Out of all the Renaissance people we’ve covered, Martin Luther has made the greatest impact for the better. Luther followed what he believes in and will definitely remain a landmark is history. He reformed the Christian church, and made a huge impact of his own to the religion along the way.
Leo X was the last non-priest to rein Pope to rule the Florentine Republic. He was elected to reign March 9th, 1513 and to the Florentine Republic that may had been one of the biggest mistakes. “The papacy is ours, so let us enjoy it” was one of the most famous and memorable quotes used by Leo X. He ran the Vatican’s bill up to the point where there was no money left to pay it off. He led St. Peter’s Basilica into debt, and the way he decided to reform it was by selling indulgences. He made thousands off of his sale, but his idea of making money disappointed many.
Martin Luther, a German priest who was outraged that freedom from God’s punishment of sin could be purchased with money, he confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. The Ninety-Five Theses was a list of 95 statements criticized the Pope and explaining the sell of Patrons to be religiously incorrect. The effects of The Ninety-Five Theses were huge, after thousands of copies were printed throughout Germany Luther gained many followers. The Pope had Luther put on exile for 10 months, when he was released he found he greatly impacted the Church. Many things had changed such as preachers called themselves ministers and religious gatherings were now taught in German. Luther’s followers called themselves Lutheran’s.
Over 2.1 billion of Christians walk the streets today; having Luther’s dedication the population may not be this large. Luther started the Protestant reformation and was the creator of the Lutheran religion. The only remains of Martin Luther in history was when he was so outraged by the Pope’s actions, Lutheranism may have never been created had the sell of indulgences never happened.