Its kind of amusing to me that Martin Luther initially supported translating the Bible into other languages besides Latin; not because he supported people coming away with their own interpretations of it, but because he assumed they would come to the exact conclusions that he did. A historic pandora's box.

"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world."
It's almost funny thinking about how just a simple misalignment of events like Martin Luther and the printing press could have pretty significant historical consequences. "Great men" of history often hold that distinction for good reason, but we sometimes forget that their environment and time period is just as important.

"Sobald das Geld im Kasten klingt, die Seele aus dem Fegefeuer spingt!"

I'm an atheist and my oldest brother is a pastor, so I can tell you that not all preachers are these televangelist-limousine-traveling-give-me-your-money-if-you-want-to-be-a-good-Christian millionaires.  They are also not all pedophiles.  Most really aren't.

The abuses brought about by permitting sale of indulgences were so egregious that the Council of Trent (“counter reformation”) banned monetary charges for indulgences.

Martin Luther wasn’t trying to start a new religion and he wasn’t trying to destroy the Catholic Church. He was trying to reform the Catholic Church to the be as it was during the time when it was like under Augustine, Athanasius, Chrystosom, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Jerome, and Gregory of Nazianzus. He still referred to himself as “catholic” with a lower-case c. He rejected many Roman doctrines but never intended to create something new. Unlike many modern nondenominational evangelical fundamentalist Christians, the reformers still saw the Catholic Church as legitimate, and they criticized the Roman Church itself for anathematizing the Eastern Orthodox (the Greeks), and Oriental Orthodox (The Copts, Armenians, Ethiopians, and Syriacs)

Very interesting. Not only because I'm Lutheran myself but just interesting in general.

7:14 Luther's Father Confessor (Johann Staupitz) actually once told him that he needed to "come back when he's actually done something worth confessing" (paraphrasing) because he kept running back to confess the most minute thought-sins

11:28 I wouldn't say it's "ironic" (or that the translation was "doing him a favor" per se); given that Luther's intent was to instigate a scholarly debate on the subject, he posted it in the language used by the scholars.

22:00 Frederick actually didn't know which of his castles his people had taken Luther to; that way he could honestly tell the Emperor that he didn't know where Luther was!

It’s crazy how Martin Luther only really lived because he went into hiding by a faked kidnapping to escape the Catholic Church at the time. Would love to see a video about John Wycliffe and Jan Hus! The pre-reformation reformers. I feel like they aren’t talked about much but seem so interesting to see some of the major people leading up to the reformation if that makes sense. “We are all Hussites without knowing it” -Martin Luther

In regards to the whole "keeping a lid on things to prevent this kind of situation", it was mainly because the Church had been down this road far too many times before. The most obvious was the East-West Schism, but the part people forget is that during the Roman Empire Christianity had like...8 schisms over theological arguments that got out of control, and they all destabilized the Empire in the process.

4:32 I just visited Europe for the first time this summer and I got to see St Peters. It was probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. Pictures do not do it justice. If you are in Italy then St Peters is absolutely worth your time even if you are not Catholic.

as a christian /catholic I feel giving to the church is important as long as its being done without expecting anything in return. We give to the church not looking for favor but to do our part and I feel its equally wrong to give to the church to gain favor ot get something in return. However while giving to the church isnt wrong the church using fearmongering tactics such as your grandma will be forever stuck in purgotorey just a for a few more dollars to indulage your lifestyle is wrong. We should give to the church out of the goodness of our hearts without expecting anything in return and the church should only ask for what it needs to sustain itself and not using fear tactics to get extra money

This is an excellent video by Rackham. One of his best. Thanks for reacting to it.

Everyone focuses on Martin Luther but I wanna hear more about Jan Hus

People talk about Martin Luther as if he was the first person to ever criticize the Catholic Church, but he was walking into a conversation that had already been going on for centuries. John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, and even various monastic reformers long before them had tried to call out corruption, financial abuse, and the moral rot they saw inside the institution. They pushed for transparency, less greed, and a Church that actually resembled the gospel it preached—and most of them paid dearly for it.

Even Thomas More, the devout Catholic who would later debate Luther, openly acknowledged abuses and corruption inside the Church. He just did it far more softly and cautiously—mildly, almost weekly, in passing, always careful to protect the institution while still admitting its flaws. More wanted correction from within, not public confrontation. Luther, Wycliffe, and Hus simply stopped pretending quiet criticism would ever be enough.

And yet, for all the justified anger at the Church’s corruption, the aftermath of the Reformation shows that no side had clean hands. Catholics unleashed the Inquisition, cracked down on “heretical” books, executed dissenters, and tried to keep the laity from accessing knowledge that might challenge Church authority. But Protestants weren’t innocent, either: Lutherans persecuted Anabaptists, Calvinists enforced rigid theocracies, and both sides used violence to force obedience where persuasion failed.

Henry VIII’s “reform” was its own brand of hypocrisy. When he stripped the monasteries—places that had provided charity, education, hospital care, and social stability—he didn’t redirect that wealth to the people. He and his ministers pocketed it, letting England’s poor fend for themselves while the crown and aristocracy enriched themselves.

And as time went on, the Catholic Church, instead of learning from earlier criticisms, often doubled down. After Copernicus and Galileo, the Church became increasingly anti-science, refusing to engage with astronomy, suppressing scientific work, and punishing anyone who suggested the universe didn’t revolve around the earth. The same institution that had once preserved ancient knowledge shifted into an aggressive defender of orthodoxy at any cost.

In the end, Luther never wanted to start a new religion—he’d absolutely shit a brick if he saw what happened. He wanted reform, not revolution. But corruption, defensiveness, and power-hungry leaders on both sides turned reform into rupture. The tragedy is that neither camp fixed the problems the early reformers were trying to address—they just created new ones.

A video suggestion similar to this topic. A few days ago, Redeemed Zoomer made a video about the 1054 church split between Catholics and Orthodox that I that was a great summary about the theological differences between the Western and Eastern churches.

A beside the point question, but have you seen the new “Nuremberg” movie with Russell Crowe as Herman Göring. If so why did you think of it?

Hey Chris! I know this is not pertinent to this video, BUT I just wanted to sincerely thank you for your work. I have been struggling immensely with some health issues that make me less mobile, but your videos have kept me company during some of the loneliest moments. Love your reactions and original content, been subbed for years and plan to be around for many more

I'm surprised he wasn't dissappeared almost immediately.

Its as if society was primed for an upheaval and he was just there to pull the trigger.

1 Cardinal Cajetan didn't excommunicate Luther, he was only excomunicated in Worms. Cajetan actually said Luther didn't say anything in their conversation that was heretical, they would just have a very different church.

2. Johann Tetzel was a great marketer, but when the Catholic Church found out what he was teaching, they were upset. He didn't understand what he was selling.