The Life and Influence of Martin LutherThesis: Martin Luther was by far one of the most influential people in church history. His doctrine of faith and works was instrumental in the success of the Reformation and has since become the cornerstone of the Church we know today. Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483. His father, Hans Luther, had made something of himself and came to own a copper mine. Eager to see his own son go even further, he pushed him to school. At the age of seventeen he entered university life. Within four years, he had earned a master's degree at the University of Erfurt. From there, his father pushed him to enter law school. This is not where Martin Luther would stay. While on the road during a storm, Martin Luther experienced the fear of God when lightning struck near him. He called on God to make a deal. If God spared his life, he would become a monk. While ninety-nine out of a hundred would probably be willing to get over it and move on after such an ordeal, he kept his word and joined a local Augustinian monastery. Dissatisfied with the rituals of monastic life, he began teaching at the University of Wittenberg. He finally received his doctorate in 1512, but it was what he saw two years earlier during his trip to Rome that would forever change the direction of the Church. Martin Luther's testimony on the sale of indulgences changed him. The idea that a piece of paper signed by the Pope could justify the sins of the living was enough to exasperate him. But it was claimed that an indulgence could also free someone from purgatory. Martin Luther dug deeper than the original Augustinian vision “driven by the pressing problem of indulgences.” The Bib...... middle of article ......e University of Wittenberg during which he suffered from frequent health problems. He died of natural causes on February 18, 1546, at the age of sixty-two, leaving the world a hero of doctrine, theology and reform.Bibliography1. Lindberg, Carter. Theologians of the Reformation: an introduction to early modern theology. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.2. Mullett, Michael A. The Catholic Reformation. Taylor & Francis electronic library ed. London: Routledge, 2002.3. Olin, John C. Luther, Erasmus and the Reformation: A Catholic-Protestant Reappraisal. New York: Fordham University Press, 1969.4. Pelikan, Jaroslav. The reform of Church dogma (1300-1700). From Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.5. Wakefield, Gordon S. “Faith.” In the Westminster Dictionary of Christian Spirituality. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983.