Having served as a monk, extensively studied theology, and taught as a professor, Martin Luther was afforded a unique position to criticize the Catholic Church. Dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the Catholic Church, particularly with the sale of indulgences, Luther made known his theological opinions. In doing so, he inspired the Protestant Reformation. Luther was a dangerous revolutionary in that he used particularly abrasive language, demonstrated a penchant for hostility in the quashing of the Peasant Revolt, and served as the spark for the oft-violent divide between Protestants and Catholics. Although Luther’s ninety-five theses were critical in nature, they were relatively temperate in tone. In later writings, however, Luther
