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.

Invasion of Poland

German soldiers break the barriers at the invasion of Poland.

One of the first photos of Dachau concentration camps.

Why I choose Germany

Taking a study abroad trip was something that I wanted to do the moment I came to North Central. My cousins all have taken a trip when they were in college and they come back telling me about how great of an experience they had. I play baseball here at North Central and it is very hard to study abroad with all the practices and games that we have over the entire year. D-Term is the only time of the year that I could take a study abroad course. I was talking with some of my friends and they wanted to take a trip too. We all thought that a trip to Germany would be a great time and an amazing experience.

My mom also was a big into study abroad trips. When she was in college she went to Ireland for a full term. She still talks about what happened and the people she met on the trip.
            I am very interested in seeing the difference between our culture and the culture of the Germans. I am very used to the way that we live our lives and I have heard that there is a different way the Germans go out their lives. I would like to also see the way they communicate with each compared to with our group. I have heard that some Germans treat Americans very different than how they treat people from Germany. Seeing what kind of food will be served at the restaurants we go to will be an interesting thing to see.
            The history of Germany has always been something that I have been interested in and wanting to learn from a first hand experience. Going to Germany will teach me way more than having read anything out of a book or article. In high school we learned a lot about Hitler and all the concentration camps that happened there. That was a terrible event that happened but also it had a huge impact around the world. Germany has a huge history with both of the World Wars and learning about the impact that it had on Germany and how they rebuilt after the damage it had to their land and people living there.
            Going to Germany will really open my eyes to other cultures and being able to compare my lifestyle with how another country lives theirs.
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Hey this is my blog. Hope everything is going well during finals week.