Luther and modern criticism of the Church

Luther initiated a trend of criticism of the Catholic Church that would also spread and become predominant during the Modern era, to the point that even atheists and agnostics would use the very same criticisms for the most part when they wanted to attack the Church.

Protestantism and the rise of the individual

Connection between Protestantism and modern individualism, something that was obviously on the rise back then (e.g., explorations, artists' genius...). On the other hand, Catholicism is more collective, more social.

The Bible and the translation problem

Martin Luther undertook an effort to translate the Bible to German, which also revolutionized the religious world of his time. As a consequence of this, the "translation problem" was also born, among other things. Yet, the expansion of Christianity throughout the world in the coming centuries could not have taken place without this development.

Protestantism and the political connection

While criticizing the Catholic Church for its overt acceptance of temporal power and macchieavellian political practices, the fact is that Luther's Reform was also manipulated by the German princes and other rulers to obtain higher levels of autonomy from the Pope.

The dark side of Luther

Together with Luther's positive effect on a spiritual renaissance in Europe, he also showed a clear intolerance towards the Jews and a very deep disregard for the peasants. Luther was still a son of the Middle Ages, and sided with the powerful in very clear terms, justifying the harsh repression of any revolutionary attempts on behalf of the poor masses.