Martin Luther King Jr

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of man's activities. During the Protestant Reformation, the term "calling" started to take on a new meaning. Fulfilling one's duty in worldly affairs became a task of extreme importance. gradually, fulfilling one's duty was not only important but it became the moral obligation of every individual (the highest form of moral activity). Before the Reformation, the Catholic Church did not believe that everyday world activities had a religious significance. As a result of Luther these world activities were quite important in adhering to God's wishes. Rather than devote one's life to worshipping God through prayer, and instead of sacrificing all worldly goods to follow Christ, the Protestants believed that the task of every person is to fulfill (to the best of his/her ability) their tasks on earth. This unique conception of the word "calling" was developed by Luther during his first active decade as a reformer. At first he believed, like many other theologians, that everyday world ...

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these beliefs, people placed little emphasis on the daily tasks they had to complete. Jobs had little meaning except that they placed bread on the table to eat. However, with Luther's concept of the "calling" people now had a moral reasons to work as hard as they could. The jobs of people were given religious sanction and this lead to workers striving to attain more in their jobs. Thus, there can be no doubt that Luther changed the attitudes of people toward their roles in society. People placed a new emphasis on their work roles. In the following pages the effect that this had on the economy will be examined. The Foundation of Capitalistic Thought As a result of Luther placing such ...

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