interested in the idea of salvation and faith in Christianity. Besides, Luther made use of his acceptability as a professor to spread his ideas among the mass. Alister E. McGrath states that, â€Å"The Lutheran Reformation was initially an academic mo vement, concerned primarily with reforming the teaching of theology at the University of Wittenberg.†2 For instance, in the year 1517, Luther declared his opinion on the difference between salvation and faith in Christianity. The Lutheran interpretation of faith in God was entirely different from the interpretation of same by the Christian Church in Germany. This difference in interpretation of faith forced Luther to undergo excommunication from the Pope (say, in the year 1521) and disagreement from the Emperor Karl V. All these factors eventually led to the initiation of Lutheran Reformation as an attempt to reform the Protestant Church in Germany. Martin Luther’s role as a religious reformer Martin Luther’