Germany Rises - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 111

Luther's arguments fanned outward. The Scriptures, he argued, not the Pope or papal
councils, are the basis of religious authority. Clergy should not be regarded as intermediar-
ies between men and God; and personal understanding is more important than the teachings
of clergy. Everyday life is everywhere part of God's work, and accordingly, priests should
be permitted to marry (Luther himself took a wife).
The conjoined ideas of freedom from traditional authority and God's will working in
everyday life led to widespread revolt by peasants, often led by the clergy seeking to escape
the harsh extractions of feudal dues. One estimate reckons that by 1525, around 300,000
peasants, out of a total German population of perhaps sixteen million, were under arms. [102]
Nobles mercilessly crushed the revolt, with Luther himself allied to traditional authority.
Figure 8.1. Martin Luther,
1528 by Lucas Cranach the Elder