Martin Luther Essay Example for Free

Martin Luther Essay Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Germany. Although he was brought up in a catholic faith, he changed his faith by starting a new Christian movement that was against the teachings of Catholicism, which was consequently named as Lutheran. He taught as a theology lecturer, hence a professional in theology and he was a preacher as well. His parents Hans Luder mother Margarethe were catholic believers, therefore as soon as he was born; he got baptism on the following day which was St. Martin of Tours day of feast. He had brothers and sisters; however, two of his brothers passed way as a result of a plague. Jacob who had tight bonds with Martin lived on to old age. Martin’s father rented copper mines and smelters and he also worked as a spokesperson in the local council. Besides he wanted the best for his son; he aspired that Martin would be a lawyer . Martin began his early school life in 1497 at Mansfield, Magdeburg and Eisenach in that order; where he learnt Latin. When he was seventeen years of age he was a student at the University of Erfurt and by the year 1505, he had completed his postgraduate studies and was awarded a masters degree. Since his father wanted him to be a lawyer, he went ahead and registered for the law school however, he never pursued the course to completion since according to him law was ambiguous. Instead he preferred to study more on theology and philosophy and was fascinated by former philosophers like William of Ockham, Aristotle and Gabriel Biel. Nonetheless, he was more drawn to lecturers who taught on not laying trust on anyone including the philosophers unless the claims they state could be approved through familiarity. Because of this reason, Martin concluded that knowledge in philosophy could not help people get close to God because it merely emphasized on reasoning; which is valid when applied to people and organizations but not God. According to Luther, people could only acknowledge who God is by understanding the scriptures. From here, his quest for scripture understanding began. Later in 1505, Martin Luther abandoned his studies and joined the catholic monastery. Luther’s life as a monk was constituted by refraining from food, pilgrimage, declaration of his sins before a priest for forgiveness and praying for lengthy periods. The life at the monastery wasn’t easy at all; the monks spent less time in bed and they had to work hard in order to sustain community members. He confesses that his commitment to the church as a monk was not delighting to God; rather it made him aware of how sinful he was. Furthermore, the period within which he served as a monk gave a different perception of Jesus Christ in his life; the Christian life at the monastery was like a detention center that harassed innocent people, yet Jesus is â€Å"a Savior and a comforter†. Nevertheless, the monastery hardship transformed Luther as he found more time to know the Bible. Afterward, it was contemplated by Johann von Staupitz that Luther required to do something else so that his quest for the scripture could be disrupted. Accordingly, after his priestly ordination, he proceeded as a theology lecturer of Wittenberg University. By 1509, Luther had received two degrees; one in Biblical studies and the other in sentences. After three years, he graduated as a doctor in theology thereby becoming a member of the senate in the faculty of theology in the University of Wittenberg . The controversial issues regarding Catholicism began in 1517 when Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses. The theses focused on the indulgences that were sold in the church. Since the pope wanted funds to put up the St. Peter’s church in Rome, pardoning of sins was granted on condition that the sinner paid money. In other instances, one could purchase pardon for sins that he or she expects to commit. This spurred concern in Martin Luther because as he had read in the scripture, deliverance is freely given; whereas in Rome, salvation was an article of trade that could be traded between two partners- a sinner and the priest. Besides, more indulgences were sold so that those souls that were in purgatory could be released. Moreover, according to the Roman Catholic Theology it was believed that faith is not enough to justify a human being unless it is accompanied by deeds, for instance participating in works of charity and giving the church financial contributions . Luther objected the issue of indulgences that were being sold; consequently, he drafted a note to the archbishops of Magdeburg and Mainz; this note is what was later referred to as the 95 theses. A copy of the note he wrote to the archbishop was put on the door of Castle Church. According to Luther, the absolution and forgiveness of sins based on indulgences was wrong and deceptive. Within a short time the theses were converted to German, because they were written in Latin; after which they were printed and reproduced to make many copies. Accordingly, the reprinted theses were extensively distributed to various parts within Germany. Between 1510 and 1520, he spent his time in teaching the New Testament books including the Psalms. Even as he studied the Holy Scriptures, he came to realize that justification was a very significant aspect in salvation. That God acknowledges a sinner and makes him righteous when he believes the scripture; also God saves sinners because of grace. Luther proceeded to preach about justification, how it came from God’s only and faith as a present for humanity from God. The Roman papal authority took a period of three years to act in response to Luther’s writings despite the fact that the theses had been distributed at a faster rate. The Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg whom the letter was addressed to preferred not to answer Luther, but rather identified heretical phrases then sent the letter to Rome. Pope Leo X overlooked the letter believing that it was not a grievous issue; to him Luther was only drunk and after sometime he would get back to his senses. However, the perception was wrong: Country’s such as England, Italy and France were reading the theses by 1519. Furthermore, he wrote and published commentaries Psalms and Galatians, even though he had to work under protection. By 1520, he had published three books that are considered to be the most excellent among his works- â€Å"On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, On the Freedom of A Christian and To the Nobility of the German Nation. The Pope came to rethink of Luther’s thesis in 1519 and ordered him to give details of his theses which he did in a synopsis. As a result, Luther was called to meet the Pope in Rome so that he could give a detailed justification to his writings. Nonetheless, Luther went to Rome but as it was arranged by Frederick the Wise, he met Cardinal Thomas Cajetan who was a legate to the pope Nevertheless, the pope went ahead and wrote to Luther in a writing termed as â€Å"papal bull Exsurge Domine† cautioning him to denounce the theses he had written as well as subsections within the books that he had written, in a period of sixty days; failure of which would result in him getting suspended from the catholic community. Conversely, Luther burnt the papal bull and the other manuscripts, an action he later justified in his writings- Assertions Concerning All Articles as well as Why the Pope and His Recent Book Are Burned. Following this, Luther was suspended out of the Roman Catholic community in 1521 by the Pope. Later in April, 1521, Luther was presented before the Diet of Worms, a gathering of the Roman Empire authorities in Worms, Rhine. It was required of him to confirm if he was the author of the theses and the other books he had written, an issue he readily confirmed. However, in answering whether he supported the writings, he agreed after one day having discussed with friends and prayed. Accordingly, in May 1521, Luther was declared a heretic and his writings were banned. In addition, no one was permitted to provide neither shelter nor food as this would amount to punishment. Luther by the help of the Elector of Saxony, Fredrick III, stayed separate away from people in the Castle of Wartburg for about eleven months under the name Junker Jorg. It is during this period that he interpreted the New Testament, initially in Greek to German . When he went back to Wittenberg in March 1522, Luther continued to preach and many people were drawn to his sermons. He revised the church doctrines and assisted in reinstating peace and unity within the nation. The new church doctrines were based on faith, grace and scripture alone. Instead of the seven sacraments that exist in the Roman Catholic, only two sacraments were recognized- baptism and the Holy Communion. Lutheranism did not advocate for celibacy, however, no one was forced to marry. The first Lutheran declaration of faith, otherwise referred to as the Augsburg Confession, was read before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V in 1530. The reformed church decided to name the new church as Lutheran in honor of Luther. Luther married Katharina who was initially a nun but defected. He passed away in 1546, in Eisleben after having been ill . Bibliography Collinson, P. (2004): The Reformation: a history, ISBN 0679643230, 9780679643234, Modern Library. Doak, R. S. (2006): Pope Leo X: Opponent of the Reformation, ISBN 0756515947, 9780756515942, Compass Point Books. Edwards, M. U. (March, 2000): Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 1483-1546. The Christian Century, Vol. 117. Fairchild, M. (2009): Martin Luther Bibliography. Retrieved on 13th April, 2009, from: http://christianity. about. com/od/lutherandenomination/a/martinlutherbio_2. htm Marius, R. (1999): Martin Luther: the Christian between God and death, 3rd Edition, ISBN 0674550900, 9780674550902, Harvard University Press. The Columbia Encyclopedia (2007): Luther, Martin, Sixth Edition, 2007.

Little Jake :: essays paper

Little Jake It all started when little Jake was one month old. He quickly learned that boisterous wails would cause his grandmother, Betsy, to rush to his crib. He was well on his way to becoming a little dictator. Betsy, being a kind-hearted and compassionate woman, felt sorry for the boy because he had no father or mother to speak of. Betsy would perform on command every time the child uttered a whimper. Her doctor suggested that she let the boy cry. He further explained that, in time, the child would get the hint that no one would be coming at his every whim. Jake's rein of terror would have ended if his grandmother had taken her doctor's advice, but she ignored the suggestion. The effect was predictable: soon, Betsy was suffering from exhaustion. Is it any surprise that, by the time Jake reached his first birthday, his first word was "no"? "Jake, please don't throw your toys," his grandmother would plead sweetly. "No!" was Jake's reply as he hurled a hard plastic ball at Granny. "Eat your cereal," his Granny would say. With a sweep of his little hand, Jake knocked the cereal bowl to the floor while he bellowed another "No!". "All right, Jake," Granny replied, "If you don't like the cereal, I'll fix you something else." Filled with hope, she mistakenly thought the boy would outgrow this behavior. By the time he was five years old, Jake did not hesitate to throw very public tantrums. He once sprawled out on the department store floor, kicking and screaming because he had been denied a toy he wanted. Embarrassed by his behavior, Betsy quickly placed the toy in the shopping cart and proceeded through the checkout line. When they arrived at home, Betsy informed Jake that his behavior had been inappropriate. "We don't act like that in public," she explained. I am certain that the boy was thinking, "Why not? It works." When Jake was ten, Granny warned him that if he did not do his homework he would not be allowed to go camping with his friends the following month. Jake promised to do his homework, but a phone call from the school confirmed that he had not turned in a single homework assignment during the

Sigmund Freud and Freud Hank

Fardad Muhammad Baig 2014-02-0338 Personality Theories Uzma Mazhar 1) What personality (or character) type does Hank display according to Freudian theory? Provide evidence for your answer. At what stage is Hank fixated, according to the Freudian perspective? Find evidence of fixation in the case study. What might have caused this fixation? According to Freud Hank’s displays the Oral Aggressive personality type. This personality type is characterized by envy, manipulation of others, and suspiciousness. ‘Oral aggressive’ people are often perceived as envious, pessimistic, cynical, sarcastic, scornful and contemptuous.Hank perceives others as shallow and is sarcastic about others. Hank is fixated at the oral stage. Orally-fixated people often seek gratification through smoking, thumb-sucking, nail-biting and chewing objects like pens and pencils. Hanks resort to smoking and eating when he is stressed. This fixation occurs as a result of his mother’s overprotec tiveness. His mother used to fulfill his needs instantly. This resulted in his habit of instant gratification which could not be fulfilled later in life. His mother use to shut him up with cookies.This is me was a clean sign that he had dependency issue towards his mother. The mother did not discipline her son which can lead him to have unbalance state of mind. After reading the case study, I believe the mother is part to blame for Hank’s fixation because he was spoiled into a self-centered person, without him even noticing. 2) Would Freudian theory describe Hank's eating and argumentative behaviors as being internally or externally motivated? Explain the motivation. Freudian Theory will describe Hank’s eating and argumentative behaviors as being internally motivated.His habit of eating is a sign of fixation at the Oral Stage as a result of which he resorts to excessive eating and smoking when he is in stress. His argumentative nature expresses his discontent towards o thers because these people did not give him as much attention as his mother did. He, therefore, is angry at others. As a child he was exposed to immediate gratification by excessive feeding. These evidences show that these behaviors were internally motivated. 3) Find an example of a Freudian a Freudian defense mechanism that Hank uses in this description. Explain it.Hank habits alienate people, including Sally. However, when Sally left him Hank thought that she broke up with him because of his weight problem and then he goes on to blame her for her shallowness. He is ‘rationalizing’ here. He is focusing on other reason whereas the real problem lies within him which he is not willing to accept. 4) Find an example of regression in the case study. Explain it. When Hank thought about the previous week he felt stressed. To lower his stress he starts eating the ice cream. After this he starts smoking which also helps him to reduce the tension. This is an evidence of regressio n.In a state of stress Hank regresses back to the Oral stage and seeks gratification through excessive eating and smoking. 5) Would a Freudian therapist view Hank's weight problem as a behavioral problem, in and of itself, or as a symptom of another problem? Explain. A Freudian Therapist would view Hank’s weight problem as a symptom of his fixation at the oral stage. Instead of confronting a stressful situation Hank regresses back to the oral stage and seeks instant oral gratification through smoking and eating. This is the cause of his weight problem. It is also possible that his weight problem can be addressed as a behavior problem.Children learn to behave in a certain manner by observing other people. Since Hank's didn’t have any friends, he was not able to learn from others. 6) What therapeutic techniques would a Freudian therapist, like the one in this case study, likely use? What state of consciousness would be the focus of the therapy? What brings healing in Fre udian therapy? A Freudian Therapist will use the therapeutic technique of Free Association for Hank’s therapy. Psychoanalysis assumes that people are often conflicted between their need to learn about themselves, and their (conscious or unconscious) fears of and defenses against change and self-exposure.Hank’s will be allowed to talk about anything he wishes but this will lead him to talk about the things which matter to him the most. This will instigate a journey of co-discovery which can enhance Hank’s integration of thought, feeling, and selfhood. The unconsciousness will be the focus of the therapy. The therapist will try to make Hank realize his weaknesses so that he can work on them. In Freudian therapy, or psychoanalysis, healing occurs when repressed thoughts and feelings are brought in to consciousness. This allows the patient to develop a stronger ego and resolve internal conflict.

Identify White Oak, Red Oak, American Holly