Outline I. Introduction II. Who was Martin Luther? III. Martin Luther Calls for Reformation IV. A Short synopsis of the Ninety Five Theses V. Result of the Theses VI. Sources Consulted Introduction Martin Luther was the first person to translate and publish the Bible in the commonly-spoken dialect of the German people. Luther's hymns sparked the development of congregational singing in Christianity. His marriage, on June 13, 1525, to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, began the tradition of clerical marriage within several Christian traditions. Martin Luther was one of the most influential and compelling figures of Church history. Some of the most fundamental tenets of the Catholic Church were called into question by Luther, and lead to the greatest religious revolt in Church history, now known as the Protestant Reformation. Who Was Martin Luther? Martin Luther was born to Hans and Margarethe Luther on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. He was baptized on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, for whom he was named. Martin’s childhood was one of abuse and uncompromising cruelty, “His father once beat him so mercilessly that he ran away from home His mother, "on account of an insignificant nut, beat me till the blood flowed, and it was this harshness and severity of the life I led with them that forced me subsequently to run away to a monastery and become a monk." His father owned and worked a copper mine in the nearby town of Mansfield. Having come from peasantry, his father was determined to see his son rise up to civil service and bring honor to the family. To achieve this goal, Hans sent Martin Luther to schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In 1501, when he was seventeen years old, Martin Luther entered the University of Erfurt, where he received a Master of Arts degree (in grammar, logic, rhetoric and metaphysics). Trying to fulfill his father’s wishes he enrolled in the law school of that university.2 While riding a horse during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1505, a lightning bolt struck near him while returning to school. Being in a terrified state he cried out, “Save me, St. Anna, and I shall become a monk," Luther was spared his life and so he kept his promise and entered the Augustinian monastery at his law school. Luther fully dedicated himself to life in the monastery, embracing the concept of doing good works to please God and in aiding others through prayer for their souls. Fervent, intense, self-critical, uncompromisingly self-disciplined and intelligent, his only goal as a monk was to earn his way into heaven. He performed his share of manual labor and begged in the city with other monks., remarking in his later years that "I kept the rule of my order so strictly that if ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery, it was I." However, Martin Luther still struggled to find peace with God and within himself; he devoted himself to flagellation, abstaining from food, prayer and incessant confessions in his search for peace with God. The more he tried to do for God, it seemed, the more conscious he became of his transgressions. Johann von Staupitz, Luther’s confidant in his struggles for peace, suggested that Luther turn to Academia in order to help distract him from his struggles. In 1507, Luther was ordained to the priesthood. In 1508, he began teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg, He received his Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies in 1508 and a Bachelor's degree in the Sentences by Peter Lombard, in 1509. In 1510, Luther traveled as part of a delegation from his monastery to Rome. It was there that he first witnessed the Church selling Indulgences. The system was grossly abused, and Luther's indignation at the shameless traffic, carried on in particular by the Dominican Johann Tetzel, became irrepressible. In 1511; he became a professor of biblical theology. In 1512, the University of Wittenberg conferred upon Martin Luther the degree of Doctor of Theology.6. The next five years of study would lead Luther to understanding of theology that would have repercussions on Christian thought for centuries to come 1513 marked the beginning of Luther’s critique of the theological world. While preparing lectures, Luther read Psalm 22,” My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?” The words of Christ caused him to recall