Martin Luther's authority?
Martin Luther didn't really question anything until he visited the Vatican, and saw all the unspeakable corruption and ungodliness of the church hierarchy.
When he saw all the corruption, and depravity of the church hierarchy...
THAT is what made him first question the "SACRED TRADITIONS OF THE CHURCH".
He was forced to question the SACRED TRADITIONS, which came ONLY FROM THE LEADERSHIP, because it was OBVIOUS that the LEADERSHIP could NOT BE TRUSTED, as they were indulging in blatant greed, filth, and debauchery... so he began to study the scripture.
So, since Martin Luther began his quest for truth and authority upon seeing the corruption of the Vatican, maybe that's where we should focus our attention. Lets focus all our attention on the corruption of the Vatican.
Yep.
If we start by focusing on the corruption of the Vatican...
then we'll truly be following in Martin Luther's footsteps...
and we'll truly understand why he felt the Vatican was not qualified to be an authority.
So... let's talk about all the corruption of the Vatican and the RCC.
THAT is the historical place to start.