"Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. Science has evolved over the years and it still is, it always will. Man will always have an urge to discover, explore, confirm, dis-confirm tests/experiments, because everything they do really has an impact on how we live thanks to science, and how it applies on our everyday lives. For example, recently there has been a scientist that found a way how to tunr any color eye into blue eyes. They are also finding cures for disease that before were not tried nor tested, and also when earthquakes or any other natural disastear happens, we have science to tell us why or how a disaster had occured. If people were not interested in any of these topics, they are also not interested in science. But people who love to explore they will use science to test and experiment various things. The seed of science is a metaphor for the mans curiousty itself. Curiousity is how science starts, you are interested in something and you want to find the answer/solution to it, you just apply science; that is only the beginning that is why they are reffering to it as "seed" it later grows into something bigger, you gain understanding and you find the answers and solutions. I think this quote is describing how science starts, it starts by ondering and that is only a beginnging.

"Justification by Faith" vs. "The Spark for the Reformation; Indulgences"

The two of these religious points of view are very opposite of each other. 

Martin Luther lived on the brighter side of life he believed that by just believing in God, your sins will be forgiven/earning salvation. He said that God was a caring and loving person and that you don’t have to waste and destroy your own life to be forgiven for your sins. He had believed you do not have to serve the church to earn salvation. Justification by faith was believing in God, and for that being forgiven for sins, but not believing you will always be forgiven.“The offering of [the body] is called a spiritual sacrifice because it is freely sacrificed through the Spirit, the Christian being uninfluenced by the constraints of the Low or the fear of hell.” (The Complete Sermons of Martin Luther, vol. IV, "First Sunday after Epiphany," p. 10)

Then on the other hand we have the complete opposite, Johan Tetzel, the one who believed God was a negative person. God was a mean and harsh observer. He claims that you must be his slave to earn salvation. All humans are sins, therefore he thought that with any deed you do you will spend 7 years in purgatory. All these facts of this evil God people were scared so they accepted Tetzel’s offer; indulgences. They were too scared not to buy any. Tetzel states that this piece of paper releases you from a sin, because really you have no other chance of NOT spending 7 years of purgatory aside from buying a indulgent.

“As soon as the gold in the casket rings; the rescued soul to heaven springs”-Johan Tetzel (famous claim)

Martin Luther Hero or Heretic?

We all have different opinions on this particular topic, and both sides have quite a lot of evidence to them. It's hard not to sit on the fence, but there is one side that does seem stronger to me, and maybe that is only because I looked into it more then I had looked into the fact that he was a heretic. I would say he was somewhat a hero. 

Martin Luther showed interest in the church. He was following the church rules, until he started to question it in quite logical ways. In the middle ages, the rule of the Roman Catholic Church was absolute. They also limited access to the Bible, insisted that masses be held in Latin and that prayers were to be said only in Latin (there were cultures that would burn a person at the stake for teaching their children prayers in their native language). Luther didn't want this to go on, he wanted to translate the Bible into his own language (German) so that more people can have the privilege to read and interpret the Bible however they wanted to. Before the Holy Scripture was translated people had only followed religion out of culture, and because the church had ultimate power. The result was that by keeping the masses ignorant, a priest could teach its parishioners anything they wanted to teach. A true hero would fight for his and other people’s rights to interpret the church, religion and Bible on there very own. This is one of the reasons why Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation when he posted his list on the church door (95 Thesis). He realized that the church had strayed from the original teachings of scriptures, because they were overwhelmed with the power and they knew that they couldn’t risk the power.
His interpretations on the church were only later adapted. After he was thrown in jail by Pope Leo X, he finally escaped and went to Germany to translate the Bible. When Martin Luther died Pope Leo III accepted some of his rules. So technically they waited for him to die to accept his rules and thoughts, that’s being hypocritical, so really they don’t have the right to call him a heretic when they are being ones themselves. The Church was hypocritical in the sense that they accused Martin Luther of heresy for questioning the church and for his beliefs. And then later they outlawed themselves during the Catholic Reformation. Pope Leo X was also quite a heretic himself; there are many quotes that can easily prove his heresy.
Martin Luther stands accused as a heretic yet who is the Church to call him a heretic when they were corrupt and heretics themselves. "How well we know what a profitable superstition this fable of Christ has been for us".  - Pope Leo X, the man who convicted Luther for heresy is going against the Church and calling it a lie! Luther tried to reform the Church and in the process started the Protestant Revolution. He cried out against indulgences and the sale of positions


Martin Luther was a true hero, because he didn't care about the power or the attention, he wanted to get his idea across, even though they locked him up sometimes, he was still a fighter for his and other peoples rights.
(Some information used from our debate note sheet.)