What Impact did Martin Luther have?
Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German monk,[1] theologian, university professor, Father of Protestantism,[2][3][4][5] and church reformer whose ideas influenced the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.[6] Luther’s theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority[7] and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a universal priesthood.[8] According to Luther, salvation is a gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church. At the Diet of Worms assembly over freedom of conscience in 1521, Luther’s confrontation with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church and being declared an outlaw of the state as a consequence. His translation of the Bible into the verna
