Film "Martin Luther" directed by Irving Pichel portrays the storyline of the priest Martin Luther, specifically the impact of his ideas and his contribution to Protestant Reformation. It takes a look at a corrupted Catholic Church service which was that the church was involved in an act of indulgency - a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church) In other words, the Church allowed people to donate to the Church for their sins in order to reduce the amount of punishment of a sinner. Contemplating this, Martin Luther did not like the idea that his parishioners were donating money for a pure promise, which he thought to be meaningless and untrue. "Martin Luther" film shows the actions undertaken by Luther to sustain what he thought was right and fight against the beliefs Catholic Church imposed on Christians. The film well depicts that at that time it was exceptional goal for Luther to change the Church's followers' view point at the world and their self, which then lead for governments to grant religious freedom for all.
To begin with, it is important to know the background. Roman Catholicism was the dominant "branch" of Christianity in Europe. Talking about Catholic Church, it was accepted as a caretaker of human soul, which was the most important thing since it was believed to be eternal. Moreover, in a Catholic church there was the priest who played a huge role in every Christian's life: marrying them, providing last rites, baptizing them, etc. as was demonstrated in the film. The Catholic Church also provided all the social services like running orphanages and providing education. And most of the followers of the church only met one person who could read the Bible who was their priest and only. Not to mention, the church had its power in the economic and political arena as it owned a share of the European land. From this it is obvious how much authority the Catholic Church has over almost any aspect in the society. On the religious behalf, the earliest 16th century was the time of deep-rooted superstition and fear - men believed the World was filled with demons and evil spirits. The Church on this regard has offered a protection from the Evil, and people had to deliver a complete obedience to the Church in return. The film opens with Martin Luther announcing his decision to move on from his studies as a law student at university to his friends: "Let's just say I hope I'm doing right" and moving to the monastery. Following Augustinian Order brother Martin fulfilled his practice, however the thoughts of the God as of Angry Judge failed to bring peace to Martin Luther. Martin was obsessed with his own sinfulness and that is when Martin he confessed that "I am men, I am evil. I tried to think of him as a loving father, but confined only as Angry Judge. How can I love such a God? And that is my unpardonable sin."(Martin Luther, 1953) Worried of the authority of the Church the father decides to expel Martin before he infects the whole monastery with his worries and restless ideas. They find him disturbing and questioning, which contradicts to the belief that "The Church is the only answer". So they set him on diplomatic mission in Rome, where Luther discovered what he wanted to hear in epistles of St. Paul which said: "The just shall live by faith." That means that salvations comes from the faith itself and not prayer, fasting or any other "good work"; we cannot reach the salvation by our actions and "deleting" our sins through indulgence, but only through faith. After his return to Augustinian monastery, Martin was already convinced in God's righteousness: "He delivers and does not really judge", as he interpreted in from the scripture himself. Here, the father again points out the power of the Church, saying that there's only one proper interpretation of scripture - the one of the Church. From here, it's seen that the film depicts the history in a cohesive manner, to understand the cause and effect of religious beliefs and Luther's opposition to these Church systems.
In opposition to the famous indulgences Martin Luther wrote 95 Theses and nailed them to the Church door which led to multiple debates, thereafter Martin's position was considered bold and radical. As Martin Luther believed in the grace of God and his benevolence, as well as the power of faith, he argued that Christians were "blessed" through faith only: not any prayer, baptism, and other. Other than that, he made a sharp argument that the Church's services did not have any higher power to connect to one's soul and save them, as well as erase one's sins. He was convinced that the Church made mistakes either unintentionally, or vice versa (in my mind it was vivid that it was done intentionally). The Church made people think that to connect to the God, they had to go through the Church, and the Church was THE answer; nonetheless, Martin denied this strong belief, presenting an argument that Christians did not need the approval or assistance of the Church to receive the grace of God: "There is only one universal Church. It is not necessary for the salvation to be subject to a Roman Pope. It doesn't matter who said it, it is the truth!"(Martin Luther, 1953) Luther's ideas were "broadcasted", like in modern world Twitter, everywhere: from cartoons to his own publications. Alongside with these revolutionary publications, Luther interpreted/translated the Bible into German - this helped common people to discuss the meanings of the holy scripture themselves without the interaction with the priests who apparently interpreted it otherwise. It has its own drawbacks, however. With an accessible source of the "original scripture", people started to discuss and deliver the new "religious truths" to their neighbors; in other words, everyone analyzed the script differently and everyone found the "right way" to worship God. Not only this, he argued that the Church is not the highest powerholder, but the kings - as they were sent by God to take care of these Churches. So Martin Luther chose the princes and kings over popes of the Church, and one of the prices who also followed Luther's ideas against Roman Empire's disapproval of him was Albert of Prussia. But it's highly possible that it was not because he wanted to fight against the corruption and faithless promises of priests, but because he could, in consequence, take the Church's assets within his territory. That is when the monarchs and princes started pondering of whether it could be more profitable for them to have what Church had? The land, the taxes, and wealth the Church owned for a long time could now be in use of kings. And that became possible thanks to Protestant Reformation.
Throughout the film, everything felt as if it was happening right before my eyes. The story was directed in much details, which made it extremely convenient to grasp/comprehend. This film showed both sides of such religious systems: the profits and drawbacks, which eased the analysis of it.
To begin with, it is important to know the background. Roman Catholicism was the dominant "branch" of Christianity in Europe. Talking about Catholic Church, it was accepted as a caretaker of human soul, which was the most important thing since it was believed to be eternal. Moreover, in a Catholic church there was the priest who played a huge role in every Christian's life: marrying them, providing last rites, baptizing them, etc. as was demonstrated in the film. The Catholic Church also provided all the social services like running orphanages and providing education. And most of the followers of the church only met one person who could read the Bible who was their priest and only. Not to mention, the church had its power in the economic and political arena as it owned a share of the European land. From this it is obvious how much authority the Catholic Church has over almost any aspect in the society. On the religious behalf, the earliest 16th century was the time of deep-rooted superstition and fear - men believed the World was filled with demons and evil spirits. The Church on this regard has offered a protection from the Evil, and people had to deliver a complete obedience to the Church in return. The film opens with Martin Luther announcing his decision to move on from his studies as a law student at university to his friends: "Let's just say I hope I'm doing right" and moving to the monastery. Following Augustinian Order brother Martin fulfilled his practice, however the thoughts of the God as of Angry Judge failed to bring peace to Martin Luther. Martin was obsessed with his own sinfulness and that is when Martin he confessed that "I am men, I am evil. I tried to think of him as a loving father, but confined only as Angry Judge. How can I love such a God? And that is my unpardonable sin."(Martin Luther, 1953) Worried of the authority of the Church the father decides to expel Martin before he infects the whole monastery with his worries and restless ideas. They find him disturbing and questioning, which contradicts to the belief that "The Church is the only answer". So they set him on diplomatic mission in Rome, where Luther discovered what he wanted to hear in epistles of St. Paul which said: "The just shall live by faith." That means that salvations comes from the faith itself and not prayer, fasting or any other "good work"; we cannot reach the salvation by our actions and "deleting" our sins through indulgence, but only through faith. After his return to Augustinian monastery, Martin was already convinced in God's righteousness: "He delivers and does not really judge", as he interpreted in from the scripture himself. Here, the father again points out the power of the Church, saying that there's only one proper interpretation of scripture - the one of the Church. From here, it's seen that the film depicts the history in a cohesive manner, to understand the cause and effect of religious beliefs and Luther's opposition to these Church systems.
In opposition to the famous indulgences Martin Luther wrote 95 Theses and nailed them to the Church door which led to multiple debates, thereafter Martin's position was considered bold and radical. As Martin Luther believed in the grace of God and his benevolence, as well as the power of faith, he argued that Christians were "blessed" through faith only: not any prayer, baptism, and other. Other than that, he made a sharp argument that the Church's services did not have any higher power to connect to one's soul and save them, as well as erase one's sins. He was convinced that the Church made mistakes either unintentionally, or vice versa (in my mind it was vivid that it was done intentionally). The Church made people think that to connect to the God, they had to go through the Church, and the Church was THE answer; nonetheless, Martin denied this strong belief, presenting an argument that Christians did not need the approval or assistance of the Church to receive the grace of God: "There is only one universal Church. It is not necessary for the salvation to be subject to a Roman Pope. It doesn't matter who said it, it is the truth!"(Martin Luther, 1953) Luther's ideas were "broadcasted", like in modern world Twitter, everywhere: from cartoons to his own publications. Alongside with these revolutionary publications, Luther interpreted/translated the Bible into German - this helped common people to discuss the meanings of the holy scripture themselves without the interaction with the priests who apparently interpreted it otherwise. It has its own drawbacks, however. With an accessible source of the "original scripture", people started to discuss and deliver the new "religious truths" to their neighbors; in other words, everyone analyzed the script differently and everyone found the "right way" to worship God. Not only this, he argued that the Church is not the highest powerholder, but the kings - as they were sent by God to take care of these Churches. So Martin Luther chose the princes and kings over popes of the Church, and one of the prices who also followed Luther's ideas against Roman Empire's disapproval of him was Albert of Prussia. But it's highly possible that it was not because he wanted to fight against the corruption and faithless promises of priests, but because he could, in consequence, take the Church's assets within his territory. That is when the monarchs and princes started pondering of whether it could be more profitable for them to have what Church had? The land, the taxes, and wealth the Church owned for a long time could now be in use of kings. And that became possible thanks to Protestant Reformation.
Throughout the film, everything felt as if it was happening right before my eyes. The story was directed in much details, which made it extremely convenient to grasp/comprehend. This film showed both sides of such religious systems: the profits and drawbacks, which eased the analysis of it.