A summer thunderstorm can bring strong winds, hail, and lightning strikes, but a thunderstorm five centuries ago was so frightening that it changed the course of the Christian religion.
On July 2, 1505, Martin Luther was “thunderstruck.” After experiencing a violent thunderstorm, Luther decided to become a monk.
Luther studied at the University of Erfurt, where he initially enrolled in law but later shifted to theology and philosophy. In 1505, after a near-death experience during a thunderstorm, Luther vowed to join an Augustinian monastery. He was ordained in 1507 and began teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg in 1508.
In 1517, Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses, which sparked the Protestant Reformation. The Ninety-Five Theses challenged the Catholic Church, including the practice of selling indulgences, whereby salvation was treated as a thing that could be purchased.
Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521 and declared an outlaw by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Luther’s key theological beliefs included the idea that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, that the Bible is the only source of divine knowledge, and that all believers are part of one holy priesthood.
Luther translated the Bible into German, making it accessible to the general public. This translation had a significant impact on both the Church and German culture.
In 1525, Luther married Catherine von Bora, a former nun, and they had six children together.
Luther was born in 1483 in Saxony and died Feb. 18, 1546, at age 62.
“Thunderstruck” means to be extremely surprised or shocked. Who knew that Luther’s radical change of beliefs “like a bolt out of the blue” would change history?
