plagued him; he came to the conclusion
that only a relationship with God based
on personal faith could bring redemption
and grace. This idea provided the founda-
tion of his revolution against the Catholic
Church hierarchy that had long been
plagued by greed, corruption, and bureau-
cratic struggles for power. The church
judged Christians by their charitable
works, their obedience to the pope, and
their purchase of indulgences—a system
that Luther saw as the artificial and un-
holy creation of unworthy men.
In 1517, a monk named Johann Tetzel
arrived in Wittenberg on a mission to sell
indulgences for the archbishop of Mainz,
who would use the money to pay off loans
he had used to pay bribes. This inspired
Luther to write the founding document of
the Reformation, known as the Ninety-five
Theses. By tradition, he posted this bold
challenge to the papacy on the door of the
castle church in Wittenberg. Only God
could grant remission of sin, in Luther’s
opinion, and only God can judge souls
worthy of release from purgatory and sal-
vation from hell. The Ninety-five Theses
were soon printed and circulated through-
out Europe, touching off a controversy that
permanently divided the Christian com-
munity.
Over the next few years, Luther de-
bated his ideas with leading religious men
in Germany. He denied the infallibility and
primacy of the pope; he defied the pro-
nouncements of the Papacy and of the
church councils; he condemned the sale of
indulgences; he appealed for a return to
the scriptures in all questions of faith and
doctrine. Luther set out his ideas in two
important books,The Babylonian Captiv-
ity of the Church andThe Freedom of a
Christian Man.
His stand earned him excommunica-
tion from the church by Pope Leo X in
1521; Luther had defied the papal bull
challenging him by publicly burning it. He
was now at risk for arrest and execution
on a charge of heresy. Emperor Charles V,
who reigned supreme in the Holy Roman
Empire, ordered Luther to appear before
the Diet of Worms and state his case.
Guaranteed safe passage, Luther arrived at
Worms and refused to recant his writings.
He then rode in disguise to Wartburg
Castle, where he lived under the protec-
tion of Frederick the Wise, the elector of
Saxony. Luther grew a beard and took the
name of Knight George while Charles V
declared him an outlaw subject to imme-
diate arrest.
At Wartburg Luther completed a Ger-
man translation of the New Testament,
which was published in 1522 and which
helped to spread his ideas and influence
among the common people of Germany.
In 1524, however, a bloody Peasants’ Re-
volt broke out in Germany, in which the
old social order was threatened by mobs
proclaiming adherence to Luther’s ideas.
Appalled by the violence, Luther con-
demned the revolt in his pamphletAgainst
the Murdering, Thieving Hordes of Peas-
ants, in which he urged that revolting peas-
ants be struck down like dogs.
After the Peasant’s Revolt, Luther
found himself embroiled in controversy
within the Reformation movement. He
broke with Desiderius Erasmus, the lead-
ing humanist of his time; but Lutheranism
was enthusiastically taken up by German
princes who saw it as a way to escape the
authority of the emperor and his ally, the
pope. In the meantime, Luther completed
a German translation of the Old Testa-
ment in 1534; he wrote many treatises on
the Bible as well as instruction on the
Mass, several hymns, and pamphlets and
essays on matters of personal faith. In 1543
he completedOn the Jews and Their Lies,Luther, Martin