Martin Luther (1483? ??“ 1546) initiated Protestantism, one of the major movements within Christianity. He was a German monk, theologian, university professor, priest, and church reformer whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

Luther taught that salvation is a free gift of God and received only through true faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin, not from good works. His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians as priests before God (priesthood of all believers).

His reformation began with his 95 Theses in 1517 against the claims of indulgence preachers that one could avoid God's punishment for sins by purchasing indulgences. Luther's refusal to retract his writings at the demand of the pope in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms meeting in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by Pope Leo X and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.

His translation of the Bible into the language of the people (instead of Latin) made it more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of singing in churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant priests to marry. Luther's disregard for the Jews remains controversial, especially after his polemics on European Jewry were used in propaganda by the Nazi Party.

Continue reading at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther?