MARTIN LUTHER AND THE REFORMATION

Read the article about Martin Luther and answer the following questions.

1) What was Martin Luther’s original plan with the Church?

To make improvements

2) What were the abuses of the church?

People could buy their forgiveness

3) What were they called?

They called themselves Lutherans
4) What did Martin Luther post on a door in Wittenberg?
He nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Wittenburg Castle
Church in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany).

5) How was the Lutherans different than the Catholic Church?

Lutheran churches were not all the same, and they did not all practice
the same forms of worship; some were more formal, like the Catholic Church.
6) Before they used to translate the services into their native languages
like German, what language was used?
They began to include more parts of the services in German and other
everyday languages, and less in Latin.

7) What did Luther do with the Bible which made it more accessible?
The Lutheran Church taught that the Bible, not the Pope, has the final
authority over what is right or wrong. It taught that people can be saved by
faith.

8) What happened to Luther with the Church?

More new churches formed and new sects, or religious groups who broke away from the
church, appeared. These new religious groups brought about changes in the way countries in
Europe were ruled.

9) How did Luther change religion?

10) With the 95 Theses, complete the following table.

Original Translation Contemporary Translation Summary of Luther’s


21. Therefore those
preachers of indulgences
are in error, who say that
by the pope's indulgences a
man is freed from every
penalty, and saved;
36. Every truly repentant
Christian has a right to full
remission of penalty and
guilt, even without letters
of pardon.
37. Every true Christian,
whether living or dead, has
part in all the blessings of
Christ and the Church; and
this is granted him by God,
even without letters of
pardon.
46. Christians are to be
taught that unless they
have more than they need,
they are bound to keep
back what is necessary for
their own families, and by
no means to squander it on
pardons.
argument (in your
own words)
21. The preachers who say Only God can forgive
a person’s soul is saved sins, not indulgences
through the sale of the
Pope’s indulgences is
wrong;
36. Every Christian who is You don’t have to
truly sorry for his errors pay to be forgiven
has the right to be
forgiven, without buying
indulgences.
37. Every Christian,
whether alive or dead,
deserves all of the
benefits of belief in Jesus
Christ and the Church; this
is given to him by God, not
by members of the Church
through the act of a
pardon, or indulgences.
46. The priests should
teach Christians that
unless they have more
money than they need,
they should keep their
money to spend on their
own families and not waste
it on buying pardons, or
indulgences.