Luther H. Martin

Martin Luther was a German monk and theologian whose reformist ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and fundamentally altered Western civilization. He challenged papal authority by asserting the Bible as the sole infallible source of religious truth and that all baptized Christians form a spiritual priesthood. Luther taught that salvation is a free gift of God, received through repentance and faith in Jesus, thereby promoting individual freedom of conscience. His translation of the Bible into German made scripture accessible to common people, influencing the development of standard German and the art of translation, though his legacy remains controversial.