Martin Luther: The Contrarian

Well-known historical figures are often viewed as great minds that moved the world to a much-needed change. Often the idiosyncrasies of these great historical figures are overlooked in an attempt to make them seem more pristine and ideological to future generations, when in fact, these figures were human beings and like anyone else possessed different peculiarities and were surrounded by much controversy. Very few historical figures are as controversial as Martin Luther. Though Martin Luther was a great thinker whose insights into the church fueled the reformation, he was also a man whose whole life was a series of contrary episodes that created much conflict for him.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) began his life in Eisleben on November 10, 1483. Luther was born to Margarethe and Hans Luther both hardworking and industrious peasants. His father was a copper miner in the mining area of Mansfeld. Luther began his education at the age of four and a half at the strict Mansfeld Latin School. It was here that Luther was punished for speaking German instead of Latin (Brendler 25). This was the start of the mindset that later lead Luther to publish a German bible as a sort of opposition to the traditional Greek one. Luther attended the University of Erfurt in 1501 and received a master's degree there in 1505, ranking second on his final examination. Luther's father wanted him to study law and be a successful lawyer. In the summer of 1505, however, he suddenly abandoned his studies, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. The decision surprised his friends and appalled his father. He attributed his decision to a sign from heaven (Brendler 33). This sudden change of direction marked the beginning of a series of very contrary divergences from the expected path in Luther's life.

Martin Luther then began to advance in the monastery and went on to study theology and become a lecturer at the University of Wittenberg and later a professor at Erfurt. Luther was shocked by the worldliness of the Church of Rome when he visited it in 1510 and later in 1512 he received his doctorate and took over the chair of biblical theology at Wittenberg and begins organizing his first oppositions to the Roman church (Oberman 2). As Luther began to learn more about the bible and religion he began to take on the viewpoint that people are saved through God's grace, contrary to what was being taught in the Catholic Church at the time (Edwards 49). One of Luther's most well known oppositions was his posting of the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. These theses were directly