Consider Martin Luther. Luther stood up for the liberty of conscience. In the centuries before him, Christian churches began the long tradition of corporations inserting themselves between us and the things that we want. Effectively, you could pay for your salvation. Effectively, the church controlled your education (or lack thereof), your very way of life. Martin Luther was one of the first figures in modern history to stand up against that system.
There never was a more devoted or guilt-ridden monk. Estranged from his father and in need of security, ML was lost in a cycle of repentance and aspiring for salvation. He never would be good enough. He denied himself any simple pleasures, and even some necessities. Only the most barren existence would be proof enough of his dedication to understanding and being worthy of God. He was truly psychologically disturbed, as are most of us. Even those of us who aren't religious can identify with this personal mental anguish and preoccupation with the battle for self-actualization. For God was just a red herring; what Martin Luther struggled with was his own reflection.
The inciting incident which pulled ML out of this struggle was being given a job as a professor of bible studies at a new university. It was a staggering amount of work, an almost impossible amount of material to digest, and he was now tasked with imparting the meaning of the texts with those who were fortunate enough to come and learn. And here was the key turning point of his life: he became immediately present to the spiritual concerns of others rather than his own. He became witness to the tribulations and questions that arose on the spiritual journeys of his pupils. Intimate with these matters as he was, two important things happened: firstly, he began to care emotionally about the souls of others, and secondly, he saw patterns within individual spiritual expeditions.
It was only then, when ML came out of himself, that he was able to be himself. He amassed a great deal of pure knowledge and recognized the dishonesty of the institution of the Church.
The way I see it, in this very way we can each have our own personal Reformation. A man like ML, who had been so hard on himself, thought so little of himself, changed history by standing up for something which had political implications reaching far beyond the religious matters over which he so agonizingly toiled.
Of course, he would eventually turn on the revolutionaries he inspired and would remain an anti-Semite. They took it too far, in his view - farther than he had taken things in his own mind. And he was not able to accept radical new ideas of those younger than he.
But that is how evolutions and revolutions work. One generation identifies the cognitive dissonance of a particular tyranny, then the next breaks down broader tyrannies. Just as a parent's generation wins a war against a looming murderous regime, the child's generation wins a war against a more intimate oppression of spirit.
I've worked all of my life to free myself of these things. The micro of my experience is reflected in the macro of history. If I could not trace these things, there would be no meaning. And this is why I write. This is why anyone should continue on. If we try, in time we reveal new freedoms.
