role
             of William of Occam's theology and metaphysics in Erfurt's curriculum
             (Martin pp). In 1505, it appeared as if Luther was on the verge of
             becoming a lawyer when his plans were interrupted by a thunderstorm and vow
             (Martin pp). In July 1505, Luther was caught in a horrific thunderstorm
             and afraid he was going to die, he screamed out a vow, "Save me, St. Anna,
             and I shall become a monk," St. Anna being the mother of the Virgin Mary
             and the patron saint of miners (Martin pp).
             Most believe that this commitment to become a monk could not have come out
             of thin air and thus represents an intensification experience in which an
             already formulated thought is expanded and deepened (Martin pp). Luther
             entered the Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt on July 17, 1505 (Martin pp).
             The decision to enter the monastery was a difficult one for Luther,
             for he knew that it would greatly disappoint his parents, yet, he also knew
             that one must keep a promise made to God (Martin pp). However, he also had
             strong internal reasons for joining the monastery, for he was haunted by
             insecurity regarding his salvation, which he called Anfectungen or
             Afflictions, and a monastery was the ideal place to find assurance (Martin
             pp). Although he threw himself into the life of a monk with verve,
             assurance evaded him until his mentor instructed him to focus on Christ and
             him alone for assurance (Martin pp). And even though his anxieties would
             plague him for many years to come, the seeds for that later assurance were
             rooted in that conversation (Martin pp).
             As part of a delegation from his monastery, Luther traveled to Rome
             in 1510, and was not very impressed with what he saw (Martin pp). The
             following year, he transferred to a monastery in Wittenberg, where after
             receiving his doctor of theology degree, he became a professor of biblical
             theology at the newly founded University of Wittenberg (Martin pp)....