95 Theses

The 95 Theses that Martin Luther hung on the door of the church. This sparked the Protestant Reformation.

Martin Luther talking to religious leaders

Martin Luther talking to the religious leaders of the church.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther is a very important religious leader that sparked religious and cultural change in Germany. Martin Luther wanted to break away from the governing body of the church because he felt like religion should be a personal connection between God and oneself. Luther drafted his famous 95 Theses which spoke out against the churches beliefs. Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the church, which unintentionally sparked the religious rebellion of the German citizens. Luther’s Theses was originally intended to publicly address his personal displeasure with the church. This is the first time that someone spoke up publicly about their problems with the governing body of the church. Whenever someone would speak out against the church, there would be severe punishments and consequences. Luther’s thoughts were quickly disregarded by the Pope and Luther was threatened with getting kicked out of the church. Luther was not afraid of the effects from the Theses because he was more worried about getting his views and points across. He wanted to make a change and he his ambition was to change how the church treats the people that attend.

Martin Luther was a revolutionary with his 95 Theses against the church. Luther firmly believed that religion should be a personal relationship between God and the believer. Martin Luther also had a very big impact on the German speaking countries. His 95 Theses and other pamphlets were sent to the German countries through the process of the printing press. This had a big impact because the printing press enabled other nations to see Luther’s views. More people agreed with Luther’s 95 Theses and made it a very powerful movement against the church. Luther did not mean for all of this to happen, but after his views were spread across the nation he had no other choice but to be the voice of the people. Luther wrote his own version of the Bible. Many of his new followers started reading his newly translated Bible instead of blindly following the ways of the priests and religious leaders.

Martin Luther changed the way people looked at their beliefs and views toward the church. Instead of just following what the church and religious leaders had to say, they started to have a closer relationship to God and follow their own ways.

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Emperor Charlemagne

Emperor Charlemagne. He is considered one of the greastes European rulers.

Martin Luther

Martin Luther nailing the 95 thesis to the church door.

Germany and America

In the thirteenth century, Rome was the center of western Christendom. The Pope and the Emperor were the two that lead all of the land. The Emperor lead the land by leading with his sword whereas the Pope lead with his appeals to the ancient rights. What I was reading, it made it seem like the Pope had a lot more say and power through out his kingdom than the Emperor. In one of the pictures, the Emperor is leading the Pope’s horse through the streets. This shows how the Pope was more powerful than anyone else in the kingdom. Germany is now a democracy and the Pope is still the leading figure for religion in Germany. It seems like the power that the Pope has now is no where close to what he use to have in the thirteenth century.

Religion was a huge part in the lives of Germans. The main religion throughout the German kingdom was Catholicism. This all happened until in the 16^th century Martin Luther wanted to change all that. The churches were making the people pay to have their sins forgiven and to be able to get into heaven. Martin Luther knew that this was wrong and told the people of Germany with his 95 thesis. The Protestant Reformation can be related to the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement has a leader who was just like Martin Luther. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the movement. Both Martin Luther and Martin Luther King had the majority of the people hate what they were fighting for. These two leaders really showed how to stand up for what they knew was right when the majority of the people did not want change. I believe that both of these events were major changing points in both Germany and the United States history. The Civil Rights Movement brought the whole country together, while for a while the Protestant Reformation split the kingdom into two parts during the Thirty Year War.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle. It is the most famous of the three royal castles.