Thomas Cranmer
Registered Member
In October 1517, five hundred years ago, Martin Luther published his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences",
which is more commonly known as his Ninety Five Theses.
The great work was written in Latin, but later translated to German and other languages.
By the spring of the following year, it had spread all over Europe.
These events marked the beginning of the end of absolute power by the Roman Catholic Church.
Martin Luther believed that the rituals of the Church were unnecessary for salvation and that the Bible should be made available in the language of the common people, not in Latin.
The Church didn't like these ideas of course and tried to use its power to stop the revolution that followed.
Before long, the Bible was translated, into English, mostly by William Tyndale, who was greatly influenced by Luther. Tyndale was hunted, betrayed, imprisoned, and burned at the stake.
When you read the Bible in English, most of the well known phrases were translations by Tyndale. Here are just a few: “under the sun”, “signs of the times”, “let there be light”, “my brother’s keeper”, “lick the dust”, “fall flat on his face”, “the land of the living”, “pour out one’s heart”, “the apple of his eye”, “fleshpots”, “go the extra mile”, “the parting of the ways”
Martin Luther had his faults, but his influence changed the world for the better and because people were able to free themselves from the greedy clutches of the Church and read the Bible themselves, the control was lost. The worse fears of the Church leaders has been realized; competition from other Churches, the increase in education by non-religious authorities, the great advance in science and free thinking.
Because of Martin Luther, you and I can criticize authority without fear and we can live our lives without worrying about HELL or how many years we'll have to spend in Purgatory after we die.
which is more commonly known as his Ninety Five Theses.
The great work was written in Latin, but later translated to German and other languages.
By the spring of the following year, it had spread all over Europe.
These events marked the beginning of the end of absolute power by the Roman Catholic Church.
Martin Luther believed that the rituals of the Church were unnecessary for salvation and that the Bible should be made available in the language of the common people, not in Latin.
The Church didn't like these ideas of course and tried to use its power to stop the revolution that followed.
Before long, the Bible was translated, into English, mostly by William Tyndale, who was greatly influenced by Luther. Tyndale was hunted, betrayed, imprisoned, and burned at the stake.
When you read the Bible in English, most of the well known phrases were translations by Tyndale. Here are just a few: “under the sun”, “signs of the times”, “let there be light”, “my brother’s keeper”, “lick the dust”, “fall flat on his face”, “the land of the living”, “pour out one’s heart”, “the apple of his eye”, “fleshpots”, “go the extra mile”, “the parting of the ways”
Martin Luther had his faults, but his influence changed the world for the better and because people were able to free themselves from the greedy clutches of the Church and read the Bible themselves, the control was lost. The worse fears of the Church leaders has been realized; competition from other Churches, the increase in education by non-religious authorities, the great advance in science and free thinking.
Because of Martin Luther, you and I can criticize authority without fear and we can live our lives without worrying about HELL or how many years we'll have to spend in Purgatory after we die.