Martin Luther and William Penn: Protestant Rebels

Without the revolutionary teachings of Martin Luther (1483-1546), William Penn (1644-1718) would never have become a Quaker leader who later founded Pennsylvania. While they lived during different times and in different places, both men wanted religious freedom. It didn't happen overnight; it happened over years of determined work and personal hardships.

Martin Luther was a college student. His father wanted him to be a lawyer and he was about to pass his law studies when the plague hit. While sparing the Luthers, three of Martin's friends died in the plague. One night Martin was coming back to the college from his parent's house when a thunderstorm came up out of nowhere. Suddenly he had an epiphany. Because he didn't want to die, he swore to God that he would join the Catholic Church.

   As soon as he joined the church he found how brutal being a monk could be. He had to whip himself to show he was loyal to God. All monks at one point had to walk all the way to Rome, where the Catholic Church originated. He lived in Germany, and had to walk to Rome. Can you believe that? When he got there, he found out what the Catholic Church was really about. It wasn't all about spreading religion, but it was more concerned about getting money. When he found out, he had another epiphany. He was outraged and wanted everyone to know what he had found out!

  He posted his 95 Theses (or complaints) about the Catholic Church on the door of a local church.  Then he used the power of the printing press to make lots of copies which became very popular with commoners.  The Pope excommunicated him and Martin took his letter of excommunication and tossed it into the fire.  They called him to a trial called the Diet of Worms to see if he was a heretic.  He would not change his views.  Martin spent the rest of his life considered by some to be an outlaw, but he was saved by his popularity.
  

In comparison, William Penn faced a different kind of persecution.  He was also expected to become a lawyer, but after the plague hit England, he had a religious epiphany. William saw the Quakers, a group of Protestants, helping people in need.  He liked that they were pacifists too.  When he told his father that he became a Quaker, his father beat him and threw him out of the house.  

   Years later, his father died, and because the king owed his father some money, Penn asked for a colony in the Americas as payment for the debt.  The king was happy to be rid of the debt and the Quakers.  Penn set sail across the Atlantic and established the new colony of Pennsylvania.  Because he was a pacifist, he treated the native Americans well and traded with them fairly.  Here in the new colony his Protestant views helped advance the American ideas of religious freedom and democracy.   In fact his planned city of Philadelphia is called "the city of brotherly love."