This year marks the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation. In 1517, 95 theses of the German theologian Martin Luther put an end to the Middle Ages and led to the formation of a new denomination. He himself considered the Reformation destructive, and his teaching misunderstood.
Promise
Martin Luther came from poor peasantry, about which he himself always spoke with pride: "I am the son of a peasant, my father, grandfather and great-grandfather were pure peasants." Despite his origins, good relations with the burgher family of Cotto allowed Luther to receive a philosophical education at the University of Erfurt. Luther was a brilliant student, his parents predicted for him a career as a lawyer, but two events dramatically changed not only Luther's life, but, as it turned out, the course of world history.
During his student years, Luther had to bury his best friend - a young man was struck by lightning. The death of a friend had a profound effect on Luther. He involuntarily began to ask himself the question of what would become of him if God called him just as suddenly.
Shortly thereafter, on his way back to Erfurt after his summer vacation, Luther was also overtaken by an unexpected thunderstorm. A deafening thunderclap sounded close by, lightning struck a few paces away. In horror, he exclaimed: “Holy Anna, help me! I'll be a monk!" The phrase escaped involuntarily, but Luther was not one of those who go back on his word. Within two weeks, he fulfilled his vow.
"On the vaults of hell"
One of the turning points in Luther's life, which first gave rise to doubt in him about the correctness of the Catholic Church, was his trip to Rome. The journey made an extremely negative impression on the young monk. Luther was a German from head to toe, practicality, rigor and simplicity were the national features of his nature. In addition, he belonged to the Augustinian order, whose members preached an ascetic lifestyle. And then the German monk finds himself in Italy, in the Eternal City of Rome itself, where a luxurious life is an integral attribute of the life of the church. Luther later recalled with horror the wickedness of the Romans, the greed of the clergy, their involvement in secular politics, passing on the old proverb: "If there is hell under the earth, then Rome is built on its vaults." In Rome, Luther heard the boastful speeches of the monks, who claimed that the papal little finger was stronger than all German rulers; heard offensive nicknames given to his compatriots. For such an admirer of the papacy as Luther, this impression was deadly. Subsequently, he said that he would not have taken 100,000 tylers for this trip to Rome, which opened his eyes.
Tetzel's Miracle Good
The main stumbling block and the last straw for Luther was the question of indulgence. As you know, the "sale" of the forgiveness of sins was a fairly common practice in the Middle Ages. Of course, this was not officially considered commercial. According to the catechism, the Catholic Church has an infinite amount of divine grace and can grant remission of temporary punishment for sins, that is, penance. But for this, a person must give the most expensive, money was willingly recognized as the equivalent of the “most expensive”. Although the "traders of tickets to paradise" themselves often distorted the accepted canon, presenting a letter as a 100% guarantee for the remission of sins. This is exactly what the Dominican Tetzel, a man of dubious reputation, but a gift for oratory, did. In fiery terms, he praised the people the miraculous power of his product. He had a special price for each crime: 7 chervonets for a simple murder, 10 for the murder of his parents, 9 for sacrilege, and so on. They believed him, people ran to him for letters, someone parted with their last pennies, if only to save their souls from the torments of purgatory. In 1517 he appeared in the outskirts of Wittenberg, where Luther taught theology. Outraged that his flock preferred to buy absolution rather than repent, Luther tried to dissuade the people. When this did not help, he turned to higher ranks - Archbishop Albrecht, who received his profits from the sale of indulgences. He succinctly advised the obsessive theologian not to make enemies.
Hallowe'en
Neither exhortations to the people, nor appeals to his "immediate superiors" helped Luther solve the problem. Dissatisfied with the result, he decided to find allies at the university. In an educated environment, Luther met those who were ready to share his opinion. He was actively supported by the vicar of the Augustinian order, Johann von Staupitz. Luther hesitated for a long time, but the last straw for him was the statement of the people of the flock that they were not going to change their lives.
On November 1, 1517, on All Saints' Day, a crowd of people began to gather near the palace church of Wittenberg, because wide absolutions were promised at the church festival. But this time things didn't go according to plan. A document was nailed to the very door of the church with a knife, which later went down in history as the “95 Theses”.
Hidden powers
Many historians argue that Luther did not see anything illegal in his act and regretted his break with the Pope. But the mere fact that he stabbed the document to the door of the main church of the city did not imply further reconciliation with Rome! How did the theologian decide to take such a step, after all, after him, Luther could expect, at best, the loss of his degree and position, at worst - anathema, persecution and a fire. There can be only two explanations for this: either this man was furious and did not understand what he was doing, or there was some influential figure behind him, on whose support he counted. And there was such power.
By the 16th century, the rulers of the German principalities and heads of cities suffered from the influence of the Vatican, which used them as a source of finance and interfered in every possible way in domestic politics. The Church had the right to do so, according to the doctrine of the “Gift of Constantine.” Allegedly, Emperor Constantine transferred the supreme power over all the territories of the Roman Empire to the Pope. By 1517, relations between Rome and the German rulers were so tense that all they needed was a pretext to start a war.
Disappointment
“I was alone and only by negligence involved in this matter,” wrote Luther later about the Reformation. In less than two years, the scenery has completely changed. Now he was not the only warrior in the field, many scientists and theologians stood behind him, political forces were operating with Luther. There is an opinion that Martin himself was disappointed in the movement, he believed that his teaching was misinterpreted: “the reformer himself had to admit that his doctrine of justification by faith alone, misunderstood, was mainly to blame for all this. It should have served to correct people, but it turns out the opposite, people are now meaner, more ruthless, more depraved than before under the papacy. But Luther never gave up his theses, which went against the Roman Church. He denied the Pope's ability to forgive sins, his right to political activity, rejected indulgence. In general, dealt a significant blow to the Vatican. He continued his criticism of Catholicism in his further writings, and in one he even blessed the German princes to reform the church in the pamphlet "Toward the Christian Nobility of the German Nation."
Luther also regretted his famous translation of the Bible into German: “The common people do not know either the Lord’s Prayer, or the Creed, or the Ten Commandments, they live like senseless cattle, and, however, the Gospel did not have time to appear, they already masterfully learned to use the Christian message for evil. freedom."
personal gain
But Luther also benefited somewhat from his understanding of "Christian freedom." As you know, in his teaching he criticized celibacy, and he was the first to set an example by marrying the nun Katharina von Bora, who had escaped from the monastery.
Even Luther himself was afraid of the consequences of his action. Condemning the debauchery of the Vatican, he was the first monk in the history of the church who violated the centuries-old traditions of celibacy. Speaking against the secularization of the church, he himself took a step towards worldly life. He himself admitted: “The desires experienced by a man are not alien to me, I am not made of stone. But I am aware that any day I can be burned at the stake as a heretic.
"I have a dream" ("I dream", "I have a dream") - the title of the most famous speech of Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King delivered this speech about half a century ago on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In this speech, King proclaimed to the whole world his vision of the future of the United States of America, where white and black people could coexist as equal citizens of their country.
Watch the video"I have a dream"
in English
Watch the video"I have a dream"
in Russian
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is, to this day, a universally recognized masterpiece of oratory. Probably, many famous politicians have reviewed it more than once, polishing their rhetorical skills.
Oratory techniques
Let's look at this famous speech from the point of view of Martin Luther King's use of special oratorical techniques that shape the thesis of his speech, turning his speech into a powerful propaganda weapon.
Style and format. Martin Luther King, being a Baptist minister, delivered a real sermon. Of course, it was not a sermon in its purest form, but the speech took place precisely in a religious format, at that time so close to the 300,000 Americans standing at the foot of the Lincoln Monument. The style of the speech is primarily dictated by the author's rejection of standard political slogans and an appeal to such a personal story about his dream.
Preparing for a performance. It is worth noting that this speech was not spontaneous, to his speech “I have a dream” Martin Luther King consciously and very seriously. In the course of the speech, the author occasionally used his notes, which helped him deliver a magnificent emotional speech, without reservations or hesitation. His voice sounded so natural and confident that this confidence was instantly transmitted to everyone present. Without careful preparation, delivering such an infectious speech would be simply impossible.
Metaphors."We will be able to cut the stone of hope from the mountain of despair", "we will be able to turn the discordant voices of our people into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood." Metaphors made King's theses clearer, brighter, and could truly give his thoughts the emotional shades of a real dream, bring them to the very depths of consciousness and hearts of listeners.
Quotes. King's speech is replete with allusions to the Old and New Testaments, the US Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Manifesto, and the United States Constitution. The author deliberately uses quotations from those sources that are recognized both among his supporters and opponents, thus addressing his speech to both, increasing his chances of influencing listeners.
tempo and pauses. The most important role in this speech is played by the tempo of pronouncing the text and logical pauses. They highlight every phrase of speech, every complete thought. The main tempo of speech is smooth, with a gradual tendency to speed up, intensify the emotional component, which warms up the crowd of listeners, disrupting loud applause and shouts of approval.
Audience. You most likely noticed nodding faces in the background of King's speech, which reflect their trust in the speaker, a real belief in his ideas. These faces affect our perception of the speech "I have a dream" subconsciously, using the human tendency to conformism, unwillingness to go against the opinion of the majority. This oratorical technique is used by many politicians, and to this day it has not lost its relevance.
Cyclic speech. King's speech cannot be called a typical sequential presentation of one thought. Pay attention to the fact that he repeatedly returns to certain theses of his speech. Common places are the speaker's repeated appeals to his comrades from Colorado, Mississippi, Alabama, which echo the ideas already mentioned by the author earlier, return listeners to these thoughts, make them think again about the main things for King.
General theses
The very concept of the speech is structured in such a way that Martin Luther King shares his dream with his comrades. He does not state how it should be and what should be done, but only talks about what he dreams about. Nevertheless, the form of presentation of the speech does not detract from the power of the impact of his theses on the audience, because King does not just recite, calling for reason, but touches the feelings of the listeners and instills his ideas, his dream in their heads. And this dream becomes common, and the people begin to believe in it.
In addition, Martin Luther King addresses his speech not only to the audience gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, but also to the leadership of the country, the people who make the most important decisions. This fact dictated the special logical structure of the theses in the speaker's speech. It can be said that some of the statements and statements of Martin Luther King in the speech “I have a dream” were like blackmailing the US authorities: “We will not calm down until ...,” he says, turning to his comrades to indicate their sense of identity with the protest movement on the one hand, and reaching out to their opponents to force them into negotiations to avoid unrest on the other.
Speech quotes
“I have a dream” - “I have a dream”
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow. I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” “And although we face difficulties today and will face them tomorrow, I still have a dream. This dream is deeply rooted in the American dream.”
“I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” “I dream today that one day in Alabama, with its evil racists and a governor who speaks of interference and annulment, one day, just in Alabama, little black boys and girls will take hands like sisters and brothers with little white boys and girls.”
From 1514 Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a preacher in the city church of Wittenberg. Among the parishioners, he was popular for his enviable eloquence. He often sat in his study, immersed in Bible reading. Luther hoped that the Scriptures would help him clarify the relationship between man and God. For the Roman Church, these relations were absolutely clear: God addresses man through the Pope and further, in accordance with the church hierarchy, through the bishops and priests appointed by the Holy Father. Thus, the Roman Church gave itself a monopoly on the interpretation of the Bible. Moreover, the Vatican also reserved the right to punish those who, in its opinion, violated biblical norms.
95 theses - criticism of internal church abuses
Martin Luther reinterpreted the Gospels of the New Testament, offering a completely different Christian paradigm. He believed that there could be no "apostolic mediation" in the relationship between God and man. Luther believed that the source of faith can only be the Bible, that is, he gave primacy to Holy Scripture over Holy Tradition.
Luther further argued that salvation for eternal life is possible only through God's grace, the highest expression of which was the saving mission of Christ. Moreover, this grace of God is a gift that cannot be earned by any deeds and deeds. Finally, Luther was sure that the main prerequisite for salvation is sincere faith in Christ, which in itself is also a gift from God. Man, however, has free will and therefore can reject this gift.
And all this "reformation" began as a result of the fact that the trade in indulgences flourished all over Europe. The proceeds were supposed to go to the alleged construction of a new cathedral in Rome and to support the luxurious life of Pope Leo X (1475-1521), who was always in need of money.
Drafting his famous 95 theses in his office at Wittenberg, Luther intended, in fact, only to contribute to the eradication of abuses within the Church. He had no idea to come into conflict with the Pope, and even more so - to establish his own Church. That is why he did not nail the theses recorded on October 31, 1517 to the gates of the palace church of Wittenberg, as the legend says, but sent them to friends "for discussion." Then he was not yet a revolutionary, but a simple monk, concerned about saving the souls of his parishioners. The reaction to theses, which very quickly became widely known, turned an ordinary monk who tried to resist abuses in the Church into a revolutionary who stirred up the medieval world so much that it influenced the entire future fate of Europe.
State disgrace - Luther does not abandon his theses
Luther burns the papal bull
Pope Leo X made every effort to call the rebellious monk to order. He anathematized Martin Luther, excommunicated him from the Church, and even got condemned by the Reichstag of Worms in April 1521 - all in vain. At Worms, Luther did not renounce his theses. As a result, the Reichstag adopted its "Edict of Worms", which subjected Luther to state disgrace, that is, outlawed him.
Fleeing from the Inquisition, Luther could count not only on the help of the population who sympathized with him, but also on the support of Elector Frederick III of Saxony (1463-1525), not for nothing called "the Wise". By his order, Luther was to be sheltered - but in such a way that even the elector himself did not know where the rebellious theologian was. So Luther, under the name of "Junker Jörg", ended up in the Wartburg, where he took up the translation of the New Testament into German.
Luther's teaching spread very quickly throughout the European continent. But the conflict with the Catholic Church, as the papal Church with its center in the Vatican now began to be called, acquired an increasingly bloody character. Both sides began to arm. As a result, this religious conflict resulted in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), after which in Germany, and then in other European countries, the Catholic and Lutheran doctrines were recognized as equal in rights.
Founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Born in Eisleben (in Saxony) on November 10, 1483. He came from a peasant class, was the son of a miner and received a strict religious and moral education in the family. In 1501, he entered the University of Erfurt, where, studying law (at the request of his father), at that time he was engaged in philosophical sciences, and also learned all the necessary methods of dialectics. At the same time, Martin Luther studied the Latin classics and entered into close relations with the representatives of Erfurt humanism - Rubianus and Lang. In 1502, Luther received a bachelor's degree, and in 1505 a master's degree in philosophy.
In the same year insignificant; the event served as an impetus for a change in Luther's life, which laid the foundation for his future activities. The storm that overtook him in the mountains made a deep impression on his ardent nature; Luther was, in his own words, "seized with fear sent down from heaven," and from that time began to be tormented by doubts about the possibility of achieving salvation in the sinfulness of human nature. He left a scattered life, entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt and received a priestly rank (1507). However, despite a life full of work and repentance, the fear of divine punishment did not leave Luther, and in the quiet of his cell he experienced more than one difficult moment of sadness and despair. A decisive revolution in his spiritual world was made by one old monk, who resolved all his doubts by simply pointing to the chapter on the remission of sins. A zealous study of the Holy Scriptures, on the one hand, and conversations with the prior of the Augustinian order, Staupitz, on the other hand, contributed to the strengthening in Martin Luther of the consciousness of the possibility of achieving eternal salvation by the power of faith alone.
Portrait of Martin Luther. Artist Luke Cranach the Elder, 1525
Having made a trip to Rome on behalf of his order in 1511, Luther was horrified to see the deep depravity of the Catholic clergy. Nevertheless, he returned from Rome still a faithful son of the Catholic Church, deeply believing in its boundless authority. Even before his trip to Rome, Martin Luther had begun lecturing at the newly founded University of Wittenberg on Aristotle; having become a doctor of theology (1512), he began to read on the epistles of the Apostle Paul, while at the same time delivering frequent sermons in the Wittenberg churches on the topic of God's grace, achieved through faith, which became the cornerstone of his teaching.
Luther's 95 Theses (briefly)
Soon Luther had an opportunity to openly act as an enemy of the Roman church. The abuse of papal indulgences then reached its extreme limits. The monk Tetzel, who sold these indulgences, also appeared in the vicinity of Wittenberg (1517), precisely at the time when the anniversary of the consecration of the local palace church was celebrated there. According to the custom of that time, such festivities were accompanied by publications nailed to the doors of the temple; Luther took advantage of this and nailed 95 theses to the church doors, in which he pointed out the difference between repentance, as an act of inner, moral peace, and the existing church system of repentance. The success of the 95 theses was extraordinary: within 14 days they managed to go around the whole of Germany and were met with universal sympathy. At the beginning of 1518, 95 theses were condemned by the papal censor; and in 1519 the papal theologian Eck challenged Martin Luther to a public debate at Leipzig (concerning chiefly the question of the supremacy of the pope), after which there was a final break between Luther and the Roman Church.
Luther's burning of the papal bull
Working tirelessly with a pen, Martin Luther began to develop in his writings the doctrine of the right to the priesthood of all believers, of religious freedom, that the church does not need an earthly substitute in the person of the pope, and demanded, among other things, communion under both types and for the laity. . These teachings, and his association with such notorious enemies of Rome as Hutten, finally brought the wrath of the pope upon Luther. In 1520, a papal bull appeared that renounced him from the church, to which Luther responded with a new essay: “On the Freedom of the Christian Person,” and he solemnly burned the bull along with the papal decretals in front of the gates of Wittenberg. Luther was saved from punishment for this act only by the intercession of Elector Frederick the Wise, who was viceroy of the imperial throne before the election of Charles V.
Both in the aforementioned and in other works published in the same year (“To the Christian nobility of the German nation on the correction of the Christian state” and “On the Babylonian captivity of the church”), Martin Luther calls on Christianity to fight against the arrogant demands of the pope and the clergy, demands the destruction of the enslaving people of the system of remission of sins and points to a direct approach to God through faith, as the only source of peace and bliss.
Luther at the Diet of Worms 1521 and at Wartburg Castle
In 1521 Martin Luther was called to account before Emperor Charles V and the Reichstag; Appearing at the Imperial Diet at Worms, he boldly defended his teaching in the face of the authorities and numerous people and decisively rejected the proposal to renounce his ideas.
Luther at the Diet of Worms. Painting by A. von Werner, 1877
On the way back, on the initiative of his patron, the Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise, Luther was “attacked” by disguised “robbers”, who brought him to the Wartburg, where, hiding under a false name, he found a safe refuge from all persecution and could calmly surrender to his literary and reform activities. Here Luther made one of the most important works of his life - the translation of the Bible into German.
Luther in the Wartburg (where he lived under the name Jörg). Artist Luke Cranach the Elder, 1521-1522
The Reformation of Martin Luther (briefly)
Not long, however, he stayed in the Wartburg. The fanatical excesses of his followers, the iconoclasm, the indecisiveness of Melanchthon in view of these events called Luther out of his refuge. He reappeared in Wittenberg and, by the power of an ardent sermon, restored calm, after which he devoted himself zealously to the organization of the transformed church, embracing with his reforming activity the divine service (which began to be performed in German, and many of the rites of which were replaced by prayer and the singing of hymns), church organization, school work etc., which resulted in his writings: “On the order of worship in the community”, “Book of Church Songs”, “Large Catechism”, “Small Catechism”, etc. Denying the celibacy of the clergy, Martin Luther married (1525) Katharina von Bora (also a former nun), then began to destroy the monasteries, turning their property into schools, hospitals, etc.
Portrait of Martin Luther and his wife Katharina Bora. Artist Luke Cranach the Elder, 1525
A bold religious reformer, Luther, however, firmly stood for the existing political system, strongly condemning any attempt to change it. Thus, he was an ardent opponent of the Müntzer party, and during Peasants' War in 1525, he ardently condemned the actions of the peasants and Anabaptists in two essays: “A Call for Peace” and “Against the Peasants – Robbers and Murderers”. In the same way, Zwingli's reforming activity met with an adversary in him. In addition to religious and ritual disagreements with the Swiss reformers, Martin Luther was an extreme opponent of the idea of armed resistance, as a result of which he completely rejected the extensive plan of Zwingli and the Landgrave of Hesse regarding the joint action of all reform forces to fight the papacy and the Catholic monarchy. The final break between the Lutheran or Saxon and the South German and Swiss Reformations followed at a religious dispute in Marburg (1529), so that at the Augsburg Reichstag in 1530, the Saxon Germans came forward with their own confession of faith (“Augsburg confession”), which completed the process of formation of the Lutheran churches. However, in the following years, Luther continued to tirelessly work on the work he had begun, remaining faithful to his ideas to the end: in this spirit, he compiled the Schmalkalden articles in 1537; guided by the same ideas, he rejected mediation proposals in Regensburg in 1541 and an invitation to the Council of Trent in 1545.
Luther's personality
Ardent, impulsive, sometimes immoderately harsh when it came to his religious convictions, in private life, Martin Luther was distinguished by clarity of spirit, good-natured humor, a cheerful disposition and a warm, compassionate attitude towards people. His inner, spiritual life represented, however, less peace: more than once he experienced difficult, gloomy moments, struggling with the devil, tormented by phantoms that threatened to cloud his consciousness. This was joined by frequent bodily suffering, which developed into a painful illness that brought him to the grave. Until his death, Luther continued to work in Wittenberg as a preacher. He died on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben, in the very city where he was born and where he went a few days before his death. His body is buried in Wittenberg.
Luther Meaning
Martin Luther remembers the reproach of indulging his high-ranking friends, the princes. But this weakness is partly redeemed by his spiritual and moral qualities. Equally important are the services rendered by Luther to German literature. With him begins a new period in the history of the German language; the style of his sermons, pamphlets, treatises is full of energy, strength and expressiveness, and descendants appreciate Martin Luther not only as a church reformer, but also as one of the most popular writers in Germany.
The beginning of the Reformation was associated with the speech of Martin Luther, a professor at the University of Wittenberg in Germany, in October 1517. with 95 theses against indulgences. Contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, Luther declared that the church and the clergy are not mediators between God and man. He declared false the claims of the Catholic Church that it could absolve sins through the sacraments by virtue of a special authority from God. The main position in Luther's sermon was that a person achieves the salvation of the soul not through church rites, but with the help of faith. source of religious truth, on Luther's opinion is Holy Scripture. The role of the church and the clergy should be limited only to the explanation of its texts. Divine services should be conducted in a language understandable to the people, and not in Latin. Luther translated the Bible into German.
A broad movement in support of Luther that arose in Germany did not allow the Catholic clergy to quickly put an end to his skill. Lutheranism accepted by many townspeople, peasants, nobles and rulers of a number of German states. Luther called for action against papal Rome not only word, but also with weapons.
During the Reformation from catholic churches separated various directions in Christianity, the common name of which is Protestantism. For the first time, the German rulers began to be called Protestants, who in 1529 signed the “Protestation” at the Imperial Diet (a meeting of the princes of the Holy Roman Empire). They protested against the decision of the majority of the Sejm to limit the spread of Lutheranism in Germany.