Martin Luther's Foundation Of Faith Research Paper
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Martin Luther and His Foundation of Faith
Martin Luther is probably one of the most well-known and influential men from the Reformation period, and his actions shook the religious world dramatically. His attacks on the Roman Catholic Church addressed a variety of issues, and his anger at the Church was provoked for many reasons. However, in this essay, I am going to argue that the main difference between Martin Luther and the Catholic Church was Martin Luther’s view of salvation, and that this was the foundation out of which all his arguments against the practises and doctrines held by the Catholic Church were formed. What did the Roman Catholic Church believe when it came to the issue of salvation? Pinning down a definite answer is very…show more content… Looking back at the Catholic Church’s teachings, Martin Luther wrote that “many sermons dealt with sin, death, and hell, and also with the wrath of God” and that they depicted “God as an angry God.” Many times throughout Martin Luther’s testimony he spoke about his fear of God and his dread of condemnation. One historian’s summary of this time period’s view of God was that guilt over sin was a result of a “fear of damnation rather than deprivation of God.” The natural response of a people being taught that their God was an angry, vengeful God was to somehow placate and win His favour by every human effort possible. Martin Luther commented on the solution prescribed by the Catholic church: “But what did they say about deliverance from all this? They insisted that we render satisfaction for our sins with our good works and atone for them with monastic life, pilgrimages, and…show more content… Martin Luther was not randomly picking issues to fight about. Rather, he was “reducing Christianity to its essence,” and “bringing every other part of its doctrinal and organizational structure under the judgment of that simple, simple principle.” His controversy started with indulgences. His fifty-second Theses stated that “It is vain to trust salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.” To him, indulgences made salvation a thing to be bought, “betraying the Gospel of Jesus Christ by teaching people that heaven could be purchased by good works.” But indulgences were just the first thing. The worship of saints was attacked, for that was putting faith in the work of someone other than Jesus Christ for salvation. As for the papacy, it was no longer necessary since God was no longer viewed as a violent, wrathful God who needed special men to stand between Him and mankind. Martin Luther wrote that if “you come to God by believing in the Son” that “you will not confront an angry judge but a dear Father, who is so kindly disposed toward you that He gave His Son for you.” Also, Martin Luther’s doctrine taught that only in Christ could forgiveness be found, which meant that the claims of the pope to be able