Luthers Three Treatises

Author : Martin Luther
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (211 download)

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Download or read book Three Treatises written by Martin Luther and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-03 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Martin Luther posted the Ninety-five Theses in Wittenberg in 1517. In the years that followed, Luther defended his position in numerous writings. Chief among these are the three treatises from Luther's Works. Included in this volume of Martin Luther's Three Treatises are his treatises on Baptism, Good Works, and the New Testament.Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was a German monk who became the father of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther criticized aspects of the Catholic Church and the idea of Papal infallibility. In particular, he believed that it was Scripture alone - and not priests or the Church - which had authority to interpret the word of Christ. Martin Luther also translated the Bible into German, making it more accessible to the public.Martin Luther's Three Treatises is a text that is commonly used as a seminary textbook as theology students seek to learn more about Lutheran Doctrine and what it means to be a Lutheran Christian. A little about the history of Martin Luther: His father was relatively wealthy and paid for his son to gain an education in Magdeburg and Eisenach.In 1501, Martin Luther became a student at the University of Erfurt. At the request of his father, he studied law, but he soon abandoned law, desiring instead to study philosophy and theology. Ultimately, Luther was dissatisfied with just reason and intellectual studies and decided to become a monk so he could devote his life to God.Luther's time as a monk was challenging. He engaged in many practices of denial - fasting, endless hours of prayer and frequent confession, but he felt an inner spiritual emptiness. Luther became very critical of himself and the ways he saw his behavior as faltering. He felt his sinful nature becoming magnified rather than transformed. He shared his thoughts with a spiritual director and the spiritual director gave him more work so he wouldn't become so introspective.As well as being aware of his own failing, he became more and more concerned with corruption within the church, which he felt was not in keeping with Biblical scripture. In 1510, he visited Rome on behalf of Augustinian monasteries and was shocked at the level of corruption he found.In 1517, Martin Luther protested the sale of indulgences. (Buying an indulgence gave the person full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven). Martin Luther argued that is was only faith that could provide the remission of sin and not monetary payments to the church."We believe that the very beginning and end of salvation, and the sum of Christianity, consists of faith in Christ, who by His blood alone, and not by any works of ours, has put away sin, and destroyed the power of death."95 ThesesOn 31 October 1517, Luther posted ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. These theses pointed out the corruption in the Catholic church. He also posted a handwritten copy to the Archbishop of Magdeburg, Albert of Mainz. The 95 theses of Martin Luther were critical of many practices relating to baptism and the sale of indulgences for the remittance of sin. He also indirectly challenged the Pope's legitimacy, #86 included:"Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of Saint Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?" (95 Theses)Within a few weeks, Martin Luther's ideas had spread throughout Germany becoming widely known. (Some of this information is from: https://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/martin-luther.html)Today there are hundreds of thousands of Lutheran churches throughout the world. The Lutheran church continues to study and promote the theology that Martin Luther inspired.