Arguably the most influential German who ever lived, the impact of Martin Luther on 16th century Europe has reverberated across the centuries and around the globe. Symbolizing a split within Christianity between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, Luther's character is largely responsible for- and should be regarded as inextricably linked with- his greater contribution to religious thought (World Book Encyclopedia, 460). Luther's skepticism, faith and fortitude, his dedication to scholarship and his unremittance nature in the face of adversity make for a remarkable host of characteristics that lent force to an already indomitable idea. And yet, in spite of Luther's impressive persona and inspiring clarity, his contributions are not without stain; it was perhaps Luther's suspicious and skeptical nature that also contributed to his regrettable and wrongheaded assessment of the Jewish culture (Ostling, 101).
In 1517 when Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a door at the Wittenburg castle church, he advanced a notion that many would soon find appealing: that Christianity was deeply personal, that only total faith in Christ could assure salvation, and that a person need only the scriptures to achieve true faith and with it, redemption (Parker, 105-8). For Luther, every man that wielded a Bible could become his own priest before God. Of course, the none-too-subtle implication of this idea was that man need not have an actual, ordained priest in order to be saved; nor did the common man need to play the game of the papal order, buying or bartering his salvation by way of "indulgences". These indulgences were "papally controlled dispensations drawn from an eternal 'treasury of merits' built up by Christ and the Saints" (Ostling, 101); an indulgence was intended to reduce or erase the amount of time a sinner would have to spend in purgatory (Olmert, 50). Luther insisted that indulgences should not be simply doled out to those who ca<...