Was Martin Luther a Saint or a Sinner By: Jonathan Rowen
Martin Luther: Sinner - Luther is a sinner because he went against the Pope. He denied the Pope's great power and shows a great disliking towards him. Only a sinner would go against the leader that many Catholics looked up to as a superior and intelligent man. Martin Luther, the sinner, sinfully goes against his religious leader. This image is a comparison of Luther to Leo X to show conflict.
Martin Luther: Sinner - Martin Luther is a sinful person. He was called to the town Worms by emperor Charles V and was simply asked to take back his sinful words towards the Pope. That is all the emperor asked of him. But the sinful Luther replied by saying that he believed in the scriptures rather than the Pope, his religious leader and guide. The sinner was announced as an outlaw and was to be killed. This image portrays Luther at Worms speaking with Charles V.
Martin Luther: Sinner - Luther's sinful ideas of Christianity eventually led to the splitting from Catholicism. Many other churches formed. Every church had different ideas than the others which led to even more divisiveness of Christianity. Protestant churches fought over small ideas that divided them in the first place. The sinner Luther caused Europe to be split. This flowchart represents the many religion sub-types that branched off of Catholicism because of Luther.
Martin Luther: Saint - Martin Luther's 95 Theses make him a saint because in the theses he reveals the truth about the Catholic Church. Luther was not trying to attack the church when he made the theses. He was simply a man demanding that the corrupt church that would sell indulgences and tell lies would be reformed. Luther telling the truth and exposing the church for what it is makes him a saint. This image shows the 95 Theses that Luther wrote to create change.
Martin Luther: Saint - Martin Luther is a saint because he even contested the most powerful man in the world, the Pope. Luther openly shared his own thoughts on the extreme corruption of the church. The corrupt Pope knew that Luther was right so he decided to excommunicate Luther to try and suppress Luther. He decided to portray Luther as a heretic too. Luther is a saint because he knew that he would get himself into trouble, but he did it anyway because he knew it was the right thing to do for change to happen. This image is of an excommunication letter to give an idea of what the Pope issued to Luther.
Martin Luther: Saint - Martin Luther was responsible for creating many different types of religions that all were protesting the current Catholic Church. This is a good thing because it allowed for the more people to speak out against the powerful, controlling Catholic Church. This helps solve many issues at the time by giving people a voice in new sub-types of Christianity. Overall, Luther's words formed a multitude of Protestant religions speaking out against the religious corruption. This image is a map of the Protestant Reformation to show how divided Europe was.
