Martin Luther lived in Germany and studied at the University of Erfurt. Not too long after he graduated, he found himself caught in the middle of a dangerous, violent thunderstorm. Praying for his life, he made a deal with God: If he lived through the storm, he promised to become a monk.

To Luther?s surprise, he survived the storm. To everyone else?s surprise, he kept his promise, and only weeks later, he entered the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt at the young age of twenty-one.

Luther soon became embarrassed about the wealth of church leaders who taxed poor people. He believed it was wrong for clergy to sell relics (pieces of bone or hair from saints, believed to have spiritual powers), to sell indulgences (granting remission of sin and its punishments for a sum of money), and to be more concerned with wealth and power than with the spiritual life and needs of the people.

When he nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of Wittenburg Castle Church in 1517, Luther had no idea that such an action would eventually lead to a whole new religious denomination. He did not want to be excommunicated! He wanted the church to reform, to be a church of integrity.

Once Luther?s actions became public, he feared for his life, because those regarded as heretics could be put in prison or even burned at the stake. So he went into hiding for a time. Luther translated the Bible into German so that most people in his country could understand it. He reasoned that the church had gotten into trouble because of its lack of attention to the teachings of Jesus in the Bible. He thought that if people used the Bible as more of a guide, then church practices would stay on track.

Luther wanted a faith based only on what was actually written in the Bible. He believed that faith (what is truly in one?s heart) and not works (paying for indulgences, buying relics, and erecting cathedrals) is what makes people right with God and brings them to eternal life.

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