Martin Luther is said to be one of the most controversial people in the Christian faith to this day. His ideas sparked a reformation like no other that would go on to change the Christian faith forever. Luther did not have the intentions of changing the Christian faith or destroying the unity of the church, but the time he was living is what decided that his ideas would spark a reformation (González, 21). Luther was born in 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. His father was of peasant origin and became a miner. Luther’s upbringing was not a happy one, but rather a sad one. His parents were said to have been very hard on him, which lead Luther to experience periods of anxiety and depression throughout his life.

In 1505, when Luther was twenty-two years old, he made the decision to join the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt. There were many factors that led Luther to make this decision to join the monastery. He felt overwhelmed by the fear of death and hell, and upon this he promised St. Anne that he would become a monk (González, 22). Later on in his life he explained that it was his harsh upbringing and childhood that led him to join the monastery. This greatly displeased his father because he had the hopes that Luther would go on to become a lawyer. His father saw this as a betrayal of his goals for his son (González, 22). Luther was also led to the monastery by the concerns of salvation and damnation. These were topics that haunted Luther. He eventually became a priest and while celebrating mass he would often have feelings of unworthiness of God’s love. At this time, he saw God as a severe judge. Luther also had an overwhelming sense of his own sinfulness. The more he attended confession and tried to rid himself of these sins, the more he became aware of them. Mysticism captured Luther for a time being, but he continued to question his feelings towards God and feel as if God was like his father and his teachers, who punished him (González, 23).

While reading and preparing lectures on the Bible, Luther found new discoveries and meaning in the passages. This was the beginning of Luther’s discoveries. While lecturing on the Epistle to the Romans, he found the solution to his difficulties. He adventured on a pilgrimage to Rome in search of a new meaning and comfort, but that is not what he found there. He saw a corrupt Papacy that was rooted in earthly concerns like money.

Luther published his famous Ninety-five Theses on October 31, 1517, which is often said to mark the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. His theses spread throughout Germany and eventually got sent to Rome where people were looking for Pope Leo to respond and put an end to it. The pope responded by asking the Augustinian Order to deal with the problem. He was called to the order’s next chapter meaning, where he was surprised to find some of his fellow friars were not against his teaching, but favored them.