I'm not really sure what I think about Martin Luther. To be honest, I am amazed, impressed, and extremely respectful of anyone who stands up against overbearing powers for what they believe in. However, Martin Luther's ideals, movement, and teachings brought about controversy, unrest, and a division of the German country.
     Like most revolutionaries, Martin Luther had many people who did not only disagree with his ideals, but they adamantly opposed and refused them. However, the man had strong believes and stuck strong to these feelings and ideals. He translated the Bible to German so that others around him could learn, understand, and appreciate the beliefs that he himself found to be true. Luther held strong to what he wanted and did all he could to spread his word throughout the German culture. Martin Luther did not see what the Roman Empire and Catholic Church were preaching and enforcing as right, just, or understandable. He interpreted and saw the Bible and the teachings of Christ in a different light and wanted to at least give people around him an opportunity to follow in his footsteps and see his point of view. He did not believe in many of the ways of the Church, including Indulgences where people could pay for the sins that they committed and many other injustices he saw in the ways of the Church. I am grateful and honored by the word and honesty that Martin Luther laid down to stand against the Church he disagreed with and the beliefs he did not feel.
    On the other hand, Martin Luther paved the path for some controversy and an eventual division of the German people and way of life. His ideals and teachings were the first real questioning of the Catholic Church and the processes that the Roman Empire built itself upon. For the first time, people of Luther's day had another outlet and another realm of religion and belief that they could learn from and search for than what they had been used to. This caused much unrest, hostility, and general questioning from the people. This is where I question and lower my brow to Martin Luther questioning his reasoning to cause an uprising and revolution of sorts at the time.
     Overall, Martin Luther stood up for what he believed in a fought a powerful Empire and Church that had never before been questioned. However, his teachings and beliefs caused and uprise and an unrest that I do not see as just or fit at the time of his delinquency.

My photos are a statue of Martin Luther and the admiration of the historic figure in German culture, the Bible, as translated by Luther, and of what his ideals and the Protestant Reformation did to Europe of the day.

Word count: 432 plus captions

2nd Germany Blo

Germany A New History looks to be a really good reading to prepare our group for the Germany trip. My interest in the first couple of chapters came from the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther as these are two things that I have studied and know a little bit about previously. Martin Luther is a fascinating person to me, as is any historic figure that has stood up to power and authority. People who disagree with something and want to fight for what they believe, no matter who the fight is against, are real heroes in my eyes and definitely peak my interest.

That being said, the Protestant Reformation has always interested me because I believe it was an historical event that probably inspired America’s stand against Great Britain from the beginning, when the Pilgrims arrived. Quaker Pilgrims did not agree with the King’s rule or the English religion, and instead of reforming in the way Martin Luther did, they moved and started an entire new country in the 13 colonies. The American to German comparisons are a big interest of mine in going abroad.

Furthermore, I mentioned in my first blog that Italy was an eye-opening experience for me when I was fortunate enough to go in June. A big regret of mine is that I did not know enough about Italian history or culture before I went. I believe this text and all the readings and meetings we will have before our journey overseas will much better prepare me for the German experience. For my own interest and research knowledge, I am going to try and push myself this fall to learn some Italian history and culture beyond what I learned so that I can have the 3^rd country of interest to include in my studies along with Germany and the United States.

            Overall, I was thrilled to be able to go over to Italy this summer and had an amazing experience while there. However, I did not feel I was rightfully prepared or learned in the history and culture of the Italians and I do not want to make that same mistake with our experience in Germany. I believe our readings will help to keep me from that mistake and I’m excited to learn.

                                                                                   

                                    

                      Martin Luther

Martin Luther Preaching Ideals to the Emperor

Pilgrims Arrival in America