The Reluctant Revolutionary

            Martin Luther was a very brave and charismatic individual.  For Luther to be able to resist the church, at a time of the churches domination over secular rulers is incredible.  For Luther to resist excommunication and the inquisition, a fate that was all too likely for him, was both a matter of luck, locution, and location.  The nailing of the ninety-five theses was a bold step in and of itself, for Luther to go on not only to print pamphlets but also meet at the council of worms is and succeed at the council is incredible in and of itself.

            Personally growing up in a Protestant family and going to Catholic schools until college, I have been able to learn study and see religion from both sides.  Taking religion classes in school and studying the catechism, then going to class at church and studying the bible and Protestant has given me a view on both of these denominations.  I feel I can understand what Luther saw was wrong, at least partially, and what he hoped to change.

            As the PBS video mentioned a major point of Luther was to take the power out of the Catholic Church who acted as the arbiter of supreme biblical and religious authority, and put it in the hands of the people.  This radical idea held with the masses, and also it made sense biblically.  As Luther analyzed the bible showing that only two sacraments were mentioned, he show the needless inflation of religious sacrament and religious power of the church.  In this Luther saw that the Catholic Church was separating the people from what he saw as the true word of God.  His translation of the bible into German was a huge step in his goals of giving the religious power to the people.  The roman church had at one point believed that only priests should be able to read the bible for they were the only ones who had the divine right to interpret God's word and not the common people.  This notion goes contrary to what Luther thought and thus worked to return the religion back to the people.

Schulze's Germany: a New History

In Schulze's Germany: a New History I found it interesting that early on the princes held the right to appoint church officials.  Before reading this I did not know that the secular world ever had any say or power at all over the church.  I find it interesting that an abbey in Burgundy actually had a movement to make the church able to position its own leaders.  I think this idea from the abbey made a huge impact on medieval.

The church was seen as the arbiter of truth, and justice in the medieval world.  Papal influences were instilled in local regions by the bishops and clergy who held much political sway.  Much money was sent from the regions to the papal states, one of the reasons the aristocracy supported the reformation.  The corruption of the church with the selling of indulgences and influence in the secular world was great at the time.

If perhaps the secular world had some control over the clergy in their regions, perhaps the secular authorities would have had more say in matters of the church, or at least be buffered from papal influences.  The appointed clergy would, I assume, be more willing to appease the local ruler who appointed him, and be more readily influenced, than one appointed by the church.  This buffer could in effect be beneficial to the local rulers and perhaps make them more opposed to the reformation.  For the reformation would seek to take away the state's power to appoint religious officials, and possibly remove the states influence on the pope.

The fact that this divergence brought around the idea of separation of church and state long before it became the mainstay in politics, especially the rise of the New World's political climate, is very interesting.  I personally thought it was a new idea not one that grew out of a disaccord with the church and local rulers over the ability to appoint clergy.

Why Germany

Ever since I was a young I have had a great interest in Germany.  I take great interest not only in the history of Germany but also the culture, food, and language.  When the world cup is on you will usually find me rooting for Germany. German cuisine is by far my favorite; I grew up eating German food.  I am of German heritage; my ancestors came to America before World War I.  My father lived in Germany with his parents when he was younger. So I have quite a few reasons to choose Germany.

            I love to read books, most of which are about history. When I was younger up until the present day most of these history books were about two countries, Germany and Japan. I have had a continuing interest in the history of these two countries and their culture.  I have a primary interest I German history in the 18^th and 19^th centuries as well as medieval periods; as for Japan I mostly hold interests in classical and feudal period.

            My interest in German culture is another reason I chose Germany.  From literature and philosophy to film and food German culture has been not only of interest to me but also part of my growing up.  As a child I was told German folk, as well as read the Brothers Grimm, like many other children.  Later I would grow to love and read German philosophy, reading the likes of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kant, Marx and Engels to name a few.  As well as reading books I loved watching German film.

            German expressionism is one of my favorite movements in art especially in film.  The German films such as the legendary Nosferatu and Metropolis are among my favorites.  German war films of World War II are also of interest to me, seeing how the war is depicted from a German perspective in a post-war period is very interesting. Der Untergang a film showing the fall of Hitler is vivid and terrifying, showing the insanity of the infamous man as he lives out his last days in his bunker.

            German Music, Opera and plays are amongst some of the world's most highly regarded, including Beethoven, Händel, Wagner, and Brahms, the list could go on.  My interest in German music is not only classical, although I do enjoy it, I also enjoy modern German artists such as ATB and Dumme Jungs. Der Ring des Nibelungen is one of my favorite German operas although many people today may have not seen the opera in part or in its entirety they surely know the music or at least one song, Ride of the Valkyries.

            The cuisine of Germany is something I could not live without. I love German food and German drink. As I said previously when I was growing up we often had German food in the house for meals.  German sausages, meat, sauerkraut, mustard and bread all great foods. German beer is the best in the world hands down, I tend to enjoy wheat beers, and nothing beats a good hefeweiß or dunkelweiß.

            I studied German briefly and unfortunately could not continue here at North Central College. In high school I took French for two years after the German teacher retired and the high school did not hire a new teacher. I took German again a few summers ago at a community college to try and learn more however after a semester due to low enrollment the class was no longer held at higher levels.

            There are many reasons for me wanting to go to German not least of which is my love and interest in the home of my ancestors.  I am excited for this trip and hope to have a great time traveling in Germany.