Martin Luther was the main figure who sparked a movement against the growing corruption of the Catholic Church. While he instituted radical and irreversible changes across the world, Luther also wanted to maintain a certain continuity. He condemned old practices, such as the sale of indulgences and the wealth of the clergy, and brought forth radically new ideas, such as salvation by faith alone and the importance of marriage both in the community and in the clergy, but he thought also that the rules established governmental structures had to be maintained. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Martin Luther was disgusted by the corruption he saw occurring in the Church. To build a lavish church in Rome, the papacy sold indulgences, which essentially accelerated the time a person had to spend in Purgatory. However, previously indulgences were only supposed to be granted on the basis of good works and good deeds. Luther saw this project for what it was and it quickly led him to general criticism of the entire Church, from the clergy to the pope. He accused the Church of trying to avoid reform by erecting "walls", which included the papal power to convene the council, the supremacy of temporal power, and the exclusivity that clergy granted to themselves in interpreting Scripture . Luther found no scriptural basis for any of these laws. In fact, he held that priests were no better than laymen and that the title was simply an invention of the Pope, and that the word of God as written in the Bible was the highest authority on all religious matters. practices, Martin Luther also offered his own ideas of what correct beliefs were. One of the central beliefs he also held to was that faith alone would lead to salvation. If someone “believed in [their] heart that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead,” then that believer would be saved. Luther's interpretation essentially nullified the existing dogma that good deeds would lead to salvation, because each person's inner spiritual body cannot be saved by any action performed by the outer body. However, these thoughts did not mean that good works were not important, because bad deeds could indicate a lack of inner faith. Another dramatic difference in beliefs was Luther's praise of marriage. He declared that marriage was not a sacrament and compared it to "the rose garden of God", as evidenced by his later marriage to a former nun and the birth of his six children. Although Luther is primarily known as a revolutionary, he also advocated for continuity, particularly in established government and hierarchical social structures. When a group of peasants revolted against the lords, Luther was outraged, describing their actions as theft like "mad dogs." He justified his position by claiming that the peasants had violated their sworn loyalty to the lords and that God had approved this form of hierarchical structure in society, so rebellion would be an insult to God. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized essay now from our expert writers.Get a Custom EssayAlthough Martin Luther favored some continuity in societal structure, he remains best known for the enormous divide he placed in Christianity with his questions about Catholicism and its radically different doctrines..