Just as in the 16th-century Luther and his friends appeared to understand the power of getting the words to as many as possible, similarly today, those seeking change know the power of getting their message out on social media. The Communist Party has signalled that its current leader will retain his grip on power for the foreseeable future. Please update your payment details to keep enjoying your Irish Times subscription. Michael Foley. Luther went viral. However, by , it was becoming increasingly difficult to silence anyone.
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This name will appear beside any comments you post. Your screen name should follow the standards set out in our community standards. Without the printing press, the Reformation would never have been the historical event that it was. Often credited for creating the first media revolution, Luther quickly realised how to use language, music and images to spread his messages.
He increasingly published his writings in German rather than Latin , often with images, and his catchy, vernacular hymns helped the Reformation flourish. His musical contributions have even led to him being called the father of the protest song.
Therefore, he wanted everyone to be able to read the Bible themselves. In , Luther published his translation of the holy book, using vivid, simple language that would be understandable to all. To do this, he had to unite the many different German dialects to create one standardised German — essentially shaping the German language as we know it today. This new emphasis on the vernacular also affected the development of other languages.
Protestant missionaries from Europe and North America who went to Africa in the second half of the 19th Century believed, like Luther, that the Bible should be translated into vernacular languages. This attitude encapsulates the paradox of Luther and the Reformation, which was democratising yet authoritarian.
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Indira Gandhi, the prime minister of India, is assassinated in New Delhi by two of her own bodyguards. Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, both Sikhs, emptied their guns into Gandhi as she walked to her office from an adjoining bungalow.
Although the two assailants immediately Luther said he would not recant unless scripture proved him wrong. The meeting ended in a shouting match and initiated his ultimate excommunication from the Church.
Following the publication of his 95 Theses , Luther continued to lecture and write in Wittenberg. In June and July of Luther publicly declared that the Bible did not give the pope the exclusive right to interpret scripture, which was a direct attack on the authority of the papacy.
Finally, in , the pope had had enough and on June 15 issued an ultimatum threatening Luther with excommunication. On December 10, , Luther publicly burned the letter. In March , Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms , a general assembly of secular authorities. Again, Luther refused to recant his statements, demanding he be shown any scripture that would refute his position.
There was none. Friends helped him hide out at the Wartburg Castle. Though still under threat of arrest, Luther returned to Wittenberg Castle Church, in Eisenach, in May to organize a new church, Lutheranism.
He gained many followers, and the Lutheran Church also received considerable support from German princes. When a peasant revolt began in , Luther denounced the peasants and sided with the rulers, whom he depended on to keep his church growing. Thousands of peasants were killed, but the Lutheran Church grew over the years.
In , Luther married Katharina von Bora, a former nun who had abandoned the convent and taken refuge in Wittenberg. Born into a noble family that had fallen on hard times, at the age of five Katharina was sent to a convent. She and several other reform-minded nuns decided to escape the rigors of the cloistered life, and after smuggling out a letter pleading for help from the Lutherans, Luther organized a daring plot.
With the help of a fishmonger, Luther had the rebellious nuns hide in herring barrels that were secreted out of the convent after dark - an offense punishable by death.
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