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Posted by Tel Asiado May 26, 2008 |
Great Thinkers Datbook: May 26, 1521
On March 26, 1521, Martin Luther was formally outlawed by the Edict of Worms.
Martin Luther was the German leader of the Protestant Reformation. He left the study of law in 1505 to become an Augustinian monk and later became a professor of theology.
His conversion to priesthood happened one night when he got caught in a terrible thunderstorm. He swore to God Almighty that if he survived it, he would enter the religious life. He did survive, and so he went on to study theology. He was ordained and became a professor in Wittenberg.
He took seriously his faith and agonized on the problem of salvation. Eventually, he decided that salvation was not won by good works or deeds but was a gift of God's grace. As he became more involved in the Church, he began to grow disillusioned with some of its practices. In particular, he was angry about the Church's sales of indulgences, said to decrease the time a person had to spend in purgatory. His beliefs made him the object to the sale of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1517 Luther posted his 95 Theses in Wittenberg. In so doing, he started a quarrel between him and the church leaders. He decided that the Bible was the true source of authority and renounced obedience to Rome. Further, he maintained his stand in debates with Johann Eck and at the Diet of Worms, in 1521.
As a result, he was ex-communicated but German princes supported him, and he quickly gained following among church members as well as the common people.
And so the Protestant Reformation began in Germany. Luther wrote hymns, catechisms, theological treatises, and translated the New Testament into German. Hymn singing has been very much a part of Protestant worship.