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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Youth Section

The Monk Who Shook The World!

November 2004

What do you know about Martin Luther? Have you ever heard of him? Who was he?

Some people referred to him as "the monk that shook the world". He and others were the leading lights in the Protestant Reformation - the beginnings of our faith and beliefs.

But there are many people who know little about Martin Luther.

He was born in November 1483 in Saxony in Germany and when he was young his father, who was poor but industrious and honest, hoped that his son would become a lawyer.

However, through the patronage of a local lady who saw him singing in the street to raise money, Martin Luther ended up going to university at the age of 18. When he was studying at a place called Erfurt, Martin Luther had a religious experience and decided to become a monk.

It was the start of an amazing spiritual and cultural journey. One of the major milestones would come many years later, when Luther questioned the selling of 'indulgences' by the Church of the day. The German monk was concerned at the corruption he had seen in the Church during a visit to Rome, and he felt that indulgences were merely another corrupt element. The Church 'franchised' the sale of 'indulgences' - which purported to wash away people's sins - to individuals, who then passed some of the monies they collected from the gullible to the Church.

In 1517, Pope Leo X declared a 'Jubilee Indulgence' and Luther was moved to declare against the whole business.

In a now famous action, he nailed his thesis on indulgences and other issues onto the door of the church at Wittenberg on October 31 that year. This was a sure way of getting people to read and discuss the matter, since the church doors were a sort of public noticeboard of their day. Martin Luther argued that no one could take away sins other than God. His writing on the matter is known in history as the 95 Thesis.

This was only the start of big trouble for Luther. The Church was very angry and there was danger to his life. But some of the German princes stood up for the monk against the Church, and the sparks that had been lit fanned the flames of the Protestant Cause in Europe.

Luther said: "My conscience is wrapped in the Word of God and it is neither safe nor honest to act against one's conscience. God help me! Amen."

He was excommunicated from the Church of Rome and had to go into hiding for a time, so grave was the threat against him. While in hiding he translated the New Testament into German and later would translate the Old Testament as well.

His efforts were greatly assisted with the invention of the printing press, which helped to spread ideas across Europe, where men with open minds could debate and consider them. It was also the means of bringing the Bible to hundreds of thousands of people, who previously had not been able to see it translated into their own languages.

So, the term Open Bible had a number of meanings when associated with that period. It was open because it was now more accessible in translation and through mass printing methods. It was also open because men like Martin Luther took a stand to have freedom of thought and expression.

Martin Luther, the monk who shook the world, produced ideas which set Europe alight. Those flames of freedom of thought and conscience are still burning today. Martin Luther's legacy remains in many ways. The great American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King bore the name of the great Christian and Protestant leader from the 16th century.

But the greatest example of all comes from the fact that because of men like Luther and others, we have our Protestant faith.

So, who was Martin Luther?

He was the monk who shook the world.

 

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