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Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses

The Ninety-Five Theses (1517) of Martin Luther (1483-1546) are often seen as marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Since the theses objected primarily to the sale of indulgences by the church the Reformation is often seen as being based principally on the problems of the Roman church's moral laxity and abuses of power. But Luther saw the corruption of the church as an inevitable consequence of the fact that it was merely a human institution and the theses derived not only from his objection to church abuses but from his belief that the church and Christian theology, as an expression of the authority of this worldly church, suffered from basic flaws that could only be corrected by reform efforts that went far beyond the mere correction of problems, such as the sale of indulgences, that were not just impoverishing the German people and states but were undermining their spiritual lives as well. A brief examination of the relationship between the theses and the contemporary corrupt practices of the church will be followed, therefore, by a discussion of the relationship between Luther's broader theological notions and the way the questions addressed by the theses provided a platform for a far more extensive overhaul of church doctrine.

When Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses against the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (1517) on the door of the collegiate church of Wittenberg he was, ostensibly, following a traditional method of notifying the scholarly community that he was prepared to debate the issues raised in the theses. But the strongly-worded theses, of course, deliberately served notice that a number of ecclesiastical abuses could neither be justified nor tolerated. In publishing these arguments Luther was not initially intent on generating a schism within the church and the historical name given to the movement he ignited--the Reformation--truly describes the effect he hoped to have. But while obj...

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Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:42, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1695312.html