The Ministry Anointing of the Apostle

The Ministry Anointing of the Apostle

When Martin, who at the time was an Augustinian monk committed to the church, heard of Tetzel selling pardons, He posted 95 theses (or statements) to a church door in Wittenburg, Germany, opposing the buying and selling of pardons. Luther was not trying to leave the church by posting his 95 theses, but only acting as a scholar desiring to debate the subject. In his day, if a scholar wanted to debate on a subject, it was proper to write the arguments out and post them in a public place. In this case, Luther nailed his 95 arguments on a church door in Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517. He had no idea his 95 theses would cause such an uproar in the church. His statements were translated from Latin to German and circulated among the common people. Soon Tetzel began having trouble selling indulgences and began to attack Luther, accusing him of being a traitor to the church. Luther was summoned to Rome to answer these charges. He feared for his life knowing that many who had attacked or questioned the teachings of the church had been burned at the stake. Luther went to Augsburg, Germany instead to be interviewed by a cardinal named Cajetan who requested Luther apologize for his 95 theses. However, Luther refused and ended up fleeing Augsburg for fear of his life. On June 15, 1520, Leo X gave Luther 60 days to take back everything he had written or be excommunicated from the church. By the time Luther received word of Leo's document, four months had passed and his writings were being burned in Rome and many cities in Germany by order of the Pope. In some cities, however, the people refused to burn his writings and defended him instead. The church was losing its grip on the minds of many of

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