Essay On Martin Luther's Influence On The Protestant Reformation

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Martin Luther was the catalyst of the Protestant Reformation and an extremely influential figure who completely altered religious and social ideals in Europe. Luther, a monk, was originally set out to be a lawyer, but, when frightened during a thunderstorm, he vowed to become a friar. He quickly became ordained, and then moved on to get a doctorate of theology, an achievement that he was immensely proud of. However, Luther became uncertain about monastic life. He was apprehensive about his duties, and saw himself as incapable of meeting God’s demands. Even while fasting and making frequent confessions, he was not able to shake the idea that he was doing something wrong. As he became more and more disillusioned with the catholic church, he began …show more content…

By doing this, he would successfully prevent the peasant uprising in 1525, and render Martin Luther's movement motionless. However, to make this a reality, the Pope would have to regain the trust of the people. Considering that he was not seen as the most responsible with funds, if he were to lift the taxes on the lower class, they would begin to suspect a trap or a scam. To really make them trust him, he would have to make a big gesture to show his credibility. One way to do this would be to find the corrupt church officials, and removing them from their positions. The way for this to make a difference would be to make their removal in the public's awareness. Another way to ensure the support of the public would be to encourage the election of devout public representatives to take positions in the church. All of this would lead up to reducing the taxes on the lower class, ensuring their support. Yet even with doing this, Pope Leo X would still have issues to address. For instance, reducing the taxes of the lower class would decrease the Churches profit. This might cause a backlash in the Church itself. Therefore, to appease the church officials, Pope Leo should give them land. This is more effective than just giving them power or wealth, because it was just as useful, but less likely to enable them to cause problems in the future. In all of these actions,

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