Luther

We watched a movie this week titled Luther, it talked about the rise of Martin Luther and his break away from the Catholic church due to their corrupt practices.

The most important part of Luther's life was when he decided to go to Rome and witnessed all the corruption in the church. In the movie he bought an indulgence for his uncle and prayed all the way up this really long staircase. When he got to the top he looked down and saw all the other people praying and realized how foolish it was to think that a piece of paper could buy you're own way out of Hell. Luther finally made a list compiled of what he considered inappropriate and dishonest practices of the church, and nailed them to the front door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. Another great achievement of his was when he translated the New Testament of the Bible into German so that all of the people could read the bible and understand it themselves instead of having to listen to priests translate it for them. He believed that everybody had the right to read the Bible and see what it ACTUALLY says.

I really admire Martin Luther mostly because he stood up for what he believed and never backed down. It was said that Luther was reported to be strongly antisemitic in his later years, saying that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed. (Wikipedia) I say this because the movie did try to make him seem like someone who loved everybody. He did have a very strong influence on people at the time, in the movie they show a man ( Can't remember his name.) turning all of these people against the church to a point where their throwing rocks through the windows, ripping up tombstones, and hurting the priests. Luther shows up and says "This is not what I was teaching!" the leader responds "This is what the people want!" Luther says "Get out! Before I beat you out!"

Honestly I'm glad they showed this side of Luther, the movie showed that everyone has a limit of being pushed or something that sets them off. And someone misinterpreting his works was Luthers limit. This scene shows how idiotic people can be at thinking before they act.