Tarek tantawy biography of martin luther

The decision to become a monk was difficult and greatly disappointed his father, but he felt he must keep a promise. The first few years of monastic life were difficult for Luther, as he did not find the religious enlightenment he was seeking. A mentor told him to focus his life exclusively on Jesus Christ and this would later provide him with the guidance he sought.

At age 27, Luther was given the opportunity to be a delegate to a Catholic church conference in Rome. He came away more disillusioned, and very discouraged by the immorality and corruption he witnessed there among the Catholic priests. Upon his return to Germany, he enrolled in the University of Wittenberg in an attempt to suppress his spiritual turmoil.

He excelled in his studies and received a doctorate, becoming a professor of theology at the university known today as Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Through his studies of scripture, Luther finally gained religious enlightenment. Finally, he realized the key to spiritual salvation was not to fear God or be enslaved by religious dogma but to believe that faith alone would bring salvation.

This period marked a major change in his life and set in motion the Reformation. Luther also sent a copy to Archbishop Albert Albrecht of Mainz, calling on him to end the sale of indulgences. Aided by the printing presscopies of the 95 Theses spread throughout Germany within two weeks and throughout Europe within two months. The Church eventually moved to stop the act of defiance.

In Octoberat a meeting with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan in Augsburg, Luther was ordered to recant his 95 Theses by the authority of the pope. Luther said he would not recant unless scripture proved him wrong. The meeting ended in a shouting match and initiated his ultimate excommunication from the Church. Following the publication of his 95 ThesesLuther continued to lecture and write in Wittenberg.

In June and July of Luther publicly declared that the Bible did not give the pope the exclusive right to interpret scripture, which was a direct attack on the authority of the papacy. Finally, inthe pope had had enough and on June 15 issued an ultimatum threatening Luther with excommunication. Thus, he writes on Luther with considerable passion.

A more recent short biography is that by the distinguished Lutheran historian, Martin Marty, in the Penguin Brief Lives series. You can read the whole thing herewhich also includes recommended reading from Luther himself and by others on his theology. Justin Taylor is executive vice president for book publishing and publisher for books at Crossway.

You can follow him on Twitter. Browse Articles Featured Essay. An essay by. Read Now. Kidd and Taylor. This is an amazing feat, and is even more so considering the monumental impact that this translation would have on the German people. For the first time, an ordinary believer could read the Bible for themselves. Luther was helped by his friend and fellow reformer Phillip Melanchthon a much better Greek scholar and, having begun the New Testament in November or December ofcompleted it in March of — just before he left Wartburg Castle to return to Wittenberg.

After some revising, the German New Testament was made available in September of Luther immediately set to work on translating the Old Testament. The first five books, the Pentateuch, appeared in and the Psalms were finished in By the entire Bible had been translated. This was not the first German translation, but it was the finest and became the primary Bible of the German people.

Tarek tantawy biography of martin luther

Luther knew that for the people to return to the truth of the Gospel — that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, they needed Scripture in their own language. If Luther had done nothing else, had never preached a sermon, had never written a treatise, had never insulted a pope, had never taken a stand at Worms, his translating of Scripture into German would have propelled the Reformation onward.

Because the Bible was no longer in a foreign language, but the language of the people, the Reformation was not dependent on the works of any of the Reformers but depended instead on the Word of God. The people consumed the Word at an phenomenal rate. On Wittenberg printer sold about a hundred thousand copies in 40 years, which is an enormously large number at that age, and these copies were read and reread by millions of Germans.

I deserve nothing better; for all my wish has been to lead souls to the Bible, so that they might afterwards neglect my writings. Great God! Translating Scripture into the language of the common people would become a hallmark of the Protestant Reformation, with translations in Spanish, French, English, and other languages close behind.

And take hold it did. Thanks in large part to the preaching, teaching, and writing of Luther the theology of the Reformation spread throughout Germany and to other countries in Europe. Martin Luther, whose heart was held captive by the Word of God and who was used by God to usher in the Protestant Reformation, died on February 18, in Eisleben — the city of his birth.

Luther left us a complex and sometimes controversial legacy. But it is clear that — despite his faults — he was used greatly by God to restore Scripture to its proper place of authority in the life of the church and in the life of the individual believer. Luther was emboldened to risk his life for the truth that Scripture alone is to be our ultimate authority in all spiritual matters.

This doctrine came to be known as Sola Scriptura. It is for this reason that the Protestant Reformation was able to continue spreading even after his death. As bold a leader as Luther was, the Reformation was not about a cult of personality — it was a movement to return to the truth of Scripture. Hi, I'm Clay. I created ReasonableTheology.

Thanks for stopping by! Great informative article! I cannot wait to share it with my Sunday School kids! Thank you for your work! He denied there were seven sacraments as taught by the Catholic Church. Luther also believed in the priesthood of all believers. Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in January But Luther was undaunted.

Then in Aprilhe was called to appear before a secular assembly called the Diet of Worms. In May the Diet declared Luther an outlaw and a heretic and banned his writings. However, Martin Luther was protected by powerful friends and he hid in Wartburg Castle where he continued to write. In Luther returned to Wittenberg In the German peasants rose in revolt.

Luther condemned the rebellion and it was crushed in Also inMartin Luther married Katharina von Bora. The couple had 6 children.