Publisher's Synopsis
Martin Luther was a German monk, theologian, and church reformer. He is also considered to be the founder of Protestantism. Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by emphasizing the Bible as the sole source of religious authority and the church as a priesthood of all believers. According to Luther, salvation was attainable only by faith in Jesus as the messiah, a faith unmediated by the church. These ideas helped to inspire the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization. Luther's translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. The translation also furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible.[5] His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity.[6] His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism. Luther is also known for his writings about the Jews, the nature and consequences of which are the subject of scholarly debate. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated, and liberty curtailed were revived and given widespread publicity by the Nazis in Germany in 1933-45.As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.
