There are two great men that bear the name "Martin Luther".

One was a white man; a German born on the 10th of November,1483.

The other was a black man; an American born on the 15th of January, 1929.

The former was a priest, monk, an author who is less known by many nowadays.

The latter is no other than "MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr" a renowned baptist minister and civil rights activists that fought for the end of racial segregation against the blacks in the United States of America.

According to historical facts; Martin Luther king Jr was not named "Martin Luther king" at birth but "Michael King Jr". It was at the age of twenty-eight that his name got changed by his father who also changed his own name to Martin Luther king Sr. The change of name was made in the honour of Former Martin Luther the priest who was born in 15th century.

You might be wondering what do these these two men with the span of four hundred and forty-six (446) years between their birth had in common.

They had nothing in common but one. Both Men made great contribution that changed the world we live in. They both achieved their goal mainly with two things: pen and speech.

Let start with Martin Luther the priest and how he changed the world especially Europe with his speech and pen

Martin Luther

(Note; that everything I wrote are all historical facts and it is not to tarnish the image of any faith or denomination.)

Before, and during Martin Luther time, there was only one church in western Europe and that was the Roman Catholic church.

The church was headed by the pope. The Pope and the church had the final say over every religious activities, education and even into some political activities as well.

The Pope could excommunicate any body who decide to act against the church and his authority. As the power of the church grew so the level of corruption too.

The level of corruption grew to the extent that indulgence was sold for remission of sins. Money was collected from the peaseant by telling them that by paying for indulgence they would receive assurance, of escape of friends and family from the fires of purgatory. Luther wasn't happy with this and many practice that occurred in the church.

What did he do?

He utilized the power of his pen and speech. On October 1517, he published the famous ninety-five theses or contention against indulgence.

He wrote letters and gave speeches to speak against efficacy of the sales of indulgence and other doctrines that he believed to be wrong.

In 1520 he was excommunicated by the Pope, Leo X. But Luther was protected by friends who had come to appreciate his teaching.

Through his writing and preaching he won over the heart of the masses and they supported him. As a result Germany got free from the hands of the Pope and started practicing a form Christianity that was in line with interpretation of the scripture made by Luther. This form of Christianity was called Lutheran.

Martin Luther also made the translation of the Bible to German. His translation also inspire other authors to translate the Bible to their local dialect especially the English bible.

For, in those days translation of the Bible to other languages except Hebrew, Greek or Latin was forbidden by the Church and violators of the rule were fiercely perscuted.

The protest of Martin Luther was an opening for some other European countries to break from the union with the church in Rome and create their own National church. Churches that broke from the Catholic Church like the Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist were to be known as "the protestants"

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