Luther had a good education in part paid for by his father who wished for him to become a lawyer but due to his obsession with reaching heaven he was also sent to Wittenberg University by his abbot so he could learn more about the bible. During these studies he saw the problems with indulgences and began his teachings against them which later lead to his 95 Theses that he nailed to the door of Wittenberg University, possibly so people could meet and discuss but saw in the church as a way of starting his fight against them personally. He believed these were going against god’s wishes and he pope had no right to grant people access to heaven and forgive sins. When Archbishop Albert of Mainz began selling indulgences in the area he complained directly to the Pope
his education was also likely to have allowed him to develop skills in debating and arguing which stood him in good stead for his attack on the church giving him the techniques necessary to make his attack on the church successful, also making him more likely to rebel as he will be more likely to feel he would be able to take them on and win. Along with his studies and knowledge he was also a natural speaker who could easily influence people and get his point across. Due to this he managed to get the Augustine order and many others to accept his beliefs and express himself fully. As a result of these skills his views were more likely to have an impact as more people would listen to him. OK, I accept this point about his abilities making a likely rebel as he thought he would succeed, and the example you give is a good one.
Luther, unlike most, never bought or paid for any titles or power, he believed only the bible should be used in day to day life, while the church argued the catechism was more accurate, this highly frustrated Luther, especially when he saw things such as indulgences and other abuses being accepted in the catechism and by the church, as although not published most people within the church participated in nepotism and simony. This may have been another key in his rebellion as he saw what was wrong with the church and how to fix it which he wanted to do, and as the reformation would not happen from within he tried to make it himself so when he came to challenge the Catholic Church he could not be persuaded by Cardinal Cajetan to recount his beliefs, not even with the threat of death at the diet of worms as he was convinced of his rightness that it was his duty to maintain his beliefs in order to get into heaven. Again agreed, he was on the 'inside' so his knowledge of the abuses was personal and direct.
In conclusion, I believe that Luther’s sole aim of getting to heaven and strong belief in his beliefs being right, along with the skills he developed through education mad him highly likely to rebel against the church and feel he could win. I would probably have included his rebellion against his own father's wishes but you have a sound argument here.
This is a strong argument, you pick out relevant points which put together a strong argument. You have lots of facts and you use them to build up a picture of Luther's reasons for rebellion. I think you may be missing one or two aspects, such as his rebellion against his father's wishes, but generally this is a good argument.
TARGETS:
o Think about how you can make as many points as possible with what you know.
Overall I will mark this as level 4, 10 marks. I have held it down as I think there are more reasons why he became a rebel than just the ones here, but the piece is strong and accurate.