ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Theology of Martin Luther

Okay, so there was a guy named Martin Luther who lived a long time ago. He was a very important person in the Christian religion. Back then, the church had a lot of rules and traditions that people had to follow in order to be considered good Christians. But Martin Luther didn't like some of these rules. He thought that people should be able to have a personal relationship with God and not just follow all these traditions blindly.

So, he wrote down his ideas and tried to make changes in the church. He believed that everyone should be able to read and understand the Bible for themselves so they could learn about God without having to rely on priests and other church leaders. He also believed that people could be forgiven for their sins if they truly repented and asked for forgiveness, instead of having to pay money to the church for forgiveness.

This was a pretty big deal at the time, and a lot of people agreed with him. The church leaders, however, didn't like it and they didn't want things to change. So, they excommunicated him (which means they kicked him out of the church). But, Martin Luther kept on preaching his ideas and eventually started his own church called the Lutheran Church.

So, the theology of Martin Luther is all about having a personal relationship with God and not just blindly following all the rules of the church. It's about being able to read and understand the Bible for yourself and having the ability to repent and ask for forgiveness without having to pay for it. And, it's about being able to question the church and make changes when you think they're necessary.