Whereas, on October 31, 2017, the United States House of Representatives recognizes the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation; Whereas the Protestant Reformation lays its roots with Martin Luther’s posting of 95 theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg in October of 1517; Whereas Martin Luther is the father of the Protestant Reformation and was born in Eisleben, Germany, on November 10, 1483; Whereas Martin Luther’s father, Hans Luther, was a prominent copper smelter and hoped that Martin would become a successful lawyer; Whereas Martin Luther entered the University of Erfurt in 1501 and received his master’s degree in philosophy in 1505; Whereas, in 1505, Martin Luther was nearly struck by lightning as he walked through a thunderstorm; Whereas, after surviving the storm, Martin Luther entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany, on July 17, 1505, to pursue a career as an Augustinian monk; Whereas Martin Luther’s decision to give up his pursuit of being a lawyer and instead pursue a monastic life deeply frustrated and angered his father, Hans Luther; Whereas Martin Luther took his final vows as an Augustinian monk in the fall of 1506 and was ordained a priest at Erfurt Cathedral in April of 1507; Whereas Martin Luther presided over his first Mass on May 2, 1507, with his now-approving father, Hans Luther, in attendance; Whereas Martin Luther was appointed as a substitute lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Wittenberg in 1508; Whereas Martin Luther obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology in 1509; Whereas Martin Luther traveled to Rome to represent the Wittenberg Augustinian monastery before a conference of Catholic churches; Whereas members of the congregation were told that they could pay the Church to forgive them of their sins and have their deceased ancestors released from purgatory; Whereas Martin Luther’s trip to Rome in 1510 sparked his desire to pursue an even deeper understanding of Christian theology and the Bible