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Martin Luther; Hero or Villain?

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  • 24-12-2011 1:02pm
    #1
    paky
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,138 ✭✭✭


    I've been doing some research on Martin Luther and the Reformation recently and I get the impression that he wasn't such a bad guy afterall. Supposedly, the protestant reformation contributed alot to enlightenment thinking in Europe which lead to the formation of democracies and human rights. So is Martin Luther negatively portrayed in Irish schools because of Ireland's Catholic legacy?


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    #2
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,671 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    It depends on your historical viewpoint. Other historians have proposed that the while there were issues within the Church at the time, these were not as severe as Luther made out. As well that the main reason why many German Imperial Princes held to his cause was to seize Church lands. Once this escalated to the point where peasants started to do the same in competition to the Princes, Luther change tack and urged the peasant suppression.

    A book on the subject - "The long European Reformation" by Wallace. The writing style though is a tad heavy.


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    #3
    goose2005
    Registered Users Posts: 4,798 ✭✭✭goose2005


    I don't think his portrayal was negative in the history book I used (purple cover), it was actually quite favorable.

    But he had a very significant role in the growth of German antisemitism - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism


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    #4
    Fuinseog
    Registered Users Posts: 5,371 ✭✭✭Fuinseog


    goose2005 wrote: »
    I don't think his portrayal was negative in the history book I used (purple cover), it was actually quite favorable.

    But he had a very significant role in the growth of German antisemitism - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism

    True, old martin was not a great fan of the Jews, which might make him a pariah in our society, though I am not sure if this comes across in Luther with Joesph Fiennes.
    he was also a great believer in self flagellation, which is hard to sell to young people these days.


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