Luther’s understanding of repentance challenged the idea and practice of repentance that the church encouraged and preached. He does not believe that he sacrament of penance is legitimate for a few reasons. Luther takes issue with any practice that is regarded by the church as a sacrament besides baptism and communion, and penance is no difference. Additionally, “the pope [or any other members of the clergy] neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons” (“Ninety-Five Theses” Luther, 5). Luther is very adamant that the church and its clergy hold too much power that only truly belongs to God. He argues that priests do not truly have the ability to absolve people of their sins because “[God] willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance” (“Ninety-Five Theses” Luther, 1). In addition to people needing to devote their life to repenting for their sins, Luther explains that repenting and the sacrament of penance are not the same thing. The Catholic church’s view of sin is that if one receives penance after confessing their sins, they are absolved of their sins. But, according to Luther’s 2nd Theses, they are not one in the same because God wants us to spend our lifetime seeking forgiveness for our sins.

The specific historical events that led Luther to raise questions about purgatory and indulgences was when Pope X decided that he needed to raise funds to complete Saint Peter’s Basilica in 1517. He then did so by selling indulgences to the people of the church. This allowed them to then skip purgatory and be admitted direct entrance into Heaven to receive salvation. People could also purchase indulgences for their departed loved ones so they may leave purgatory. Luther has strong views on indulgences; he explains that the papacy does not have that sort of authority to absolve sin and the like. Additionally, believing that one thing purchased with money will bring salvation is completely misinterpreting what God wants for us to do during our lives.

Luther’s ideas challenge the church’s claim to authority by revoking most of their power. After examining Scripture, he realizes that the people of the clergy are over stepping into the role of God. He explains that it is untrue that the clergy and people of the church have the authority to make promises such as entrance into salvation from purgatory. Activities such as this and the fact that most people cannot read the Bible for themselves to make their own conclusions, they have no way to combat the actions of the clergy. The papacy was infuriated by the theses and did all they could to get Luther to revoke them.

Through Martin Luthers’ attacks on the three walls of Romanist Christianity and his Fool’s song, Luther humorously explains the corrupt and false pure inventions and unjust power that the Romanists held over all Christians. The Romanists created three walls in the Christian Church. These walls are used for protection of their beliefs and no one has been able to reform them. “When pressed by the temporal power they have made decrees and declared that the temporal power had no jurisdiction over them, but that, on the contrary, the spiritual power is above the temporal.” “When the attempt is made to reprove them with the Scriptures, they raise the objection that only the pope may interpret the Scriptures.” “If threatened with a council, their story is that no one may summon a council but the pope.” (pages 90-91).

Luther says that they created these walls so that Romanists can practice all of the “wickidness” that we see today. Luther explains that these three walls help to give and keep the power strictly in the hands of the Romans and all that is wrong, blasphemous, and greedy. Luther explains how the Romanists contain all of the power within these three walls saying, “In addition, they have given the pope full authority over all decisions of a council, so that it is all same whether there are many councils or no councils. They only deceive us with puppet shows and sham fights. They fear terribly for their skin in a really free council. They have so intimidated kings and princes with this technique that they believe it would be an offense against God not to be obedient to the Romanists in all their knavish and ghoulish deceits.” (91).

Luther states that we should begin by breaking down the first wall. He says that all Christians are of the spiritual estate and that there is no difference between Christians and the popes and priests that claim to be all Christians superiors and deem themselves the spiritual estate. Luther argues that we are all the spiritual estate because there are no boundaries between Christians and God Himself, contrary to what the Romanists have told Christians. Luther refers to Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 and says that “we are all one body, yet every member has its own work by which it serves the others. This is because we all have one baptism, one gospel, one faith, and are all Christians alike; for baptism, gospel, and faith alone make us spiritual and a Christian people.” Luther also references Peter in 1 Peter 2:9, explaining that essentially we are all priests through baptism. He also quotes Revelation (Revelation 5:9-10) saying, “Thou hast made us be priests and kings by blood.” Luther goes on to quote Romans and John scriptures, among others. Luther quotes John 6:45, saying that all Christians are to be taught by God. He interprets this as giving all Christians the right and opportunity to decipher scriptures and their meanings for themselves, as it pertains to their own individual relationship with God. Luther goes on to explain that the Romanists have no reasoning to their beliefs. They claim that priests and the pope were given the right to be the only ones able to read and decode scripture because St. Peter was given the keys. However, Luther says that the keys were not given to Peter alone, but the entire community, making the Romanists’ viewpoint invalid. Lastly, Luther claims that the third wall falls on its own as the previous two have been demolished. Luther quotes Matthew 18:15-17, explaining that the scripture says that if you sin against your brother, you are to go and tell your brother, and your brother alone. If he does not listen to you, take one or two others. If he does not listen to them, tell it to the church. If he does not listen to the church, consider him a heathen. It is clear that all sins should be discussed between sinners and the church, such as the popes and priests, should be the last people you consult. Luther says that the pope is an “offense to Christendom.” It is clear with his references to scriptures that using the ability to read and interpret scripture on his own, which is ironically and humorously what the Romanists fight against, is his favorite tactic when taking down the Romanists’ walls of Christianity.

Luther also breaks down the Romanists walls of Christianity by creating scenarios through storytelling, comparisons, name-calling, and humor. He humorously refers to these Romanist walls as “paper walls.”

Martin Luther uses his humor, sarcasm, wit, and intelligence to mock and correct the corrupt ways of the Romanist church in his fool’s song. Martin Luther introduces his fool’s song, saying, “Now, although I am too insignificant a man to make propositions for the improvement of this dreadful state of affairs, nevertheless I shall sing my fool’s song through to the end and say, so far I am able, what could and should be done, either by the temporal authority or by a general council” (95). His proposals in this fool’s song that I found to be most damaging to the Romanist Christian church are:

(1) Every prince, every noble, every city should henceforth forbid their subjects to pay annates to Rome and should abolish them entirely.

(3) The council of Nicaea should be restored and no bishop’s cloak and no confirmation of any dignity shall be secured from Rome.

(9)The pope should have no authority over the emperor, except the right to anoint and crown him at the altar just as a bishop crowns a king

(17) Certain penalties or punishments of canon law should be abolished, too, especially the interdict

(23) The brotherhoods, and for that matter, the indulgences, letters of indulgence, butter letters, mass letters, dispensations, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end. There is nothing good about them.

These are the most damaging because they are frequent wrongful actions of the Romanist Christian Church or they are large advances to the ideal Christianity in Martin Luther’s opinion in his educated experience.

In Martin Luther’s The Freedom of a Christian, we find a good example of Luther’s biting wit. On the outside, this letter seems to try and reason with the Pope, and is written in a conciliatory manner. But easily you can see Luther attack the Popes character, through a roundabout fashion. While directly saying he speaks no ill will of the Pope, he does write of the Popes subjects and his surroundings in such a way that it would be impossible not to see them as attacks on the Pope himself. Luther criticizes the Pope’s See, calling it more corrupt than and Babylon or Sodom. In doing so, he is also criticizing the Pope, as it is his ruling that effects his See. If not addressing the Popes own corruption, he is instead addressing the Popes lack of power. He quotes scripture saying that the Pope lives amongst lions, or scorpions. Luther says that the Pope would be powerless against these men, and can do nothing to remedy the situation. Further on, Luther encourages the pope to not listen to those who would hold him up as a demigod, stating he is but a man. If the Pope himself believes he is higher than others, or deserving of whatever he wants, than again this is a criticism of his ways.

Luther goes on to talk of freedom, and the notion of two conflicting ideas in the scripture. The first idea: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.” Conflicts with this second idea: “A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” These statements are the basis of his thesis of freedom, in which as a perfectly free lord, each true Christian chooses to serve and be subject to all others. These two ideas are mirrored in the depiction of the man, who is described two fold. On one hand his soul, on the other, his body. On the outside, any man can eat, live well and prosper. Their bodies might be healthy, and they might live a lavish lifestyle, but they can still be sinful. On the inside, even if a man is wholly righteous and dutiful to god, he may still be subject to misfortunes in his daily life. In this worship, and being subject to god, can a man be free. For while an unholy man can do as he please, but in the end this will work against them. Even if a holy man is subject to cruelty, in Gods victories can he find his own victories, and be free along side him.

These ideas so wholly work against the Pope and the established church. At the time, you were dependent on the church. You payed for salvation, and helped keep the priests in good living situations. While you may slave away daily to make scraps, you were still expected to fund the lavish lifestyles of the clergy. This was because, only through the church could you be close to god. They restricted who could read and interpret the scripture. They enforced rituals that were taught to be the only way to cleanse your soul and live a holy life. In this way, they could control the population, because all feared death, and a life without god. The idea that you could only be close to god through the church was constantly reinforced, and many people knew no other lifestyle. Luther’s writings said that none of this was necessary. Your outward lifestyle did not matter, and to an extent the only thing that did matter was your inner person, and your personal relationship with god. You could cast away the different sacraments, and you had no use for the idolatry of the church, when even a man who prayed silently and kept to himself could be close to god as long as he lived a pious inner life. These teachings would undermine the power that the Pope and the church had over people, removing their necessity. If these ideas became mainstream, they would lose their flow of money, and lose their place in society. They would not have power over the masses, because they would not be necessary for the religious health of their subjects.

In Martin Luther’s theses 1-4 he challenges the church’s sacrament of confession, or repentance. Instead of the traditional Catholic ritual of professing sins to clergy then being saved through the verbal act, Luther claims that repentance is an inner process done throughout ones lifetime. The salvation that repentance produces, according to Luther comes from a life of inner peace, or through faith in God. This approach is more personal than the channel using using a pope or bishop to commune with God one’s sins.

Luther in these theses is reflecting on the Pope’s lavish personal use of indulgences. After Luther spent time in the monastery he made a pilgrimage to Rome. There he was shocked at how the use of money was being used by the church to support hunting homes and the grandiose lifestyles of clergy members. The lessons that he learned in the monastery regarding renunciation from all material goods, was being disregarded blatantly. In theses 43-45 Luther specifically brings attention to the Christian philosophy of giving to the poor as good, versus giving money to the Pope for indulgences which are fabricated by the church itself. Referencing Luke specifically, the New Testament places emphasis on giving to those in need. The Pope is asking for the exact opposite, more money to fill the empty coffers of the wealthy clergy members.. Indulgences were sold for salvation and freedom from purgatory. Luther in his talking points 83-84  renounces purgatory by calling out the use of funerals to make money for the church. The state of the dead is a tool to “build new churches” and exploits the friends and relatives of the dead who could be in a state of traumatic mourning.

Luther continually backs his theology using the Bible as reference and God, Christ, as the Word- above the Pope. The Pope, and tradition have no authority over scripture, which is true and pre-dates the Church. The Pope is threatened by Luther’s claims because if valid, then there would be no need for his position. He responds through the publication of the Papal Bull, “Exsurge Domine”, a document spread throughout German territories demanding Luther’s publications to be burned and Luther himself to “submit to Roman authority”(Gonzalez, 33). The actual document reached Luther after reaching many of the territories first, and by the time it was delivered Luther took it and burned it publicly with other false publications of the Pope.

Seeing the sixteenth century Catholic Church as intensely flawed, Martin Luther wrote extensively on what he perceived to be the main issues with the institution. In the document “To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation,” Luther posits that there are three distinct “walls” that have been constructed around the church hierarchy, thus causing the church to be rendered incapable of reform. The first wall was metaphorically erected due to the church’s contention that spiritual power is non-negotiably superior to temporal power. Next, the second wall was structured around the church’s concept that only the pope had the ability to accurately interpret the sacred scriptures. Finally, the third wall was contingent on the belief that a council could only be summoned by the pope himself.

In addressing the first wall, Luther declared that the church’s teaching that only their clergy are members of the spiritual state while all others are of the temporal state amounts to “deceit and hypocrisy” (91). Luther contends that instead, “all Christians are of the spiritual estate” (91). He utilizes scripture to support his argument, claiming Saint Paul teaches that Christians are all collectively one body, and thereby all compose the spiritual realm. Luther quotes Paul’s teachings by citing Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Peter 2, with each verse echoing the idea that all Christians compose one united body. Further, Luther sarcastically rebukes the church’s ritual of ordination, reducing it to only a bishop “prescrib(ing) garb different from that of the laity” (91). He insists that no form of consecration can make a man into a spiritual Christian. To continue in his attack on this “wall,” Luther proposes an analogy in which ten Christian laymen are deserted with no ordained priest. If one of these members were to preach the gospel and perform the sacrament of baptism, Luther asserts that his actions would indeed be valid in the eyes of God. Therefore, Luther contends that the role of the bishop and priests is wholly unnecessary, and there is no basic difference between the layman and the church clergy.

The second wall Luther deconstructed involved the doctrine of papal infallibility, meaning that “the pope cannot err in matters of faith” (93). Luther exposes the hypocrisy of this belief, rhetorically asking the question that if this statement was objectively truthful, what need would there be for scriptures? He sarcastically suggests that the scriptures be burned so all with be “satisfied with the unlearned gentlemen at Rome who possess the Holy Spirit” (93). Sarcasm appears to be the primary strategy Luther utilizes to convey his points, as he finds it the most effective means of capturing people’s attention. Continuing, Luther again makes reference to St. Paul’s 1 Corinthians, this time choosing a verse that corresponds to divine revelation being available for all (93). Luther points to John 6, which claims that Christians shall be taught by God, and therefore the pope is not qualified to make statements on behalf of the Father. To go further, Luther points to the absence of scriptural support available for the church’s position, meaning that the Bible does not give the pope ultimate and singular authority. The church had long contended that Christ handed the keys to the kingdom to St. Peter, and he followed this tradition by passing the metaphorical keys along to each of his papal successors. However, Luther disputes this tradition, instead positing that the keys were not handed to Peter alone, but rather to the whole community of believers.

Luther claims that this this wall would fall on its’ own accord once the first two have been demolished. He begins this argument by again pointing to the lack of scriptural basis for the belief that the pope alone has the authority to call a council. Luther’s theory of “Sola Scriptura,” or by the scriptures alone, proves to be a prevalent and guiding force throughout his arguments. Luther points to a passage in Acts 15 which he interprets as a direct contradiction to this particular church teaching. In this chapter, a council is called not by St. Peter, but by the group of apostles and their elders. If that right was to be given to Peter alone, Luther claims, “the council would not have been a Christian council, but a heretical” one instead (94). Luther propounds that when the pope is at fault, the temporal authorities should have a moral responsibility to call a council and rectify the situation. He then puts forward another analogy, but rhetorically asking if it would be logical to watch a fire burn in a city, and to wait for the proper authorities to arrive, even if the observers had the ability to offer their assistance. Luther returns to the teachings of Paul, who in 2 Corinthians instructs that God has prescribed His followers with the authority to prevent Christendom from ruination. If the pope were to ever refuse a council, Luther argues that this would be a contribution to the destruction of the church, and therefore must be prevented.

To conclude his document, Luther gives his “fool’s song,” which offers a list of ideas that he thinks should be enacted to reform the church. One of his opening proposals is that “the Christian nobility should set itself against the pope” (96). This particular proposition was a direct attack on the head of the Catholic Church, and one that the established institution could not reconcile. Additionally, the ninth decree of the song proposed that the pope should have no power over the emperor, which would eliminate or at least severely reduce the pope’s role in the secular world. He continues to request in nonspecific terms that certain elements of canon law should be eliminated, despite the fact that the church believed the divinely revealed law to be unchangeable. Finally, Luther concludes his document by claiming that the practice of indulgences was to be eliminated immediately. Ceasing the collection of indulgences would put a huge financial strain on the institutional church, but Luther nevertheless insisted that the immorality of the practice was simply too great for it to be allowed to continue.

When Luther evaluates the claims of papal authority and the extravagant lives these authority figures are leading, he realizes there are inherent flaws. He see’s that the Romanist have three walls that they use to defend their authority and lifestyles. These walls are the decrees declaring that temporal power had no jurisdiction, only the pope can interpret scripture, and that no one can summon a council but the pope. These walls keep the powerful in charge and prevent anyone else from questioning their power. Luther seems to favor using scripture to demolish these walls. For the first wall he calls upon scripture to attack papal authority and prove that we are all one body within the Christian church and every member has to work to serve other members – one person does not have ultimate authority. To destroy the second wall, Luther calls upon scripture and sarcasm. He sarcastically states that because the Romanists see no use in scripture, all scripture should just be burned and everyone should be content with unlearned men running Rome. To break down the third wall, Luther relies on scripture yet again. He says that we need to rely on scripture to reprove and restrain the pope; we can accuse the pope and thus call the church together.

Luther’s writing of Fool’s Song proposes over twenty ways that the Church needs to reform in order be restored and follow gospel teachings. There were three main proposals that stood out as damaging to the church as an institution. The first was setting the Christian nobility against the pope. At this time, the Church relied so heavily on support from nobility that without it, the Church could crumble. The nobility upheld and funded the papacy. This proposal could effectively end the papal authority. The second proposal was to abolish pilgrimages to Rome. Having pilgrimages to Rome enables the pope to declare Rome as a holy site and bring revenue into that area. This also supported the papal authority because people would pilgrimage to the pope’s home and essentially make pilgrimages to the pope himself. Pilgrimages are for holy sites and to commemorate holy beings. The third proposal was to end the sale of indulgences. This threatened the presumed power of the pope to forgive sins and would end a majority of funding for the Church. If the Church were to lose papal authority and funding from European countries at the time, there was the possibility of the organization collapsing, especially with such a strong force threatening it.

When Martin Luther was a young boy he was raised in a strict household where he endured harsh punishment by not only his father but his mother as well. His life was centered around the church and he was an alter boy as well as a member in the choir. His father had a very particular way he intended his son to grow up, he was to attend the best schools and become a lawyer. Luther took his studies very seriously while in college but nearing graduation the black plague struck and because of how it spread throughout the cities it was seen to be an act of punishment by God. While the plague was moving he was heading back home to visit his parents and got himself stuck in a near death experience in a thunderstorm. In these moments Martin vowed to God that if He spared him that he would become a monk. Martin lived and held up to his vows and went against his parents and joined the Augustinian monastery. The Augustinian monastery was a very strict monastery, the monks wore uncomfortable clothing, ate minimally, and had to be present and pray at certain times everyday and every night. He thought that this was the best place for him to separate from Earthly pleasures and devote himself completely to God. While this may be what he thought going into the monastery it isn’t what he felt he was getting out of it so he went to Rome for pilgrimage which instead of helping him feel closer it just angered him that the Papacy was overly concerned with money and material objects. This just confused him more and made him doubt his relationship with God and unsure of what he was doing there. Later becoming a priest and having to teach others the word of the Lord frightened him because he became more aware of his true feelings towards God which turned into hatred. He discovered something in Romans 1:17 that people didn’t earn their way into heaven with their righteous acts but instead it was God who saved them. This new idea was very different than the current views at the time because by saying this it meant that the church was not needed to be the middle man for an individual and God but instead the relationship could just be as is without the church. Martin Luther saw a lot wrong with the church but when he realized Pope Leo was selling forgiveness to make himself better off was when Luther wrote and published his Ninety-five Theses which talked about the wrongfulness of selling forgiveness when it wasn’t the churches to sell. The church was not happy with what he had done and wanted to get rid of it before it corrupted too many. But, because his work was printed on the new technology, the printing press, it made it easily accessible to all. Martin Luther’s theses sparked the feud between his followers and the church was the starting point for the reformation.

One man set out on a journey in order to seek redemption for his sins, but instead challenged the views and  beliefs of everyone around him. Martin Luther became one of the most influential theologians of the 15th and 16th century. He challenged the common principles and beliefs of Roman Catholicism, which ultimately led to a revolution known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s most notable writing was the Ninety-five Theses, which caused a pandemonium of his era.

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany where he lived with his mother and father. His life was not an easy one, his parents believed strongly in unpleasantly rough punishments. Luther’s father was a miner who wanted better for his son, so he made sure to put Luther in the best schools, so he could become a lawyer. Luther did not become a lawyer instead he became a monk. His father was not pleased with this change of course but eventually forgave his son.The strictness of Luther’s upbringing was thought to be the reason of his depression and anxiety. These events caused him to seek a greater purpose in life, one that he found within the church.

In 1505 Luther experienced a life changing event. While he was traveling he became caught in a thunderstorm. Although the exact events of what happened are not known the situation changed Luther’s life. Filled with fear of what was to come after death, Luther promised to St. Anne that he would abandon his father’s dream of him becoming a lawyer and would instead dedicate his life as a monk. Luther joined the church as an obedient servant of God, with the thought of salvation, in his mind. He was a dedicated monk who would go beyond what other monks did in order to feel worthy of God’s love. He viewed God as a severe judge, just like his father and teachers.

Martin Luther’s study of mysticism made him realize that he did not need to know all and every one of his sins, all he had to do was love God. This view of God was not easy for Luther and he soon realized he did not feel love for God but instead hate. After his confessor appointed him to teach scripture at the University of Wittenberg, he soon realized what the gospel really was teaching. Luther concluded, from the verse Romans 1:17, that God wants to give you His righteousness and goodness. This new meaning replaced Luther’s hatred to God with love. As he went to Rome he saw the corrupt power that Pope Leo X had and saw all the indulgences the pope endeavored in. Luther wrote Ninety-five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, which talked against the profit that was designed by powerful people.

The church was not pleased with Luther’s new ideas and wanted to put a stop to it soon before it spread, but it was too late. The printing press spread copies all throughout Germany in both latin and german. This caused the pope to seek help in order to silence and deal with Luther. Luther’s teachings were seen as heresy which started a feud between the church and Martin Luther’s followers.

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.