The Lutheran Church is the oldest Protestant Christian tradition, dating back to the Protestant Reformation and the person of Martin Luther. Lutherans are those Christians who choose to accept Martin Luther’s teachings.
On October 31, 1517, Luther, a Catholic monk, posted his 95 Theses as a challenge to the doctrine and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, hoping to reform the practices he felt were inconsistent with scripture. When the conflict escalated to a distinct separation with the Roman Catholic Church, those who accepted Luther’s reforms became “Lutherans”.
Based on Luther’s own writings, Lutherans still uphold Luther’s theological teachings such as scripture as the primary authority for faith and life (sola scriptura), justification by the grace of God alone (sola gratia), and salvation through faith in Christ alone (sola fide). Luther’s many theological ideas have since been collected into the Book of Concord, which is still an authority in Lutheran doctrine and practice.
Because of its initial grounding in the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran worship, more than many other Protestant traditions, has many elements similar to the Catholic style of worship. Lutheranism spread from Germany to most countries across the globe and has become one of the largest Protestant denominations.
信义会是最古老的基督教传统，可追溯到宗教改革时期和马丁-路德（Martin Luther）。信义会教徒是那些选择接受马丁-路德教义的基督徒。
1517 年 10 月 31 日，身为天主教修道士的马丁-路德发表了《95 条论纲》，向罗马天主教会的教义和习俗提出挑战，并希望改革他认为不符合圣经的习俗。当冲突升级到与罗马天主教会有明显分离时，那些接受马丁-路德改革的信徒就成为了 “信义会教徒”。
根据马丁-路德本人的著作，信义会仍然坚持马丁-路德的神学教义，如圣经是信仰和生活的主要权威（唯独圣经）、唯靠上帝的恩典称义（唯独恩典）和唯因信基督得救（唯独基督）。马丁-路德的许多神学思想后来被收录到《协同书》中，该书至今仍是信义会教义和实践的权威。
由于信义会最初是建立在罗马天主教会的基础上的，因此与许多其他新教传统相比，信义会的崇拜的风格与天主教崇拜的风格有相似的元素。信义会从德国传播到全球大多数国家，并成为最大的新教教派之一。
References 参考资料
Patheos. (2017). Lutheran. Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/Library/Lutheran
Theology, Philosophy and Science. (2016, August 17). A man named Martin. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAbjgTHSkJI
