Luther - The Early Years

"If anyone despise my fraternal warning, I am free from his blood in the last judgment. It is better that I should die a thousand times than retract one syllable of the condemned articles. And as they excommunicate me for the sacrilege of heresy, so I excommunicated them in the name of the sacred truth of God. Christ will judge whose excommunication will stand. Amen."  Martin Luther spoke these words as he took this unyielding position against the abuses of the medieval church. Now join me as we see the how the Lord transformed, illuminated and emboldened this humble peasant into a bold church reformer.

Born on November 10th,1483 to Hans and Margaretta Luther, Martin entered a very difficult period in world history. Hans was a miner  and had prospered until he became the owner of a half a dozen foundries; yet they were not what one would call affluent. Hans prayed at Luther's beadside each night and Margaretta was known as a women of prayer. There were certain elements of old German paganism  blended with Christian mythology in the beliefs of these untutored people. After experiencing what was for the time a normal childhood education, Martin attended the University of Erfurt. The studies all had their basis in Theology, and the Master's degree for which Martin was preparing for the law could also have equipped him for the priesthood. In school Martin learned Latin and became highly proficient. All the training at the time was meant to instill the fear of God and reverence for the church. In all this there is nothing whatever to set Luther apart from the other students except that he was extradorinary sensitive and suffered from mood swings, which plagued him throughout his life.  I think that much of this was explained by the pressure that medieval religion deliberately induced. Fear was instilled in everyone to drive them to the sacraments of the church. July 1505 as this university student approached Stotternheim the sky became overcast. Suddenly there was a shower, then a crashing storm. A bolt of lighting that knocked Martin to the ground. Struggling to get up, he cried out in terror, "St. Anne help me ! I will become a monk." Martin did survive that storm and was determined to make good on this promise.