Luther’s Works. Career of the Reformer I

1957

Central BR330 E5 1955, v. 31

Philadelphia: Fortress Press

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a friar and Professor of Theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany. While undertaking scriptural studies, he arrived at an essential tenet: the Bible alone was the source of true Christianity. Luther rejected the authority of the Pope, and thought that people should go to the church and pray directly to God or Christ, and not to anyone who claimed special powers or holiness. On 31st October, 1517, All Saints’ Day Eve, an occasion that attracted many pilgrims to the city, he is said to have nailed 95 theses to the church door. Printed by local printer Johann Rhau-Grunenberg, these points of disputation, in Latin, were a provocative attack on indulgences; forty-four made direct reference to the Pope or the papacy. The theses were posted to initiate scholarly debate. This page shows propositions 28 to 48.