What is Lutheranism?
[[File:Luther Rose.png|thumb|The Luther Rose, a common symbol of Lutheranism]] '''Lutheranism''' is a [[Christian denomination|denomination]] of [[Christianity]]. Lutheranism is named for [[Martin Luther]], who led a protest against the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. He began his protest in the 16th century. He was a [[Germany|German]] priest, [[theologian]], and university professor in [[Wittenberg]]. He originally wanted to improve Catholic theology and practices, primarily by ending the [[pope]]'s [[indulgence]]s and abuses of power.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.luther.de/en/95thesen.html|title=Martin Luther's 95 Theses|website=www.luther.de|accessdate=2017-07-30}}</ref> Lutheranism came to be a separate church by Luther and his followers being [[excommunication|excommunicated]] by the pope. Luther’s ideas started a movement called the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Other Reformation leaders who separated from the Catholic Church agreed with Luther on some things but criticized him for keeping too much Catholic doctrine (see [[John Calvin]] and [[Ulrich Zwingli]]). [[File:Lucas Cranach (I) - The Law and the Gospel.jpg|left|thumb|Law and Grace, by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]] Lutherans believe the [[Bible]] is the first and only authoritative source for Christian faith and teaching. Like other Christians, they believe in the [[Trinity]], that Jesus Christ was both [[Christology|God and man]], that all humans are sinful since Adam and Eve (see [[original sin]]), and that humans are saved by Jesus' death on the cross. Lutherans believe that the central idea to all of their beliefs is that humans are saved by [[grace]] alone through [[faith]] alone because of Jesus Christ alone (see [[Justification (theology)]]). The main points of Lutheran theology were summed up in 1530 by [[Philip Melanchthon]] in the writing called The [[Augsburg Confession]]. Similarities with Catholicism include the [[liturgy]] and the doctrines of the real presence of the [[Eucharist]], [[baptism]], and [[original sin]]. Unlike Catholics,