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These were Luther's original concerns with the RCC.

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The 95 Theses
Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place. Therefore he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.

4. The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

5. The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.

7. God remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his decrees always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

10. Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.

11. Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept (Mt 13:25).

12. In former times canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them.

14. Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear.

15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the same as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation.

17. It seems as though for the souls in purgatory fear should necessarily decrease and love increase.

18. Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by reason or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that is, unable to grow in love.

19. Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely certain of it.

20. Therefore the pope, when he uses the words ``plenary remission of all penalties,'' does not actually mean ``all penalties,'' but only those imposed by himself.

21. Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.

22. As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.

23. If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.

24. For this reason most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.

25. That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and parish.

26. The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them.

27. They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.

28. It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.

29. Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related in a legend.

30. No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary remission.

31. The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.

32. Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

33. Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him.

34. For the graces of indulgences are concerned only with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.

35. They who teach that contrition is not necessary on the part of those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional privileges preach unchristian doctrine.

36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.

37. Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.

38. Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the proclamation of the divine remission.

39. It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.

40. A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves to pay penalties for his sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes penalties and causes men to hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for hating them.

41. Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people erroneously think that they are preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences.

44. Because love grows by works of love, man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath.

46. Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on indulgences.

47. Christians are to be taught that they buying of indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their money.

49. Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences are useful only if they do not put their trust in them, but very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole money.

52. It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.

53. They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may be preached in others.

54. Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.

55. It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

56. The true treasures of the church, out of which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the people of Christ.

57. That indulgences are not temporal treasures is certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but only gather them.

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.

59. St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

60. Without want of consideration we say that the keys of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.

61. For it is clear that the pope's power is of itself sufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.

62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Mt. 20:16).

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

65. Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished for men of wealth.

66. The treasures of indulgences are nets with which one now fishes for the wealth of men.

67. The indulgences which the demagogues acclaim as the greatest graces are actually understood to be such only insofar as they promote gain.

68. They are nevertheless in truth the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the cross.

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.

70. But they are much more bound to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own dreams instead of what the pope has commissioned.

71. Let him who speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.

72. But let him who guards against the lust and license of the indulgence preachers be blessed.

73. Just as the pope justly thunders against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.

74. Much more does he intend to thunder against those who use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.

75. To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.

76. We say on the contrary that papal indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.

77. To say that even St. Peter if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.

78. We say on the contrary that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, that is, the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written. (1 Co 12[:28])

79. To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.

80. The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.

81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.

82. Such as: ``Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church?'' The former reason would be most just; the latter is most trivial.

83. Again, ``Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?''

84. Again, ``What is this new piety of God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not rather, beca use of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure love's sake?''

85. Again, ``Why are the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?''

86. Again, ``Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?''

87. Again, ``What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and blessings?''

88. Again, ``What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?''

89. ``Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?''

90. To repress these very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians unhappy.

91. If, therefore, indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Peace, peace,'' and there is no peace! (Jer 6:14)

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Cross, cross,'' and there is no cross!

94. Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts 14:22).

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Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place.

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The selling of Indulgences

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The Act of Supremacy

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Indulgences
youtube video in red
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-oY7XoO4EU
additional website below

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The events of October 31 st 1517, the day that Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, were not set in motion by a man's ambitious vision to revolutionize the spirituality of the west. Nor were they set in motion by Luther's iconoclastic vainglory that sought to topple the ancient powers of tradition and the papacy. Rather, Luther swung his hammer as a pastor. He cared for the eternal welfare of his flock.

On March 31 st 1515 Pope Leo X issued a bull of plenary indulgence to remove sins' temporal penalties that clung to the souls of the living and the dead. It took a little while for word to spread, but soon the indulgence salesmen were flooding the areas surrounding Electoral Saxony. What's an indulgence? Martin Brecht puts it nicely, "An indulgence, or kindness, as one may translate the Latin word, meant the commutation or reduction of penitential acts and temporal punishment for sin by the church..."[i] Leo X's indulgence was "plenary" which meant that this "kindness" could apply to all sins. "One could get a dispensation for almost all offenses, including adultery and the acquisition of illegal goods."[ii]

For a price, your anxiety over how long your soul, or the souls of your departed parents, would languish in purgatory could be set aside by a sum of money to help complete construction of St. Peter's basilica in Rome. Seems like a good deal, right? The pope isn't claiming, officially, that the eternal guilt of sin is being satisfied by purchasing an indulgence, but rather the punishments that come as result of sin, like the satisfactions prescribed by the priest when you go to confession, or like the chastisements that your soul needs in purgatory to be purified to the point that it can rest in peace before God's throne in heaven. It seems like the Holy Father might have some authority to set sin's lesser consequences aside if he's truly Christ's vicar on earth and has some control of who gets to profit from the saints' treasury of merit.

Of course, there are a lot of subtle theological distinctions at play here. When it came down to it, how do you think that the indulgence peddlers, like the Dominican John Tetzel, preached the pontiff's fundraising campaign? As the saying went, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs."[iii] So important was the effort to raise funds that the regular order of preaching the gospel was set aside so that the indulgences could be preached.[iv]

As you can imagine, the residents of Wittenberg ran to Tetzel so they could buy the way to heaven for themselves and their family. These were the same souls who confessed their sins to Luther and had regularly heard him preach the Scriptures. Though Luther had not yet fully grasped the Scriptures' doctrine of justification that defined the preaching of the Reformation, he still knew enough that his hearers had forsaken godly sorrow over sin and the genuine desire to amend one's life for a false hope in what money could buy. He wrote the Archbishop of Mainz warning him of the danger and at the same time made his concerns public through posting the Ninety-Five Theses.

How far did these abuses extend? Years later, Luther wrote to the clergy assembled at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 that the peddling of indulgences, with the approval of bishops and popes, amounted to a denial of the God's grace in the blood of Christ and the torment of Christian consciences. The indulgence preachers didn't concentrate on saying the pope is only absolving temporal penalties, but guilt in general. The result? There's no room for the preaching of Christ, his blood, his righteousness, and faith. He listed fifteen specific abuses, but I'll relate only a few.

"1. They sold the indulgence as the divine grace which forgives sin. Thereby Christ's blood and death were denied and blasphemed together with the Holy Spirit and the gospel.

2. They falsely sold souls out of purgatory through it, to the great shame of the Divine Majesty, but it brought in lots of money.

3. They thereby put the pope in heaven as a god who could command the angels to carry to heaven the souls of pilgrims who died on their trip to Rome.

4. The gospel, which is, after all, the only true indulgence, had to keep silence in the churches in deference to the indulgence.

8. In the indulgence they sold good works to all of Christendom and absolution, too, as something special, which, however, the gospel forever gives the whole world free of charge. Thus consciences were led astray from the gospel and from Christ to the works of men."[v]

In 1537 when Luther looked back at the controversy while writing the Smalcald Articles he identified the erroneous doctrine of repentance as standing behind the whole mess. In the process of striving after having the right kind of sorrow, enumerating all sins, and doing the works of penance, "there was neither faith nor Christ."[vi] Far from soothing anxious souls, indulgences were proliferated under the guise of a "jubilee year" because of the made money for Rome. As Luther writes, "the people came running" with the hopes of being set free from making up for their sins.

"Even this did not help at all. For although the pope taught the people to rely on and trust in such indulgences, he himself made the process uncertain when he asserted in his bulls 'Whoever desires to partake of the indulgence or jubilee year should be contrite, go to confession, and give money.'.... Similarly no one knew which soul was in purgatory, and, of those that were supposedly there, no one knew which had been truly contrite and confessed. Thus, the pope took the money, comforted the people with his authority and indulgence, and nevertheless directed them once again to their uncertain works."[vii]

Luther is pointing out: What's the whole point if the people are already binding themselves to the system of repentance? There's no real certainty to be found except in the works of men at the end of the day. Coincidently, this same critique applies to the modern Roman doctrine of indulgences which requires that the penitent already be "in a state of grace," "have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin," "have sacramentally confessed their sins," etc.[viii] What more confidence could possibly be given to a person who is already so pure?

Indulgences, in Luther's day and our own, are nonsense when we bind ourselves to the true repentance taught by the Holy Ghost in Scripture. Both to the man who is trying to pay for his sins and the man who thinks that he needs to do nothing, St. John the Baptist "comes and destroys both sides with a single thunderclap, saying, "Repent!""[ix] No one is righteous (Ps. 143:2; Rom. 3:10). We are all sinners bearing the weakness of our flesh to the day of death. No amount of satisfactions can be rendered to avail before God's throne but what we gain by faith from Jesus. As Luther writes,

"All who confess that everything is pure sin with them embrace all sins, allow no exceptions, and do not forget a single one. Thus, satisfaction can never be uncertain either. For it consists not in our uncertain, sinful works but rather in the suffering and blood of the innocent "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" [John 1:29]."[x]

Are there not temporal and earthly consequences for sin? Of course. But in this regard our example should be the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43). He knew he suffered justly for his crimes by being crucified. It's right that he did. But in the hour of death, he had nothing to offer God but faith, pure trust in Christ alone. "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus told him nothing of satisfactions or purifying his soul in purgatory. He said, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."

So it is for you, dear Christian. Before men on this earth, sin comes with consequences and we must bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Good works follow faith. But before God your righteousness and salvation depend on Christ and his Word alone. Money and satisfactions mean nothing.

"The human creature should be called and should be completely righteous and holy - according to the person and his or her works - by the pure grace and mercy that have been poured and spread over us in Christ. Therefore we cannot boast about the great merit of our works, where they are viewed apart from grace and mercy. Rather, as is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord' [1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17]."[xi]

The Rev. A. Brian Flamme is a pastor at Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, Colo.

[i] Martin Brecht, Martin Luther: His Road to Reformation 1483-1521 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1981), 176. To learn more about the historic origins and abuses of indulgences read Harold Grimm, The Reformation Era 1500-1650, 2nd Edition (New York: Macmillan, 1973), 38-41. Also, Lewis Spitz, The Renaissance and Reformation Movements, Revised Edition, Vol. II (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971), 335-337.

[ii] Brecht, 180

[iii] How did these sermons sound? Martin Brecht identifies four graces that the preachers emphasized in their sermons. "They were, first, the complete remission of all sins... The second chief grace consisted of the possibility of obtaining a confessional letter which entitled on twice to receive absolution from all sins, even those reserved to the pope, at a time of one's own discretion and in the hour of death. The third chief grace, which could also be obtained by buying a confessional letter, promised the one who obtained it and his dead relatives participation in all the church's goods, i.e., its prayers, fasts, alms, and other pious works. Like the previous grace, this could also be obtained without confession; even in a state of sin one could also participate in the blessings of church fellowship. Not without reason was the fourth grace especially extolled. It consisted of the remission of punishment of sins for souls in purgatory by means of the pope's intercession when one paid for these souls." Ibid, 180-182

[vi] SA, III, 3, 20 (Kolb-Wengert, 315)

[vii] SA, III, 3, 27 (Kolb-Wengert, 316)
[viii]http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/tribunals/apost_penit/documents/rc_trib_appen_pro_20000129_indulgence_en.html
[ix] SA, III, 3, 30 (Kolb-Wengert, 317) Matt. 3:2

[x] SA, III, 3, 37-38 (Kolb-Wengert, 318)

[xi] SA, III, 13, 2-3 (Kolb-Wengert, 325)

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Indulgences Then and Now - Lutheran Reformation

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by Rev. A. Brian Flamme The events of October 31st 1517, the day that Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, were not set in motion by a man's ambitious vision to revolutionize the spirituality of the west. Nor were they set in motion by Luther's iconoclastic vainglory that sought to...

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Separation of Church and State

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Martin Luther, Against the Sale of Indulgences

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Martin Luther (1483-1546) was born in Thuringia (Saxony) in what is now the country of Germany. His father was a successful foundry owner and mine operator, so he had enough money to sent his son to study law in the town of Erfurt. Instead, Luther joined the religious order of the Augustinian Hermits and studied theology.

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There was a spread of literature and arts, these more focused on religious scenes and pictures

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The pope and King together

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Lutheranism vs. Calvinism

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Difference Between Lutheranism and Calvinism
Lutheranism vs Calvinism
Broadly speaking, Calvinism can be thought of as virtually synonymous with reformed theology or 'reformed Protestantism', comprising of the entire body of doctrine that's taught by the reformed churches and represented in different reformed confessions like the Belgic confession of faith (1561) and the Westminster confession of faith (1647).

The theology of Calvinism was developed and advanced by John Calvin and further advanced by his followers, becoming the foundation of the reformed church as well as Presbyterianism. Calvin's successor was Theodore Beza, who is credited for spear heading the emphasis on Calvinism's core doctrine of predestination which affirms that God extends grace and gives salvation only to the chosen. It emphasizes the Bible's literal truth and takes the church as a Christian community headed by Christ with all members under him equal. It does not agree with the Episcopal form of church government in favor of an organization in which church officers are elected. Calvinism strongly influenced the Presbyterian Church in Scotland and was the basis for Puritanism as well as theocracies in Geneva. The 'doctrines of grace', commonly known by the acronym 'TULIP' basically summarize the doctrine of Calvinism. These are; total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

Lutheranism is another of the major protestant denominations, begun in the sixteenth century as a movement led by Martin Luther, who was a German Augustinian monk and theology professor at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony. Luther's intent originally was to reform the western Christian church but because of being excommunicated by the Pope, Lutheranism started to develop in various national and territorial churches effectively leading to the disintegration of the organizational unity of western Christendom.

Lutheran theology stresses that salvation is independent of merit and worthiness, arguing that it is a gift of God's sovereign grace. All human beings alike are sinners and the 'original sin' keeps them in bondage to the evil powers, rendering them unable to aid their liberation. Lutherans believe that the only way to respond to God's saving initiative is through trust in Him (faith). Thus, the controversial slogan of Lutheranism became 'salvation by faith alone'; with opponents arguing that the Christian responsibility of doing good works was not being done justice. Lutherans claimed in reply that good works follow from faith as faith must be active in love.

Summary:
1.Â Calvinism was started by John Calvin (1509-1564) while Lutheranism was the brainchild of Martin Luther (1483-1546).
2. Calvinism salvation belief is that of predestination (chosen few) whereas Lutheranism believes any one can attain salvation through faith.
3. Calvinism stresses the absolute sovereignty of God whereas Lutheranism believes man has some control over certain aspects in his life.

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Difference Between Lutheranism and Calvinism

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Lutheranism vs Calvinism Broadly speaking, Calvinism can be thought of as virtually synonymous with reformed theology or 'reformed Protestantism', comprising of the entire body of doctrine that's taught by the reformed churches and represented in different reformed confessions like the Belgic confession of faith (1561) and the Westminster confession of faith (1647).

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Multiple branches/new churches of Christianity formed. (Church of England, Protestant, Calvinism, Lutheranism)

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The Thirty Years War

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Pope and Church had most wealth

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Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther by Martin Luther

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Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by Project Gutenberg.

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This is a picture of Martin Luther who was trying to reform the Roman Catholic Church (RCC)

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peasant's revolt

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Christian Humanism (can also fall under Religious)

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Diet of Worms , meeting of the (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire held at , , in 1521, made famous by Martin Luther 's appearance before it to respond to charges of . Because of the confused political and religious situation of the time, Luther was called before the political authorities rather than before the or a council of the Roman Catholic Church.

In June 1520 Pope condemned 41 of Luther's , but he also gave Luther time to recant. In response, Luther publicly burned the papal bull and refused to renounce his propositions. He was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church on January 3, 1521. While the emperor should then have arrested and executed Luther, the intervention of Luther's prince, Elector Frederick III the Wise of Saxony, led to the decision that he would appear for a hearing at the Diet under the emperor's safe-conduct.

On April 17, 1521, Luther went before the Diet. In response to questioning , he admitted that the books displayed before the court were his, but, when asked to repudiate them, he requested time to consider the question. The next day, again before the assembled Diet, Luther refused to repudiate his works unless convinced of error by or by reason. Otherwise, he stated, his conscience was bound by the Word of God. According to tradition, he said, "Here I stand; I can do no other." Disorder broke out at the conclusion of Luther's refusal to recant, and the emperor dismissed the Diet for the day.

A hero to many of the Germans but a heretic to others, Luther soon left Worms and spent the next nine months in hiding in the , near Eisenach. When it came to the question of what to do with him, the Diet remained divided. In May, after most of the rulers had left, a rump Diet headed by Emperor passed the Edict of Worms , which banned Luther's writings and declared him a heretic and an enemy of the state. Although the Edict mandated that Luther should be captured and turned over to the emperor, it was never enforced. Nevertheless, it inhibited Luther's travels throughout his lifetime and made him dependent on his prince for protection.

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Diet of Worms , meeting of the (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire held at , , in 1521, made famous by Martin Luther 's appearance before it to respond to charges of . Because of the confused political and religious situation of the time, Luther was called before the political authorities rather than before the or a council of the Roman Catholic Church.

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Calvinism was based off of the flounder John Calvin who was a follower of Martin Luther. Calvinsim was

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The translation of the bible from Latin to German allowed people to read and interpret the bible for themselves, rather than having to accept what the Catholic Church told the

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Luther's skills

Luther had studied at the University of Erfurt, where the humanities were a great influence. He gained a good knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, even if he was not as talented as Melanchthon and all those who were involved in his translation undertaking. He also had a very detailed, in depth knowledge of the German language, in its daily, political or diplomatic use:

"In my translation of the Bible I strove to use pure and intelligible German. Our quest for an expression could sometimes last four weeks without us being happy with our work. (...) In addition, I have not worked on my own: I recruited assistants from everywhere. I tried to speak in German, not Greek nor Latin. But to speak German one should not turn to texts in Latin. The house-wife, children playing, people in the street are those to learn from: listening to them teaches one how to speak and to translate - then they will understand you and know how to speak your language." (Luther, An Open Letter on Translating)

Last but not least, Luther's theological outlook ( salvation through grace) produced wording rather different from that of the most common Latin translation, Saint Jerome's Vulgate.

The main steps in the translating process

As early as 1517 Luther had already translated parts of the Bible, such as the penitential psalms, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Magnificat. Melanchthon was astounded by the quality of the translation and persuaded Luther to do a more systematic job. In 1521, while he was forced to stay in Wartburg, Luther translated the New Testament based on Erasmus's second edition (1517) from the original Greek, and inspired by some of the choices made by this humanist in his translation to Latin.

In 1523, he translated the Pentateuch, and, in 1524, the Psalms based on the Hebrew Old Testament and his Greek translation of it - the Septuagint.

Then, with a group of translators (Caspar Cruciger, 1504 -1548; Justus Jonas 1493 -1555; Mattaüs Aurogallus, 1490 -1543; who met weekly, he translated all the other books in the Old Testament, including those the Hebraic Canon had not kept because they were not written in Hebrew, but in Greek or Aramaic: the Deuterocanonical books. This great work was completed in 1534. The first edition was soon sold out. Many more followed in Luther's lifetime, among which one was illustrated by Albrecht Dürer and another by Lucas Cranach the Elder. In 1546, 500,000 copies of the whole Bible, published in 93 cities, were in circulation. The average price was two florins.

The choices

Like any translator Luther faced a challenging task, always subject to criticism and improvement. To do the task he stayed as close as possible to the original texts in Hebrew and Greek, and his awareness of their poetry and musicality was striking.

Furthermore, there were inevitably problems with comprehension and interpretation and he clearly presented the assumptions, the angles from which he had to choose:

In some specific cases, the reformer clearly took liberties with the text: for instance the shekel - currency of ancient Israel - became the Sibberling - the currency in Saxony at the time of Luther.

Most differences with existing translations were based on theological choices - besides the original texts, he had read the Septuagint, the Vulgate, as well as various translations of the Vulgate into vernacular languages. He had read widely (the Septuagint, Vulgate, various translations into the vernacular, as well as the original texts) and most differences between translations rested on theological differences. For instance, he saw the Psalms as waiting for the coming of Christ, so ran the risk of misinterpretation.

In his An Open Letter on Translating (1530), Luther gave some valuable hints about his working method. Taking the Annunciation (Luke 1; 28) as an example, he reflects on the meaning of the angel's greeting to Mary. The Vulgate offers: "Ave Maria, plena gratiae": "Hail Mary, full of grace". In these terms, Mary could be considered as able to intercede with God, and this interpretation was strongly supported in the teachings of the Catholic Church. But, theologically, it doesn't have to be this way. The Greek term corresponds to one in Hebrew, also found in Daniel, expressing a warm affectionate greeting. So Luther suggested the following translation: "Gegrüsset sei du, Holdselige": "Hail Mary, fair (hold) and blessed (selige)".

A number of other choices were significant: for example, God speaking to Moses in front of the Burning Bush "Ich werde sein, der ich werde sein": "I shall become whom I shall become". Dynamic overtones are given to account for the unaccomplished tense in Hebrew. Though Hebrew lends itself to this option, it is not always chosen. In French the most usual translation is "Je suis celui qui suis": "I am who I am".

Luther often made his choices clear in his sermons in which he explained his theology.

The spread of Luther's translations

Luther's translation, thanks to the way language was used, was a great success and vital to the spread of the Reformation in German speaking countries. His work was a considerable influence on the development of the German language. The different dialects were unified in Hochdeutsch, High German, with its romanticism revealing its literary and poetical qualities.

Obviously the translation would not be without errors. Some were quickly corrected, especially those relating to the book of Job. Others became apparent with the advances in linguistics and Biblical exegesis. Although Luther's translation has been extensively revised, the version in current use by German speakers has largely maintained the reformer's theology.

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Martin Luther, translator of the Bible - Musée virtuel du Protestantisme

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Luther had studied at the University of Erfurt, where the humanities were a great influence. He gained a good knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, even if he was not as talented as Melanchthon and all those who were involved in his translation undertaking.

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The printing press

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Luther's Bible in German

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Bible New Testament in German - Google Search

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Sex and Marriage-
Marriage changes between 1500 and 1800
Luther claimed that there should be "more use of sexual intercourse to avoid sin"

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Martin Luther translates bible into German to make it more vernacular which allows people to read scripture and use quotes of scripture in arguments

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Learn about Western Schism (Great Schism) and the Council of Constance which unified the Church

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Western Schism, also called Great Schism or Great Western Schism, in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the period from 1378 to 1417, when there were two, and later three, rival popes, each with his own following, his own Sacred College of Cardinals, and his own administrative offices.

Shortly after the return of the papal residence to Rome following almost 70 years of the Avignon papacy, the archbishop of Bari was elected pope as Urban VI amid demands by the Roman populace for "a Roman or at least an Italian." Urban VI proved to be so hostile to the cardinals, who had assumed great powers during the years at Avignon, that a group of cardinals retired to Anagni and elected one of themselves, Robert of Geneva, as Clement VII, claiming the election of Urban VI had been invalid because it was made under fear. Clement VII then took up residence at Avignon. Although Roman Catholic church historians generally agree that Urban VI and his successors were the legitimate popes, there has never been an official pronouncement to this effect.

The double election had disastrous effects upon the church. The followers of the two popes were divided chiefly along national lines, and thus the dual papacy fostered the political antagonisms of the time. The spectacle of rival popes denouncing each other produced great confusion and resulted in a tremendous loss of prestige for the papacy.

Various proposals for ending the schism were made, especially by the University of Paris, which suggested either mutual resignation or a decision by an independent tribunal or a general council. This last proposal was in line with the growing conciliar movement, according to which a general council has greater authority than a pope. Both lines of popes refused to submit. Eventually cardinals from both obediences, seeking to end the schism, arranged the Council of Pisa, which met in 1409 and elected a third pope, Alexander V, who was succeeded shortly thereafter by Baldassare Cossa, who took the name John XXIII. Under pressure from the emperor Sigismund, John convoked, in 1414, the Council of Constance, which deposed him, received the resignation of the Roman pope, Gregory XII, and dismissed the claims of the Avignon pope, Benedict XIII. That series of events opened the way to the election of Martin V in November 1417, whereby the schism was ended.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Melissa Petruzzello.

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Western Schism | History, Background, & Resolution

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Western Schism, in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the period from 1378 to 1417, when there were two, and later three, rival popes, each with his own following, his own Sacred College of Cardinals, and his own administrative offices. Learn about the history and resolution of the Western Schism.

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The Schmalkaldic War began between the Schmalkaldic leauge (an alliance of Protestant Princes) against Emperor Charles V

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Germany. The Schmalkaldic War (1547-1554) | CosmoLearning History

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Map Source: University of Texas at Austin, Perry-Castaneda Library, Map Collection http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ From "The Cambridge Modern History Atlas" edited by Sir Adolphus William Ward, G.W. Prothero, Sir Stanley Mordaunt Leathes, and E.A. Benians. Cambridge University Press; London. 1912

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King Henry

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Sex and Marriage-
Marriage changes between 1500 and 1800

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Martin Luther taught people to have a more personal relationship with God, so people starting praying more.

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The Printing Press was improved upon by Gutenberg and played a major part in increasing literacy rates, spreading the Bible once it was translated in vernacular, and Martin Luther's ideas and reforms

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Christian Humanism(can also fall under religious)

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Christian Humanism - New World Encyclopedia

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The ancient roots of Christian humanism may be seen in Jesus' teaching of the parable of the Good Samaritan and Saint Paul's emphasis on freedom from the external constraints of religious law, as well as the appeal to classical learning by the Christian apologists.

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Schools belonged to convents in the 16th century

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Prostitution for money

Luther said god would be friends with those womens but would not associate with them as in give them money

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John Calvin preached a form of catholism, believing in predestination.

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Monarchs and states began to gain power, not all power was controlled by the RCC which led to development of many nation states.

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Humanism allowed for the market to flourish as

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different sects of christianity developed