Young Martin Luther: Effects on Catholicism Before the Lutheran Reformation

Martin Luther had a renowned effect on the Catholic faith in the past and today. Most people focus on what he did during the reformation rather than before, that is precisely what I am not going to do. I am going to focus on his life before the reformation and what could have leaded him to this task of great importance. In short I would like to answer the question of WHY?

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany to Hans and Margarethe Luther, on November 10, 1483. He was baptized the next morning, on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. His Family moved to Mansfeld in 1484, where his father operated copper mines. Hans Luther was determined to see his eldest son become a lawyer. He sent his son to schools in Mansfeld and in 1497, Magdeburg. Martin attended a school there operated by a lay group called the Brethren of the Common Life. In 1498, he attended school in Eisenach. In 1501, at the age of seven, he entered the University of Erfurt where he played the lute and was nicknamed "the philosopher." He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1502 and a Masters degree in 1505, placing second out of seventeen candidates. In accordance with his father's wishes, Luther enrolled in the law school at the same university. According to Luther, the course of his life changed during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1505. A lightning bolt struck near him as he was returning to school. Terrified, he cried out, "Help! Saint Anna, I'll become a monk!" He left law school, sold his books, and entered to the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt on July 17^th 1505. Luther dedicated himself to monastic life. He devoted himself to fasts, long hours in prayer and pilgrimage, and constant confession. Luther tried to please God through this dedication; instead however, it increased his awareness of his own sinfulness. He would later remark, "If anyone could have gained heaven as a monk, then I would indeed have been among them." Luther described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. He said, "I lost hold of Christ the Savior and Comforter and made of him a stock-master and hangman over my pour soul." Johann von Staupitz Luther's superior, concluded that the young monk needed more work to distract him from excessive rumination and ordered him to pursue an academic career. In 1507 he was ordained to the priesthood, and in 1508 he began teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg. He received a Bachelor's degree in biblical studies on March 9^th 1508, and another Bachelor's degree in the Sentences by Peter Lombard in 1509. On October 19^th 1512, he was awarded his Doctor of Theology and on October 21^st 1512, was received into the senate of the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg, having been called to the position of Doctor in Bible; he spent the rest of his career in this position at the University of Wittenberg. (Schaff-Herzog) So to recap even after thinking that he was imprisoned in Catholicism and his Superiors thought he wasn't cut out for straight monk ness, so to say, he went on probably becoming one of the most philosophic men in the Catholic faith. After Three Bachelor's Degrees, a Masters Degree, and a Doctorate; he still seemed unhappy.

His predecessors John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were very influential in his life. Wycliffe believed that the Bible ought to be the common possession of all Christians, and needed to be made available for common use in the language of the people. National honor seemed to require this, since member of the nobility possessed the Bible in French. Portions of the Bible had been translated into English, but there was no complete translation. Wycliffe set himself to the task. While it is not possible exactly to define his part in translation there is no doubt that it was his initiative, and that the success of the project was due to his leadership. From him comes the translation of the New Testament, which was smoother, clearer, and more readable than the rendering of the Old Testament by his friend Nicholas of Hereford. The books and tracts of Wycliffe's last six years include continual attacks upon the papacy and the entire hierarchy of his times. Each year they focus more and more, and at the last, the pope and the Antichrist seem to him practically equivalent concepts. (Brill) As you can see the similarity in the ideals and concepts between Martin Luther and John Wycliffe makes for a very strong influence. Another influence of Martin Luther's was Jan Hus. To show a similarity between Luther and Hus, on December 4^th 1414, the Pope had entrusted a committee of three bishops with a preliminary investigation against him. The witnesses for the prosecution were heard, but Hus was refused an advocate for his defense. Influence on the states of Europe and on Martin Luther himself. The Hussite Wars resulted in the Basel Compacts which allowed for a reformed church in the Kingdom of Bohemia. (Auflage 1987) All three of these men, Martin Luther, Jan Hus, and John Wycliffe were similar in their ways to reform the church. They all knew that to get the word out they needed to translate the bible, visually notify the towns' people and the countries people, they each were influence by some type of so called "Divine intervention." However, Martin Luther's campaign was so successful partially due to the fact that he had a printing press and was able to distribute his 95 thesis to practically everyone.

What I believe had lead him to his decision to reform the church was many different things. First his decision to go to Rome had a great influence on this. There he saw the corruption, the greed, and the lavishness that the papacy had been living in and new that this was wrong. He returned and immediately started to think about what he could do. To describe it more thoroughly in 1510 or 1511, he was sent on a mission to Rome, and he has described very vividly what he saw and heard there. On his return from Rome, he was made a Doctor of the Holy Scriptures, and his career as a reformer may be said to have commenced. Money was largely needed at Rome, to feed the extravagances of the papal court; and its numerous missionaries sought everywhere to raise funds by the sale of "indulgences," as they were called for the sins of frail humanity; the principal of these was John Tetzel, a Dominican friar, who had established himself at Juterboch, on the borders of Saxony. Luther's indignation at the shameless traffic which the man carried on soon became irrepressible; "God willing," he exclaimed, "I will beat a hole in his drum." He dew out 95 theses on the doctrine of indulgences, which he nailed up on the gate of the church at Wittenberg, and which he offered to defend in the university against all opponents. The general Thrust of these was to deny to the pope all right to forgive sins. "If a sinner was truly contrite, he received complete forgiveness. The pope's absolution had no value in and for itself." This sudden and bold step of Luther's was all that was necessary to awaken a widespread excitement. The news of it spread far and wide. (Sacklunch.net-biography of martin Luther)

Another influence in his life was his mind. From the readings that I took part in I came to the conclusion that he thought about way too many things. This confusion lead to his desire for some clarity and unfortunately at the time he was not able to receive that from the church, only from God. From the beginning his parents didn't seem to have much influence on his decision to reform the church only on his decision to become a subject of Academia. However this, I believe, was a large influence on him. At the time not many people were as well educated as he was and this in turn made him more of a free thinker.

Luther also had influences elsewhere that caused him to befriend the Jewish people. He believed that Jesus was born a Jew just like most Christians believe today. In his 1523 essay, That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, Luther condemned the inhuman treatment of the Jews and urged Christians to treat them kindly. Luther's fervent desire was that Jews would hear the Gospel proclaimed clearly and be moved to convert to Christianity. Thus he argued: If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, he would sooner have become a hog than a Christian. They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property. When they baptized them they show them nothing of Christian doctrine or life, but only subject them to popishness and mockery....If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles ... When we are inclined to boast of our position we should remember that we are Gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ. We are aliens and in-laws; they are blood relatives, cousins, and brothers of our Lord. Therefore, if one is to boast of flesh and blood the Jews are actually nearer to Christ than we are ... If we really want to help them, we must be guided in our dealings with them not by papal law but by the law of Christian love. We must receive them cordially, and permit them to trade and work with us, that they may have occasion and opportunity to associate with us, hear our Christian teaching, and witness our Christian life. If some of them should prove stiff-necked, what of it? After all, we ourselves are not all good Christians either. (Swan, James) This passage clearly shows us that Martin Luther was way ahead of his time. His theories how Christians should act are vary similar to the Christian theories of today, basically stating the anyone who is willing is welcome, and anyone who is not well their welcome too.

So Martin Luther's biggest influence on his decision to reform Catholicism was himself. His own tormented mind, his life decisions, his acknowledgement of the one true God, his education, his two idols (Hus and Wycliffe) and the continuing gluttony of his superiors made him believe that everyone should be able to have there own opinion of Christianity and God.

Through the many classes I have taken that have dove into this topic; I have come to the conclusion that Catholicism was first and foremost a tyranny of the people. They kept them from writing what they wanted to writing, acting how they wanted to act, and living. Jesus did not teach this and neither did Martin Luther. To answer the question that I stated in the first paragraph of WHY? I would say because it was his destiny to bring out the truths of religion to the Germanic people and ultimately the World.
Bibliography

1. Sacklunch. October 12^th 2002. Biography of Martin Luther. December 20^th 2006 http://www.sacklunch.net/biography/L/MartinLuther.html

2. Swan, James. Martin Luther and the Jews. December 20^th 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_the_Jews

3. Public Domain. Martin Luther. Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. December 20^th 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schaff-Herzog_Encyclopedia_of_Religious_Knowledge

4. Kirsch, J. (1911). The Reformation. December 20^th 2006. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12700b.htm

5. Gods and Generals. Martin Luther. December 20^th 2006. http://www.godsgenerals.com/person_m_luther.htm?src=overture

6. Richard Friedenthal: Jan Hus. Der Ketzer und das Jahrhundert der Revolutionskriege. 2. Auflage 1987.

7. A Companion to John Wycliffe, Late Medieval Theologian (Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition; 4). Edited by Ian C. Levy. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2006