Luther

Garrett Lambur
After our discussion in class about the significance of Martin Luther I wanted to explore the topic a little further. I’m not sure how Luther is seen in today’s world. I have never run into anyone who has called him one of his or her hero’s or a man they really respected. Neither have I ever heard of someone who totally hates Martin Luther for what he did. But it would be quite easy to view him from both points of view. He could easily be seen as the champion of Protestant Christianity for without him there may never have been a split with Christianity and only Catholicism would exist. Though it is very likely that someone else would have come along and provided the stimulus for the split as he did. I was not aware until this semester that he was following the in footsteps of others before him who had challenged the ideology of the Catholic Church, which is very ignorant of myself. It would also be very easy for him to be viewed with hatred, as one who defied the Pope and the Catholic Church and in essence defying the God. He brought so much trouble to the Church and its followers, and not only did he anger the Church but his defiance brought about a lot of trouble for all of Europe. He caused great strife through out areas of Europe that brought about fighting and death.

What is strange to me is that I have never run into someone who holds a strong viewpoint one way or the other. Luther seems to be just accepted as the man who started the Protestant Reformation. He is an important character in history and is seen as thus but as only thus. There may be people out there who see him in a different light but I have yet to run into one of these people.