i wrote this on martin luthers 95 theses and the main themes that run through it, except i cant think of a good ending sentence
In 1517 Martin Luther posted 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. In my opinion the list is very repetitive but has a few themes that stuck out. The themes I found were indulgences, the pope and the scriptures.
The most written about problem on the list is indulgences. Luther obviously didn’t feel it was fair for the a sinner to be able to pay his way out of purgatory and have people who are devout, but poor not be able to. “A sinner seeks out, and loves to pay, the penalties of his sins… indulgences dulls men’s consciousness, and tends to make them hate penalties,” and that, “One who gives to the poor or lends to the need does a better action than if he purchases indulgences.” Luther is trying to get the point across that money is not a matter of religion and shouldn’t be used in the act of redeeming. That we should stop paying our way out and help the others who have nothing. Another good point he makes is that it’s not justified to be doing this, for one it’s not fair. But this problem still exists. People who have more money are treated with more respect have more advantages and are viewed as better people most of the time. It will always be a common problem but Luther tried to help people’s awareness and show them a better way that was truer to their religion. It seemed that he didn’t even believe what the pope was doing with these indulgences was even helping the Christians at all, saying that, “He gives money for indulgences, gains no benefit from the pope’s pardon, but only occurs the wrath of God.” Ending?
Two other themes I found, intertwined with indulgences were the power of the pope and the scriptures. In the list Luther constantly brings up things the pope has done or said and how they contradict scriptures and the word. Right in the beginning of the list he talks about how the pope is taking authority over people when they are already dead, mainly in #10, “Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.” He doesn’t believe people should be able to get out of purgatory by the pope when they are already dead. For in the scripture it said that once dead, you go where intended and the pope can’t change that. Another thing Luther says the pope has done wrong is letting people buy there way out of purgatory. In the scripture, in the act of repenting you need to be true and it is a sacred thing which requires acts of repentance, indulgences not being one of them. Throughout the 95 theses Martin Luther goes over many different problems associated with the pope but there was one that seemed most important of all. The pope claims to absolve any sin, which ultimately means he’s saying he is equal to God. This really contradicts the most with everything that has to do with Christian religion because God is the supreme, no pope should be equal to him. He made this clear when he had said, “To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.” Martin Luther’s act of rebellion against the pope was a courageous act in light of the power the church had at the time.
His words on indulgences, the pope, the scriptures broke the dominance of the Catholic Church in Europe.
I would use that ^^^ as an ending sentence, execpt im not sure if its quite true, if it is please tell me
Luther's act in Wittenberg marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic church no longer dominates in Europe, but it took quite a while for it to lose its power. It did not happen overnight. The excommunication and anti-Catholic acts of Henry VIII in England, the Protectorate of Cromwell that ended the Catholic kings there, and the Thirty Years War in Germany were among important milestones along the way. The counterreformation is also an important phase.