# Happy Reformation Day! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 31, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-reformation-day/639404 "2012-10-31T07:19:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-reformation-day/639404/21 "2012-11-04T22:33:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ll also point out that Luther almost certainly didn’t attach his theses to a door. The first report of that happening came years later. Most likely Luther printed up some copies of his work and passed them around. So, Martin Luther went to the Witteburg Staples and had a bunch of copies made? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-reformation-day/639404/22 "2012-11-05T00:40:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ll also point out that Luther almost certainly didn’t attach his theses to a door. The first report of that happening came years later. Most likely Luther printed up some copies of his work and passed them around. What the Wiki article on [Martin Luther](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther#The_start_of_the_Reformation) says about that: > [@Wikipedia article on Martin Luther](#): > > On 31 October 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albert of Mainz, protesting the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his “Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” which came to be known as The Ninety-Five Theses. Hans Hillerbrand writes that Luther had no intention of confronting the church, but saw his disputation as a scholarly objection to church practices, and the tone of the writing is accordingly “searching, rather than doctrinaire.”[29] > > \ > > According to scholars Walter Krämer, Götz Trenkler, Gerhard Ritter and Gerhard Prause, the story of the posting on the door, even though it has settled as one of the pillars of history, has little foundation in truth.[32][33][34] The story is based on comments made by Philipp Melanchthon, though it is thought that he was not in Wittenberg at the time.[35] > > It was not until January 1518 that friends of Luther translated the 95 Theses from Latin into German, printed, and widely copied, making the controversy one of the first in history to be aided by the printing press.[36] Within two weeks, copies of the theses had spread throughout Germany; within two months throughout Europe. ETA: So yeah **swampbear** , basically, he went to the Witteburg [sic] Staples and had a bunch of copies made. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-reformation-day/639404/23 "2012-11-05T00:55:43Z")
Keep in mind Luther didn’t set out to leave the Catholic Church. His original intent was to point out some mistakes so the church could fix them. It was only when the church leadership refused what Luther saw as a legitimate request that he broke with Rome and sought to save people by convincing them to leave the church as well. That’s when he began aiming his message at the masses. But back in 1517, Luther still saw the issue of indulgences as an internal church problem and had no reason to post his work for public attention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-reformation-day/639404.md?page=1)