Martin Luther; Reformer Or Revolutionary

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             Naturally, when his protest originated, Luther intended only to reform tainted practices of the Catholic Church (Daniel-Rops, 565). In his addresses, he questioned formally accepted practices, such as what people were eligible to be priests, and what made the priesthood any different from the common man (Luther, 529). He accused the Church of deceiving people by allowing them to believe that buying indulgences would free them from their sins (Luther, 524). .
             Luther also began raising public eyebrows by adamantly proclaiming that any Christian who was truly repentant had "the right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters" (Luther, 525). The effort to allow the public to think for themselves was perhaps the most frowned upon by the church, especially because Luther began to introduce biblical concepts, and affirmation that the sale of indulgences had no biblical basis (History, 462). .
             Obviously, there were other practices of the church that were worthy of some scrutiny, but for the most part, Luther condemned the sale of indulgences as the Catholic Church's most despicable practice (Daniel-Rops, 554). In the early sixteenth century, the Church was in shambles. Church officials were practicing pluralism, in which they held more than one ecclesiastical office at once, and required funding, which they acquired from selling indulgences; a practice fully endorsed and supported by Pope Leo X (History, 461). .
             Somewhere within Luther's efforts to reform the Church, his emotions got a hold of him. He began to make personal attacks rather than stick to simple issues of reform. He questioned the religiousness of the pope, and urged Christians to become educated in biblical matters, without submitting to the papacy (Luther, 531). It is not in motive that Luther was a revolutionist, but in Germany's reaction to his dogma. It may not have been a conscious revolutionary effort, but Luther presented "new answers to four old, basic theological issues", which would form the basis for the Protestant Church (History, 463).