Martin Luther, born in 1483, was the reformist who inspired the break of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther attended the Latin school in Mansfield, and that school as well as his mother taught strong discipline, and had harsh punishments for any disobedience. Then in 1497 Luther went to a boarding school that once again enforced strong measures against disobedience. Finally in 1502 Luther went to the most prestigious university of the time, and graduated with a master’s degree in 1505. Luther was all set to become a lawyer when one fatefully journey home changed his life.
According to legend Luther was travelling home after completing his master’s degree when a terrible lightning storm rose around him. Lighting is said to have struck all around him until he fell to his face in the mud and vowed to dedicate his life to God as a monk. In 1507 Luther was officially ordained into the order and began to study the word, which he did until 1512 when he received a doctorate in theology. But when key thing to note about Luther’s time studying for his doctorate was that he came into contact with humanism, which stressed getting back to the original, or the source. All this meant for Luther was that in order for him to understand the Bible, he must first understand it in the original Greek.
After receiving his doctorate Luther began teaching at the Wittenberg University, while there it is said that he began a personal study in the book of Romans that changed his life. It was verses such as Romans 1:17 that made him realize that faith got you into heaven, not works. It was that realization that caused him to begin to test every “Christian” principal he had been raised with to see if it was or was not truly in the word of God.
In 1514 Luther was appointed to be the priest of a small church. While there he learned that people were buying indulgences instead of confessing. Luther spoke out many times from the pulpit against indulgences, he said they were unbiblical and false, but it wasn’t until 1517 that he took a strong stand. On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the door of the castle church. This action led to a long string of events that ultimately ended with the breaking up of the Roman Catholic Church (all facts up to this point have been taken from http://www.luther.de/en/kontext/).
You may have noticed that in the first paragraph I stressed what a harsh disciplinary environment Luther grew up in. This was intentional. Luther was raised to believe that rules are to be obeyed and never questioned; the fact that he examined his faith at all shows that he had a greater love of God than of his own safety and comfort.
Luther’s safety really was challenged. There were many times where his life was put in danger; in fact his best friend was burned at the stake as a heretic for preaching Luther’s doctrine. But despite all of the danger to himself, he persevered and due to his sacrifices the reformation of the church took was born.
The movie Luther was a wonderful movie full of excitement and political wars, and it was basically correct in its facts. There were a few scenes (in which Luther was shown huddled against a wall muttering) that were not done justice. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther) Luther was very aware of the spiritual warfare that goes on every day, however, the movie did not explain this and thus made him seem to be mad. Ultimately the movie Luther was a good movie, but it does not even come close to being as fascinating as the real life of the Father of the Reformation.
