Lutheranism:
o
SOLA FIDE: Latin
for "only faith." Unlike
Catholics who believe that BOTH faith and good works are necessary for
salvation, Luther said that it was only faith, and that good works were totally
useless. It's a much more
psychological, introspective, personal sense of piety.
Furthermore, it's based on the idea that you can't achieve salvation
through any independent means, but rather it's granted to you as a gift from
God.
o
SOLA SCRIPTURA: For
Catholics, the Bible and the Church are equally authoritative in determining
Christian beliefs and practices. The
Bible contains the word of God. But
in order to understand God's word, ordinary Christians must have the Bible
interpreted for them by Church theologians. Luther insisted, on the contrary, that it was "only
scripture" that mattered. In
other words, the Bible is the final authority in matters of religion because the
Church itself has strayed from the original path of true Christianity.
Furthermore, each individual is free to interpret the Bible for
him/herself, without the "guidance" of a clergy member.
Nothing should stand between the individual and the word of God.
o PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS: In traditional Christian teaching, priests are ordained. They have special powers and knowledge that ordinary Christians don't have, i.e., priests are different from the rest of us. Luther disagrees. Rather than there being some kind of hierarchy in which priests/clergymen are somehow closer to God, Luther insists on the idea of a priesthood of all believers. Priests are no different than the rest of us. Or to put it another way, we are all priests. A Church is created whenever any number of believers get together to study the Bible. Any circle of believers can elect their own minister, who doesn't have to be ordained by the church in order to be a spiritual leader.