Verified Document

War Against Turks Writings Martin Luther, I Essay

¶ … War Against Turks" writings Martin Luther, I attached additional material file. Instruction: Discussion In attempting to discuss the principle argument that the author of this reading is attempting to make, one must understand that the reading discussed in this assignment actually consists of numerous writings by Martin Luther. In fact, some of these writings are distanced from one another by several years' time. However, the fact that they are all written by the same author and are presented within chronological order enables the discerning reader to see a theme and central purpose to these works. Essentially, Luther's chief idea is to preserve the sanctity of the Christian religion as it is manifested within the hierarchy of religious factions. What varies between all of these writings is from who exactly Luther is attempting to save the ideals of the church. Early on in this collection of his written work, for example, he is advocating saving the ideals of Christianity from the heretical actions of the Roman Catholic Church. Later on, he is advocating preserving the sanctity of this religion from the rebellious masses of peasants that took up arms in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. Still later on again he is advocating a preservation of the holiness and 'correct' spirit of Christianity from a force invading outside of his native Germany -- the Turks.

What is pivotal to realize about the author's central argument...

Luther views all of these entities as bona fide threats to the true way in which Christianity is supposed to be practiced. Implicit in such sentiment is the fact that there is a political rectitude that he associates with the Christian Church -- one which all of the aforementioned parties have the potential for ruining. He laments the Popes' frequent abuses of "temporal power" (Luther 39) as much as he warns against the invading Turkish heathens. He does so because both of these foes, and numerous others, are perceived as adversely impacting the political state necessary to properly practice Christianity.
The author proves his argument by buttressing it again and again with the values of Christianity. Everything he is writing and propounding is true, because it is in adherence to the Christian faith. Moreover, it is in adherence to the heart of the Christian faith -- which is the belief in Jesus and in the redemption that such belief gives one. This notion, that "the righteousness that makes men good in the sight of God" is attributable to "only faith in Jesus Christ" (Luther 102) is at the backbone of the rectitude that he posits. Beyond using concepts of Christianity, he also uses a surfeit of references to Biblical scriptures to reinforce many of his concepts that pertain to the fact that what Luther is advocating is best of the…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Luther, Martin. Luther: Selected Political Writings. Lanham: University Press of America. 1987. Print.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Western Attitudes Toward Islam in the Fourteenth Through Sixteenth...
Words: 1251 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Islam in the 14th-16th Centuries With the rapid rise of the Ottoman Empire in the fourteenth and fifteenth century, European attitudes toward Islam would change vastly. We can see this illustrated in the differing attitudes toward Islam which are expressed by William of Adam, in his strange early-fourteenth century strategy pamphlet emphasizing the total European defeat of the Saracens, and Martin Luther, in his sixteenth century publications offering policy recommendations toward

American Pastoral Lutheranism Originated As
Words: 2916 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

All human beings are considered corrupt and sick and, because of the original sin, are in close relations with the powers of evil, rending them unable to make a significant contribution to their liberation. Ironically in some way, it can be said that Lutherans believe in faith. Faith is understood as trust in God's love and is viewed as the only appropriate way for man to answer to God's

Anachronism Universal Peace and the
Words: 1840 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

They investigate on the nature of virtue and pleasure but they concentrate on the happiness of man and what it is made up of. They uphold that man's happiness consists mainly in the good type of pleasure. They derive arguments from religious principles, despite its roughness and strictness. Without these principles, all searches on happiness can only be merely conjectural and defective (Philosophy Basics). The need for a real-life utopia

High Degree of Misinformation I Had Received
Words: 3132 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

high degree of misinformation I had received from traditional teachings about the church and the beginning of Christianity. Moreover, I was struck by the notion that most other people in the Western world receive this same degree of intentional misinformation, so much so that I have even heard people defend the idea that knowledge of the historical church is irrelevant to modern Christianity. Reading through the class material, I

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now