Martin Luther

Martin Luther only meant for his 95 Theses to spark debate and hopefully a few changes in the Catholic Church. Instead, they changed the face of world history, sparking decades of violent religious conflict and war amongst the nations and peoples of Europe. Luther was a Catholic cleric whose chief problem with the Church was the practice of selling indulgences. Church leaders, though, would not sanction debate with him and excommunicated Luther. His cause was then championed by varied European royals who saw the chance to break from the Catholic Church and take control of valuable land. As the Protestants separated from the Catholic Church, they also split from each other into denominations like Lutheran, Anglican, and Calvinist. All of this was more than Luther sought or likely even wanted. But the Reformation remains a seminal moment in Western, indeed world, history and Martin Luther is its father. This book presents an overview of Martin Luthers life and his impact on Christianity and the face of the world. Following that is a list of carefully selected citations of literature about Luther and the religious change he spawned. Easy access is finally provided via author, title, and subject indexes.