Martin Luther

In the early 1500s, the Roman Catholic Church held tight control over most of Europe with a monopoly on the access to God and salvation. The Bible was mostly written in Latin and not accessible to the average commoner.  A devout monk, Martin Luther, from a very humble beginning began earnestly studying the Bible and had a strong issue with the sale of indulgences. As time went, on he did much to expose the corruption and greed of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther thus became the forerunner of the great Reformation that swept across Europe, and from this movement Protestantism was born.

Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany to a poor family with many children. His father worked long, hard hours in the village mine and was eager to provide the best he could for his family. Education was very important to Hans Luther, and he felt it his duty to make sure his children got the best education they could. Martin was a sensitive child with a keen mind, and his father became determined that his son should have every opportunity he could. Hans Luther’s dream for his son was to study law so at the age of eighteen, Martin entered the University of Erfurt. One day upon entering the library, he was thrilled to find a book he had never seen before. For the first time in his life, he held the entire Bible in his hands. The young Martin was fascinated and spent many hours becoming acquainted with the scriptures.

In 1502 he graduated with a Masters of Arts degree, and his teachers proudly predicted a brilliant future for him. Knowing his father’s desire for him to become a lawyer, he continued his studies. As time went on he became more and more troubled as the enormity of his sins loomed over him. He was deeply disturbed with his struggle to find faith and salvation and felt very restless with the traditional ways of thinking. He confided to his closest friend, Alexis, his turmoil and feelings of despair. Shortly there after, Alexis was killed in a freak accident, and as Martin stood looking at the body of his friend he kept thinking, “Suppose it had been I? Suppose I had been summoned last night to the judgment bar of God!” (Robinson 17).

After the death of his friend, Martin had no peace of mind and became convinced that he had to do something different with his life. On his next visit home, he confided to his mother his desire to enter the monastery. Martin’s mother was horrified and told him it would surely break his father’s heart.  Martin knew of the dreams and hopes his father had for him, so he finally agreed not do anything rash. The next day on his way back to school, he felt extremely troubled. The conflict between his hearts desire and his feelings of duty to his parents was extremely overwhelming. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he did not notice the severe thunderstorm until it was suddenly upon him. As the flashes of light and the rumbling of thunder exploded around him, he felt sure it was the anger of God and that he was to be killed. Suddenly, just in front of him, a great bolt of lightening struck the road, and he immediately fell to his knees promising the saints, if they would just save his life, he would become a monk.