The History of the Lutheran Church

Essay by BoO! March 2006

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Lutheranism can be traced back to Martin Luther, a German religious scholar who sought to reform the practices of the Roman Catholic Church in the early 16th century. The Lutheran church was formed in Europe in 1507. It all began when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses on the Wittenberg Castle Church's door. He questioned the ideals of the church and much of what people believed in. This was the final result that built upon earlier attempts at reform of a corrupt church that put itself ahead of everything else. Martin Luther acknowledged this and wanted to oppose it, he knew that it was not right and not what God wanted the church to turn out to be.

Martin Luther recognised the behaviour and actions of the church as a means of abusing the teachings of the bible and the word of God. During a trip to Rome, Martin Luther encountered many families who had been driven into poverty through the tax required for forgiveness by the church.

Luther voiced his incredible disgust and hatred towards the church into his 95 theses in which he expressed his objection towards the sale of indulgences, in an overall attempt to deny the pope of all right to forgive sins with the belief that if a sinner was truly remorseful, he or she received immediate and complete forgiveness for a monetary price.

The Lutheran church follows the words and teachings of the bible to a more exacting degree than many of the other Christian religions. It is believed that to understand the scripture, a distinction between the Law and the Gospel must be made, which can be used to effectively divide the Bible into two areas. The Law demonstrates what God demands of sinners if their sins are to be forgiven, while...