1. Martin Luther and 95 Theses
The Reformation
Martin Luther and 95 Theses

2. Martin Luther
An Augustinian Monk and professor at Wittenberg University
He began questioning his relationship with God through the Church

3. While reading the New Testament of the Bible he came across Ephesians 2:8-9 and wrote beside it “Fide Sola”  by faith alone
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (King James version)
This signalled a major theological break from the Roman Catholic church

4. Luther then came up with the phrase “Sola Scriptura”  by scripture alone
Luther stressed reading the bible, inner peace and a personal relationship with God
Faith is no longer looking up but looking in

5. What does the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel force you to do. Look up
What does the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel force you to do? Look up. This was humanity before the humanists arrived – always looking up to God. The world was not a thing of beauty, rather it was a place to wait to go to the next life

6. Theses: papal authority is questioned and Indulgences are renounced
October 31, 1517, Luther posts his 95 Theses to the door of the university
Theses: papal authority is questioned and Indulgences are renounced
Luther is excommunicated by Pope
Leo X
Raphael.  Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi

7. He is called before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V at the Diet of Worms (Vormss) to renounce his claims

8. He is kidnapped by the Prince of Saxony, and hid in a castle where he translated the bible into German
Thanks to the printing press his 95 Theses were spread across Europe
Faith becomes a matter for personal interpretation and reflection

9. Effects of the 95 Theses
Lutheranism emerges in 1517 but then people begin to questions his interpretation of the Bible and the role of the Church
Calvinism emerges in 1536
Baptists, anti-Baptists & Methodists emerge etc.
The fragmentation of Christianity emerges in Europe