On this Guide, you will find resources, mainly available at Bunch Library, related to the Reformation in celebration of the 500th anniversary this year. For more information and resources, check out the display in the library research area.
Martin Luther was a German theologian borin in 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. He studied at the University of Erfurt before becoming and Augustinian friar. Ordained in 1507, he visit Rome shortly thereafter and was appalled by the corruption he witnessed there. He was angry that the clergy sold "indulgences" - atonement for sin by people both living and dead - and this anger caused him to publish his '95 theses,' which attacked abuses by the Pope and the selling of indulgences. He believed that people came to salvation through their faith and not through their own work. He wrote many other works explaining his belief that were widely dissemniated throughout Europe thanks to the printing press. In 1521, he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X and went into hiding following the Diet of Worms where he refused to recant his accusations and was proclaimed a heretic and an outlaw. In 1534, he published a complete translation of the Bible in German, believing that people should be allowed to read it in their own language rather than the high Latin commonly used by the Catholic Church. His beliefs and desire to make Christianity 'of the people' inspired the foundation of the Protestant sect and the rise of other church leaders such as John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli. Source: BBC Historic Figures: Martin Luther
