Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Catholic monk who realized that the catholic church was doing a lot of things wrong.  He wrote a lot of books and stated many ideas that made many of the higher catholic people very upset.  He was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany (http://www.religionfacts.com/).  He was ordinated as a monk in 1506 when he was 23 years of age.  One of the most important parts of his life were when he posted his 95 thesis, which was a list of grievances against the catholic church, on the doors of his church in Wittenburg (http://www.wiki.answers.com/).  This is important because this was the first time that someone had stood up to the Roman Catholic Church like he did.  His thesis quickly spread and people were starting to realize that the church wasn't  being all that truthful.  Luther extremely despised indulgences, which were pieces of paper you could buy to get a few years out of purgatory for you or your relatives, and made it known in many of his writings.  Another important part of his life is when he was 'kidnapped' by Frederick the Wise and placed in exile where he translated the Bible, which was only in latin at the time, into German so that common people could read it.

I thought that the movie portrayed a very accurate view of Martin Luther's life and was very well made.  I think that the movie was a little biased toward Luther because he did say some pretty harsh things to many members of the clergy at the time and it didn't show that as much in the movie, but otherwise, it was accurate.  I believe that some of Luther's strengths were that he wasn't afraid to speak out against people that were doing wrong.  One of his weaknesses, however, is that as a result of his having no fear, he could be really mean.  Another one of his strengths is that he's a pretty smart guy.  I mean, he could translate a whole bible into German and other languages and also be able to argue with some of the top religious leaders of the Church. 

Some of my thoughts about Martin Luther are that I think that he was a brilliant man that made a very big and lasting impact on the world and the Church.  God definitely was working in his life, despite his weaknesses and downfalls (just like all of us), and used him to cause a reformation that rocked the world.  He is definitely a role model for me and a great Christian.