Third Posting

Before I watched this video, I only had a vague sense of what Martin Luther did.  From various history classes and church services I had known that Luther was a man who created the Protestant movement and Lutheranism, however I did not know he was such an influential character who caused as much of a social and religious revolution as he did a religious movement.  What really got my attention, and gave me a whole new amount of respect for Luther, was his stance against the Catholic church and how he expressed his dislike.  First off, not a lot of people these days would make a stance against an organization that would deliver swift violence in the form of burning at the stake or drowning as punishments for disobedience.

Luther Before the Diet of Worms

Luther, on the other hand, did and did it in a way that was both courageous and intelligent.  Secondly, Luther not only made arguments against the church and their ideals in a logical manner, but also threw in insults that were almost unheard of to be used against such a power.  That earned him a whole lot of respect in my mind.  His stance against the Catholic church and their practices caused a revolution for freedom of religion and a peaceful view of God.  To this day, I believe, the Catholic church is still feeling a lot of those affects.

Luther's Original 1534 Bible

Wartburg Castle Location of Luther During his Translation of the Bible

Luther was of a high importance to the German-speaking lands.  During the later years of his life he translated the Bible into the German language.  This united all social classes of Germany and the German society.  Luther was also an important figure in the founding of the Americas because his ideals were used to set up the system of a free religious society.