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Martin Luther (1953)
Is Martin Luther Founder?
The most significant figure of the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther, a German professor of theology and former monk. He questioned all the rituals and relics of the Roman Catholic Church and came to his own understanding of the scripture. The film depicts the part of his life starting from his submission to discipline of Holy Church till he was condemned by Pope and Emperor in the early 16th century. According to the documentary, Martin Luther is considered as a founder of Protestantism and its denomination Lutheran Church. This film is focused on the struggle between doctor Martin and Rome and his role in the reformation of Medieval Christianity. Although it is shown that Martin Luther is the father of the Protestant Reformation, in truth, he is one the key facilitators of it and founder of Lutheranism, branch of Protestantism.
Protestantism began to develop in the early 14th century before the birth of Martin Luther. The main two predecessors of the Protestantism were Czech theologian Jan Hus and English philosopher and biblical translator John Wycliff. John Wycliff is considered as a morning star of the Reformation and had the idea of "Sola Scriptura" as well as Luther. The reformers solely believed in the Bible and Gospels, and it was the reason for their revolution. We do not hear Wycliff's name in the film, but Jan Hus was mentioned several times. This implies that Luther's ideas were not first and unique even in the film. The Pope tried to frighten Luther by asking if he is a heretic as Hus and if so, he should be burnt. Jan and Martin believed that salvation is not subject to a Roman Pope and that "sale of indulgences not supported by scriptures". The particular importance of Martin Luther is that his ideas could spread among people and be supported. Whereas, Hus's and Wycliff's could not spread. Being an influential person by people's perception allowed Luther to become a founder of Protestantism among them. Especially, when he was claiming that men cannot buy mercy of God, people of lower and middle class followed him because of the money issue. The proposition of Luther seemed more attractive to them than what was offered by the Catholic Church and what was interpreted by Hus and Wycliff.
The one important detail here is that the documentary was filmed in collaboration with the Lutheran church. Since it demonstrates the most decisive steps and dialogues in the formation of Protestantism, it could not be considered a credible source. As it is claimed by Protestants, Martin Luther is their father and the Church will influence the overall picture of his role. They tried to show the superiority of Luther's arguments over Catholic ones. In the beginning, the film stated that people in the 16th century lived by fear and believed in dual authority. Throughout the documentary, it was clearly seen that the Catholic Church depicted as evil, corrupted, demanded absolute obedience of people. Martin Luther believed in the faith alone: "By faith, man lives, not by relics, sing, pilgrimage, purchase of pardons for sins". There were many scenes of corruption, money collection from the citizens who wanted to earn years of indulgence. People were told that they and their loved ones will be forgiven of time in purgatory for almost 2 million years if they contribute to the building of the new Church. This made Martin Luther angry and take action against it. In October 1517 he put forward 95 theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences on the door of the church. Luther always asked for a debate and explain his ideas that the Pope cannot intercede before God according to scripture. Even if the cinematography, quality of sound and visual content were not satisfactory, the overall play of actors, dialogues, symbols and ideas perfectly suited the overall rhythm of the film. It aimed to show Martin Luther as a brave and persistent revolutionist and did it persuasively. During the whole film, professor Luther had self-confidence, provoking speeches and thus had a chance to be an influencer. However, other characters such as Pope, emperor, and priests did not have such an advantage in the documentary. Since it was filmed with the support of the Lutheran Church, the Roman Catholic Church was depicted as weak, unreliable and even disastrous institution. But it was told that the main goal of Luther was not to establish a new church, but rather "to rid of the Catholic Church's man-made errors". This also shows the intentions of the film to present Luther as an innocent man and boost his reputation among followers.
In conclusion, the Martin Luther documentary is about the process of development of Protestant reformation in the early 16th century. There is no doubt that Luther was the key facilitator of this development and further prosperity of Protestantism. However, it cannot be claimed that he was the founder of this form of Christianity. He was rather the main influencer of a new religious movement and founded Lutheranism. His confidence in the faith and scripture alone, assurance in the uselessness of money donations for indulgences gave him the opportunity to spread his ideas and get support among masses. In addition, the film was supported by the Lutheran Church which leads to some bias in the content depiction. Since Protestants believe that he is a founder, the film also gets to this idea and tries to show Luther's ideas' superiority over the Catholic Church. Thus, the documentary cannot be a reliable source for assuring that Martin Luther is the founder of Protestantism.