Martin Luther?

Question

Can anyone tell me what changes he brought to Christanity and why?? it would help me out so much. thanks

Answer 1

Martin Luther was an antisemetic pig. He wrote "The Jews and Their Lies" and advocated burning Jewish babies alive in their synagogues along with their parents, along with various other tortures. How anyone could follow this disgusting man's religion is completely beyond me.
Please see:
http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/documents/luther-jews.htm

EDIT: Jonathan, there are no excuses. Martin Luther's writings were responsible for a thousand years of pogroms against Jewish families by Protestants. Every Christmas, every Easter after Church, Protestants would go out and hunt down Jewish families and do exactly what Martin Luther wrote in his "Jews and their Lies". This went on until very recent times! Mid 1900's! It's sickening.

Protestants have in the main also been responsible for bringing the old antisemetic lie of "blood libel" charges against Jews around the world in Protestant areas for the past thousand years or so, charging that Jews were using Protestant children's blood to make matzah bread. Hundreds of thousands of Jews have been murdered at the hands of Martin Luther's followers since he founded Protestantism.

Before Martin Luther, the Catholic Church held the top spot for doing these things, but when Luther left the Catholic Church he pretty much took that antisemetic spirit WITH him, and since then it has been MUCH more Protestant-based than Catholic-based, Jews being murdered and tortured.

There are no excuses. It cannot be "overlooked", or shoved under the carpet. Pointing fingers at others does NOT excuse Martin Luther and his followers from their murderous, hateful speech and actions for a thousand years. And people wonder why the cross is a sign of terrorism for the Jews. It began with the Catholic Church, but Martin Luther and his Protestants took over the job and did it all too well. Sickening.

Answer 2

Other people can say this better than I can, but don't forget that he simply wanted to bring the Church of his day back to the Bible. Many people would agree, and some won't, that the Church was not exactly as close to the "primitive" or Church of the first few centuries AD. Let the reader decide.

A few other sources: Roland Bainton's book, "Here I Stand: A Life of Luther" gives a very good summary of Luther's life and contributions. The Internet has a reference to "Project Wittenberg" and some of Luther's material online. A Lutheran church in Lexington, KY, (Our Redeemer Lutheran) has several of Luther's sermons available on line, at

www.orlutheran.com/html/mlserms.html

Give it a try.

As for Luther's alleged anti-Semitism, please remember that a lot of this happened near the end of his life. Bainton gives much more detail than we can display here. In all fairness, it's a shame that he said some of the things he did. It's a shame that it is still happening today. May we look at Luther as a reformer, a preacher, and a human who trusted Christ and Christ alone for salvation.

Answer 3

He attempted to FIX the broken catholic system, but was rejected by the power structure of the "church." Catholicism had abandoned the true New Testament pattern in many ways, many of which Luther probably did not even realize.

He was actually part of a "movement" that had begun a few hundred years before with Bible scholars and teachers trying to return the practice of Christianity to what was established through inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the first century. Though he did not INTEND to start a "new church" and asked that those who follow his teachings be "just Christians" like the Christians of the first century, his work stopped short of fully restoring the New Testament church.

The restoration of the New Testament church is still today an ongoing process. We are still learning about the language and culture of the NT and coming to a better understanding of how those ancient writings can and should impact our work and worship in today's church.

As for Luther's specific teachings, http://www.ccel.org/l/luther/ has English translations of some of his teachings and related information that may help you better understand his impact on Christianity.

I notice that several people are making a big deal of his mistaken impressions on some issues. His thinking was not perfect, but it was significantly closer than catholicism on many issues.

Answer 4

Martin Luther was far from the perfect man that some historians would have you believe. He was also a terrible bigot, anti Semite.. and not above being happy when an enemy was burnt, or tortured.

Answer 5

He started the Reformation, which led to the creation of all non-Roman Catholic and non-Orthodox churches, and eventually led to the reform of the Roman Catholic Church itself. He nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, basically "calling out" the Church on what he saw as its sins. His reforms also led to the translation of the Bible into the vernaculars of Europe.

He is also responsible for the doctrine of "sola scriptura", or scripture alone; stating that Holy Scripture is to be the canon by which church decisions are weighed. This stands in opposition to the assertion that the Bishop of Rome is infallible and may make assertions on level with the Scriptures.

EDIT:
To those writing off Luther as an anti-Semite, please take care not to through the baby out with the bath water. Luther's theology changed the face of religion as we know it in the West. The "founding fathers" of America were anti-Semites as well, but that does not make Americans or the ideology of the Constitution bad.

EDIT 2: Julia, by your own logic of leaving the baby with the bathwater, Judaism must be thrown out for the vicious and genocidal wars of the Old Testament. We should not hold the all the sins of the Hebrews against the beautiful religion of Judaism, nor should we hold the sins of Luther (who would be the first to admit that he is "chief of all sinners") against Protestants or their beautiful religion. To do so would be the definition of "bigoted".

Answer 6

He didn't change Christianity; he tried to reform the church but ended up starting his own church.

The basis for Luther's church was that salvation is only attainable by faith and faith alone.

Answer 7

hmmmmm , sara i almost passed this up because i thought i had commented on this before..
i want to thank julia for that wonderful link she posted on martin luther on the jews and their lies.. wonderful comments .. yes well some say its extremely bigoted and anti- semetic .. but if this is the case so was JESUS HIMSELF. . remember this you did not live in martin luthers time either!! none of us did.
we have to go back to historians to see what was going on with the jews in this time period. JESUS HIMSELF AND JOHN THE BAPTIST did many fighting with their own people over their arrogant belief that just because GOD had set them apart as a nation and gave to them , for all of us mind you,, HIS laws engraved in 2 tablet of stones that this made them special.. in matthew 3 chap v7 they be called abrood of vipers in 9th verse JOHN points put GODcan if need be, turn stones into abrahahams seed / jesus too had to call the leaders to attention that they too were a breed of vipers they called JESUS THE DEVILS HELPER AND THAT HE was being led by demons matttew 11;18..
immagine that u keep thinking about yourself you are soo high and mighty because of your heritage and u become so full of pride that you refuse to listen to anyone ?/ now someone comes around sent byGOD u then say he is of satan why ? because what they say hits home, but you too stubborn to change the way you think// crimeny moses himself said the same thing to them in leviticus 26 . 41 that they were stubborn and uncircumcised ;; IN THE HEART;;
LAST WEEK I WAS HUNTING for the text for another person in here where it stated GOD could turn stones into abrahams seed i searched scriptures for hours and it eluded me . i love yahoo answers u do have to study if u want to help.. // but anyway !!!!!!!
DONT U SEE IT .. JUST BECAUSE U CHASTISE SOMEONE FOR THEIR LIES or their haghtiness doesnt make it a hate crime. ?,, is that not haoppening today in congress? because of a few that dont want GOD or JESUS name mentioned THE majority who do are being chastised and punished for a minority and their veiws?? we cant offend muslims so we allow them to have whatever they want to make them happy even acknowlidiging that their GOD allah is a honorable. we allow athiests to have prayer removed from public buildings schools auditoriums graduation ceremonies prayer is out lawed ,, homosexual advocates want free internet access to their filth allowed in public libraries and if u dont agree its because of hate .. and you are then MARKED??
EVERYONE who has a veiw different then a NON biblical standard is now HATEFUL ?? CAN U NOT SEE THAT IN ORDER TO PLEASE others u have to deny CHRIST or your own personal veiws of what is right n wrong or you are ;marked ;and targeted for removal of your job .. tim hardawy a sports commentator ex miami heat player remov- fired from his job because he stated homosexuality made his skin crawl.. soo many others too .
THE JEWS TO THIS VERY DAY have not excepted JESUS as their saviour and are still looking for HIM u cant say anti semetic things against them either or its a hate crime.. .. dont u see its getting to be that u cant express your own freedom of speech without violating someone else freedom?? . yes to hate is wrong but is it hate to show someone their error in love?/ homosexuals in many countries canada austrailia sweedon have laws that you have to allow their propaganda u have to print their literature or u are accused and sued for descrimination. and new laws are in congress right now to limit what u can say and do in the pulpit too.
IF the jews, and by the way ,, itis difficult but not impossible to reach them with the gospel ,. ARE TO BE to be allowed their own way and u are forced by law to allow their way of thinking to influence what you want to be taught privately or publically is better, even if its error , then muslim beliefs too must be comsidered , catholisim , devil worship, witchcraft maybe even canibalisim too is next.. how did catholisim gain world domination for 1260 years if those in christ had first not compromised with truth?? // WAY BACK IN DANIEL WE ARE SHOWED WHAT WOULD happen because truth is cpoompromised and traditions placed before GOD Scommands .. the jews were always chastised from GOD for THIS .. //MOSES SAID he knew they were a stubborn lot and would go back to idols;;;;====== oops again i too long. i not anti semetic either .. . i owe the heritage i have now to the faithfulness of scribes that wrote the bible . because of their keen record keeping i can know about creation i can know also that GOD instituted the SABBATH FOR man all of mankind not a jew only,

Answer 8

Worst anti-Semite ever!
.