什麼是馬丁.路德
Luther, Martin
引發宗教改革運動的德國牧師。礦工之子，他攻讀法律和哲學，後在1505年進入奧古斯丁修道院。兩年後任牧師職，並在威登堡大學繼續研究神學，擔任聖經神學教授。1510年到羅馬旅遊途中，驚見教士腐化的情形，後來因恐懼宗教報應的正義而苦惱。當他依着信仰想起「稱義」－－救贖是經由上帝恩典所給予的禮物－－這個理念時，他的精神危機解決了。他要求天主教會進行改革，抗議免罪罰的販賣和其他濫權，1517年他把「九十五條論綱」貼在威登堡城堡教堂的門上。1521年路德所譴責的主要對象教宗利奧十世開除了他的教籍，而他在批判聲浪中藏匿於瓦特堡。他在那裏把《聖經》翻譯爲德語，好讓一般人此後能夠閱讀；長久以來，他活潑的譯文被視爲德語歷史上最偉大的里程碑。後來，路德回到威登堡，1525年娶了還俗的修女波拉爲妻，撫養了六名子女。雖然他的傳教是農民戰爭（1524～1526）的主要導火線，但他對農民的強烈譴責卻導致他們戰敗。路德與教廷分裂導致路德宗的創立（參閱Lutheranism）。1530年由梅蘭希頓擬定、路德認可的「路德宗信綱」或「奧格斯堡信綱」。路德的着作包括讚美詩和一本祈禱書，還有許多神學作品。亦請參閱Eck, Johann。
1483～1546年
Luther, Martin
German priest who sparked the Reformation. The son of a miner, he studied philosophy and law before entering an Augustinian monastery in 1505. He was ordained two years later and continued his theological studies at the University of Wittenberg, where he became a professor of biblical theology. He was shocked by the corruption of the clergy on a trip to Rome in 1510, and was later troubled by doubts centering on fear of divine retributive justice. His spiritual crisis was resolved when he hit on the idea of justification by faith, the doctrine that salvation is granted as a gift through God's grace. He urged reform of the Roman Catholic church, protesting the sale of indulgences and other abuses, and in 1517 he posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. In 1521 he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, the target of many of his reproaches, and under a storm of criticism he took refuge in the Wartburg. There he translated the Bible into German, in order that the common people would thenceforth be able to read it; his superbly vigorous translation has long been regarded as the greatest landmark in the history of the German language. He later returned to Wittenberg, and in 1525 he married a former nun, Katherina von Bora, with whom he raised six children. Though his preaching was the principal spark that set off the Peasants' War (1524-26), his vehement denunciation of the peasants contributed to their defeat. His break with the papacy led to the founding of the Lutheran Church (see Lutheranism); the Lutheran confession of faith, or Augsburg Confession, was produced with Luther's sanction by Philipp Melanchthon in 1530. Luther's writings included hymns and a liturgy as well as many theological works. See also Johann Eck.
