Martin Luther: Hero or Heretic?

Eryn Johnston Period 7

Although, Martin Luther could easily be considered a heretic for his crimes against the Catholic Church, he is actually a hero, because he gave people a way to worship how they wished and showed the population in his time period that there was a lot the church was not telling them that was vital to their religion. By doing he became the hero for most protestant religions, especially Lutheranism which was the religion birthed off of his teachings. Martin Luther was a monk in the Catholic Church who devoted his life to his work. After becoming a monk though, he was worried that he wouldnt be good enough to receive salvation, so he immersed himself into scripture and after reading Romans 5 he came to the realization that he is justified by faith. Luther also found out that he did not have to work for salvation. On top of all of that he was upset by words the Catholic Church were saying to the people to get them to give the Church money and words that got them to fully back and be nicer to each other were not exactly what they seemed. He finally got fed up with this when Johann Tetzel, one of the best sellers of indulgences came to town with his slogan and jingle. These events lead Luther to post the 95 Theses on the church door of Whittenburg on October 31, 1517. This day was the day before All Saints Day, when everyone would be at church. The 95 Theses were created to show what needed to be fixed within the church. After doing this, Martin Luther was exiled from the Catholic Church for being a heretic when in fact he was an oblivious hero. Luther by committing these actions to change the church had in fact obliviously turned into hero and gave hope to those people within his country that did not wish to be a Catholic. These people could now become a protestant and learn and study in ways that were totally different from how they were taught to in the Catholic Church. He was also a hero, because he gave everyone a hope to go to heaven. In part of his teachings, he explained that salvation came from God and not just doing the right things, or from buying indulgences. This mainly gave hope to the financially challenged that now did not have to buy indulgences to make sure their family members were doing well in the after life. It also gave a lot of hope to those who had not always done right in life and by the Catholic Church wouldve been sent to hell. These people now only had the belief that they only had to repent and believe that God is their savior to go to heaven. Martin Luther also became a hero, because he created a new way of worship. This way of worship wasnt as structured or as strict as the Catholic Churchs way of worship, but it was easier for people to follow. Lutheran services were also all in the vernacular of that region instead of being in partially or mostly Latin.

Martin Luther: Hero or Heretic?

Eryn Johnston Period 7

Next, Luther was a hero for being the first to translate the New Testament into German, so the people could read it and understand it without having to be told it by others. This gave the people a chance to create their own views on what the Bible said. It also gave people the chance to do their own studying of the Bible and gave them the chance to realize how corrupt the Catholic Church was. Lastly, Luther was a hero, because he overthrew the reign of the Catholic Church. His actions started revolutions that would soon create war, but change the course of power in history. Later this revolutionary movement turned into one more about social revolution than political revolution and changed the course of history even more. Luthers crimes make the Catholic Church consider him a heretic, while I on the other hand consider him a hero. He is a hero, because he gave people a way to worship on their own and a better way for salvation. Also, Luther was a hero, because he was the first to translate the bible into German and because Martin Luther started a revolution that in turn changed the course of history.