Martin Luthers account with the church changed between 1517 and 1535

because Martin Luthers view of the pope changed because of the negative things the
pope was doing. His opinion does not change, but his attitude does.

In 1517, a document was written by Martin Luther where he attacked the corrupt
practices of the Catholic Church. For example, the Church was the selling indulgences
to absolve sin. In Document A it states, “ Martin Luther became increasingly bothered by
thepractice of granting sinners indulgences to buy their way out of punishment for their
sins.” Self-indulgence was a form of pardon for his sins. The Church was scamming
people, the unhappy souls bought into this scam. They thought if they spent money their
sins could disappear and they would automatically be inducted into heaven. He was
mad at the Church but he had a career to keep. He could not risk losing his career or his
life because of his opinion. In Document A it states, “Papal indulgences for the building
of St. Peter's are circulating under your most distinguished name.” Martin Luther is
showing respect for the Church and the Pope because he does not want to take the risk
of losing his life for an opinion that he knows he should keep to himself. This shows
that Luther was aggravated during all of this but he had to keep his argument peaceful
just in case the Church and Pope would punish him.

In 1535, Luthers followers began to write down what he had said in private.
Everything that was written down and stole from Luther was published as “Luthers Table
Talk” in the 1560’s. One example of what he said was, “The pope boasted that he was
the head of the Church, and condemned all that would not be under his power and
authority if he had taught the gospel pure and clear, and not introduced human
inventions and lies.” Luther was sick of the Pope and his negative teachings and what
he would brainwash the unhappy souls into thinking. He wanted to get his opinion out
now, he had nothing to lose. He did not hold back at all, he showed no respect. In the
text it states, “Those who, against God's Word, boast of the Church's authority, are mere
idiots.” Luther didnt care what he was saying. He didnt care about his punishments at
all, mainly because there were none. To sum up, he finally got his word out in a way that
would catch everyones eye.

Luthers view on the Pope and the Church did not change at all. You can clearly
see in Document A that he was showing respect to the Pope and his Church. But he did
not agree with what they were doing at all. He only showed respect because he knew
the risks of losing his career or his life. If not for that, he would have been disrespectful
towards the Pope. This leads onto the next topic. In Document B he shares the same
thoughts about the church and the Pope. He says what they are doing is wrong. But this
time, he does not resist at all. He goes all out, in a rude but powerful way. He got his
point out to the world. He did this because he had nothing to lose. Finally, his opinions
over the course of 18 years did not change whatsoever. He just finally accepted the fact
that he could not hold back anymore.

In conclusion, Martin Luther had very negative opinions toward the Church and
Pope. From 1517 and 1535 his opinion did not change at all. He did not like what they
were doing at all. Especially when it came to scamming the unhappy souls and giving
false information.