LUTHER (APOLLO)

Martin Luther (born 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German professor of theology, priest, author, composer, Augustinian monk, and a seminal figure in the Reformation. Luther was ordained to the priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church; in particular, the view on indulgences. Luther proposed an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His refusal to renounce all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor.

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses against papal indulgences, or the atonement of sins through monetary payment, on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Germany. Within less than four years, the Catholic Church would brand Luther a heretic, and the Holy Roman Empire would condemn him as an outlaw. These were the early years of the Protestant Reformation, a turning point in history that would transform not only the Christian faith, but also the politics and society of all of Europe.

The clash between Luther and the Catholic Church in Rome was also history’s first “media event.” Johannes Gutenberg’s development of the moveable-type printing press about seventy-five years earlier had a profound impact on the spread of Luther’s thought. Thanks to the new technology, his theses soon reached a broad circulation that surprised even Luther. As he expanded his critique into other areas of church policy and the conflict with Rome intensified. Luther’s supporters in Germany’s vibrant print industry made many of his works the first “bestsellers” in history and Luther himself among the most famous men in Europe.

The following selections of Luther’s and other Reformation-era works at the Library of Congress document not only the progress of Luther’s thought as the conflict with Rome took shape, but also how printing in Germany blossomed into a mass medium as public interest in the controversy continued to grow.
Luther taught that salvation and eternal life are not earned by good deeds but are received only as the free gift of God’s grace through the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ. His theology challenged the authority and office of the pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge.
His translation of the Bible into the German vernacular made it more accessible to the laity, an event that had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation, the Tyndale Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry.

In two of his later works, Luther expressed antagonistic, violent views towards Jews and called for the burnings of their synagogues and their deaths. His rhetoric was not directed at Jews alone but also towards Roman Catholics, Anabaptists, and nontrinitarian Christians. Luther died in 1546 with Pope Leo X’s excommunication still in effect.