Dr. Martin Luther: The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation

Josiah

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Luther was determined to be the world's Third Most Important Figure of the last 1000 years, but without a doubt, he's #1 in Christianity for that period. A very complex man.... often full of the tensions and mysteries in which he saw theology.... he's far from easy to understand, especially these 500 years later in a time and world VERY different than his own. And so much of the comtemporary literature of his day is highly political and biased (he was both high saint and condemned heretic in his own time), making it difficult even to go back to the writings of others in his day.


Personally, he wrote MUCH! He was an incredibly prolific author, as if he spent every moment with pen in hand. And when he wasn't writing, others were writing down what he was saying - and almost immediately publishing it. And in his day when the printing press and the press itself was brand new, and LONG before "Political Correctness" was even thought of, well (a bit like Trump, LOL) Luther just said and wrote stuff - with NO concept that every letter would be picked apart, every word twisted and spun as desired, nearly everything taken out of context (he even didn't know that it's unwise to talk to dozens of folks all taking notes after and while consuming copious amounts of beer....) That complicates things more.


It's interesting TO ME that, having become a Lutheran, Lutherans seem to talk about Luther less than just about any other Christians (THIS year, that's probably not true!). Lutherans are focused on Scripture and the Lutheran confessions, and rare is the Lutheran who has read anything Luther wrote except for the Small Catechism (arguably his best writing). They are typically aware of some of the (now viewed as horrific) 16th century views that Luther too echoed (about Jews, for example) but this concerns them not: there is no sense in Lutheranism that Luther is our teacher or even was particularly right about much. For Lutherans, Scripture is the "norma normans" and the Confessions are the "norma normata" (yeah, Lutherans - like Catholics - do theology in Latin, lol).



I'll begin with this video. It is CATHOLIC, not Protestant. And features a very popular Catholic bishop, theologian and spokesman, who seems to have read Luther extensive. It's an interesting perspective. It's about 8 minutes long:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXQDqjR8HGw




While I find his Catholic perspective interesting, and while I rejoice greatly in the non-polemic tone of it (we've come a LONG way in recent years!) I find him very wrong when it comes to Luther's theology. While he may have an interesting insight as to His articulation flowing as much from love as from doctrine (he may well be onto something there), his understanding of the theology is far, far off mark. The "SOLAS" of Sola Gratia - Solus Christus - Sola Fide are SOLAS meant to be doctrinal solas. Where I think Catholics - at Trent and to this day - miss it is they understand justification - sanctification - God - man - Christ - Mary - us - the Sacraments - our works - God's empowering - worship - heart - head to all one whole. The kind bishop misses Luther because he dismisses His SOLAS in order to keep the big, intertwined corpus of stuff all apart of a progressive, synergistic, cooperative effort to be one with God. Luther embraces two DIFFERENT (although absolutely joined) things: Justfication and Sanctification. BECOMING His own.... growing/maturing/living as His own. Luther sees a distinction between Law and Gospel in sharp contacts to the complete blending of the two. Traditional Catholicism is right: Luther and Trent are antithetical on these points.


My own training here has been that there much MUCH "talking past" each other back then (and while it took CENTURIES, some now have been able to back away enough to see that). Battle lines were drawn, slogans developed, saints and heretics declared.... and understanding pretty much went out the window (that and POWERFUL, combative governments found one side or the other to be useful). And I think, now more than ever, both "sides" are realizing we've always had MUCH in common, a reality somehow "lost" in the bitterness but joyously being affirmed in our own time. But I respectfully disagree with the kind (and no doubt wise and informed) Bishop: Those SOLAS are foundational to Lutheran (and Protestant) theology..... and Trent actually understood that.


Perhaps you have videos and/or insights to share.....



Pax Christi



- Josiah




PS Here's a link to an outstanding source of Lutheran materials and insights gathered by a Reformed brother: https://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/




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Tigger

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Although I too sincerely like and respect (Dr.)Bishop Barron and have watched many of his YouTube videos, I've not seen him in a situation where his statements are challenged. Unlike Fr. Mitch Pacwa taking on the likes of a Dr. Walter Martin. That being said niether took on the challenges Dr. Martin Luther did both intellectually or as life threatening.
 

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Lamb

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I guess the video doesn't get into theology until around the 6 minute mark really when he speaks of the solas and then says they're wrong. But I don't hear any biblical perspective as to why he thinks that way.
 

Josiah

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Josiah

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Roman Catholic" Martin Luther Quiz


This is from James Swan at his very excellent and highly recommended website https://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/ My thanks to him for the very revealing and insightful post at his site from some 10 years ago... Note that the "MY ANSWER" are those of James Swan, not me.



I love quizzes. I found this “Martin Luther Quiz” while searching for other things. The author and expert calls herself “Saint Therese of Avila”. The quiz was originally posted at Catholic View.com in a post found here. Her answers will be in red. My answers will be in black.

***********

Question 1.


Luther tried unsuccessfully to get some inspired books of the New Testament kicked out of the Bible. Which NT books did he try to remove?

-James
-Revelations
-Hebrews
-Jude

Her Answer: Luther tried to remove all four of these books from the Bible

My Answer: It is a simple historical fact that Luther’s translation of the Bible contained all of its books. Luther began translating the New Testament in 1521, and released a finished version in 1522. He published sections of the Old Testament as he finished them. He finished the entire Bible by 1534. There was never an attempt on Luther’s part to leave James, Jude, Hebrews, or Revelation un-translated or left out of his published Bible.


Question 2.

When Martin Luther wrote his German translation of the Bible, he added a word where it had never appeared in the text previously. What word was it?

-acorn
-alone
-ascetic
-asteroid

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS….alone. In Romans 3:28 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] , Luther added the word “alone” after “faith” in his German translation of the Bible. Fortunately, this did not seep into our English version of the Bible. For more info, read “Where We Got the Bible” by Henry Graham. When people gave Luther grief for his adding of the word “alone” to the Bible, Luther replied: “If your Papist annoys you with the word (alone), tell him straightaway, Dr. Martin Luther will have it so: Papist and ass are one and the same thing. Whoever will not have my translation, let him give it the go-by: the devil’s thanks to him who censures it without my will and knowledge. Luther will have it so, and he is a doctor above all the doctors in Popedom.” (Amic. Discussion, I, 127, “The Facts About Luther” O’Hare, TAN Books, 1987, p.201).

My Answer: The Roman Catholic writer Joseph A. Fitzmyer has shown in his book, A New Translation with introduction and Commentary, The Anchor Bible Series (New York: Doubleday, 1993) 360-361 that the word “alone” had been previously used in Catholic translation in Romans 3:28 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)]. He cites Origen, Hillary, Basil, Ambrosiaster, Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Bernard, Theophyylact, Theodoret, Aquinas, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Marius Victorinus, and Augustine- thus vindicating Luther’s point “I am not the only one, nor the first, to say that faith alone makes one righteous. There was Ambrose, Augustine and many others who said it before me.” In regard to the citation of Luther utilized in Therese of Avila’s answer, I suggest she re-read the source from the quote was pulled: Luther’s Open Letter on Translating (1530). It will provide a context for his remarks, as well as a detailed exegetical reason from Luther as to his reasoning for the translation.


Question 3.

After seeing how the Protestant movement (the “protest” of the Catholic Church) was causing a domino effect of division after division among Protestants, what did Martin Luther say would need to happen?

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS……After seeing the ripple effect of divisions, and the lack of unity that resulted when it came to interpreting Scripture within Protestant groups, Martin Luther said people would eventually have to return to abiding by the Catholic Church Councils. Unfortunately, the many characters of the Reformation were unable to agree even among themselves, and the return to the Catholic Church that they worked towards just never happened. Martin Luther wrote: "If the world lasts for a long time, it will again be necessary, on account of the many interpretations which are now given to the Scriptures, to receive the decrees of councils, and take refuge in them, in order to preserve the unity of faith." Epis. ad. Zwingli (ap. Balmes, p. 423). Luther saw the dangers and divisions that arose when people started interpreting Scripture apart from the first Church. He wrote: "There are almost as many sects and beliefs as there are heads; this one will not admit Baptism; that one rejects the Sacrament of the altar; another places another world between the present one and the day of judgment; some teach that Jesus Christ is not God. There is not an individual, however clownish he may be, who does not claim to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, and who does not put forth as prophecies his ravings and dreams." "An Meine Kritiker" (by Johannes Jorgensen, p. 181)

My Answer: Luther said previous to his trial at Worms that he would be content to be judged by a Council, at a future Council and by Scripture.

The first Luther quote used by Therese is from LW 37:16 and actually reads, “If the world lasts much longer, men will, as the ancients did, once more turn to human schemes on account of this dissension, and again issue laws and regulations to keep the people in the unity of the faith. Their success will be the same as it was in the past.”

What will their success be according to Luther in the above quote?- Failure.

In regards to “sects”- Luther said of the Roman Catholic Church: “…there is no other place in the world where there are so many sects, schisms, and errors as in the papal church. For the papacy, because it builds the church upon a city and person, has become the head and fountain of all sects which have followed it and have characterized Christian life in terms of eating and drinking, clothes and shoes, tonsures and hair, city and place, day and hour. For the spirituality and holiness of the papal church lives by such things, as was said above.  This order fasts at this time, another order fasts at another time; this one does not eat meat, the other one does not eat eggs; this one wears black, the other one white; this one is Carthusian,  the other Benedictine;  and so they continue to create innumerable sects and habits, while faith and true Christian life go to pieces. All this is the result of the blindness which desires to see rather than believe the Christian church and to seek devout Christian life not in faith but in works, of which St. Paul writes so much in Colossians [2]. These things have invaded the church and blindness has confirmed the government of the pope.”

Source: LW 39:221.

Contrary to the claim of Therese, Luther did not see “…the dangers and divisions that arose when people started interpreting Scripture apart from the first Church.” Rather, he said the Bible was pure, but men are wicked, and will misinterpret it being motivated by the Devil to do so (See Ewald Plass, What Luther Says, Volume 1, entry 315).


Question 4.

Luther’s burial chamber was adorned with the image of…..

Her Answer- According to Peter Stravinskas’ “Faith and Reason.” Luther’s “burial chamber in the Wittenberg church….was adorned with the 1521 Peter Vischer sculpture of the Coronation of the Virgin.”

My answer: so what?


More follows in next post....



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Josiah

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.... continued from above...

Question 5.

Which of the following is NOT true about Luther?

A. He was devoted to the Blessed Mother
B. He believed in Baptismal regeneration
C. He believed the Body and Blood of Christ was truly present in the Eucharist
D. He referred to Mary as the “Mother of God.”
E. He thought our Lord´s mother gave birth to babies with two different fathers, God and Joseph.

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS…. E. (A, B, C and D are true about Luther, but not E)

My Answer: A is blatantly false. B and C are true, but not understood in the same way as Roman Catholicism. D is true, but again understood differently than Roman Catholicism. Thus to bring up these points in order to "prove" Luther was somehow in harmony with Rome is not true. E of course is false, Luther affirmed Mary’s perpetual virginity. That Luther did not spend entire treatises defending perpetual virginity serves to show that what was important to him was not Mary’s lack of children, but rather the child she did give birth to. Throughout his career, he would minimize the emphasis on Marian doctrine.


Question 6.


All of these individuals believed and taught the perpetual virginity of Mary (i.e. that Mary remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus) with the exception of:

-John Wesley (founder of Methodism)
-John Calvin
-Martin Luther
-Huldreich Zwingli
-Tammy Faye Baker

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS …….Tammy Faye Baker. That’s right, all of the founders of the Protestantism taught that Mary remained a virgin for life. Some Protestants are surprised to learn that most Protestant founders, including Martin Luther, also taught the Immaculate Conception (Mary conceived in St. Ann’s womb without original sin) Martin Luther wrote: "It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin." [Martin Luther; "Sermon On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God", 1527] Luther also wrote: “It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a virgin….” Calvin wrote: “There have been certain folk who have wished to suggest from this passage [Matt 1:25 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ] that the Virgin Mary had other children than the Son of God, and that Joseph had then dwelt with her later; but what folly this is! For the gospel writers did not wish to record what happened afterwards….” Zwingli wrote: “I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin.” Luther: “Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . ´brothers´ really means ´cousins´ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers. “ (Sermons on John, chapters 1-4, 1537-39)Luther: “Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . ´brothers´ really means ´cousins´ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers. “ (Sermons on John, chapters 1-4, 1537-39)Luther: “God says . . . :´Mary´s Son is My only Son.´ Thus Mary is the Mother of God. “(Ibid.)Luther: “The infusion of Mary´s soul was effected without original sin . . . From the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin. (Sermon: "On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God," 1527)

My Answer
: While retaining a belief in perpetual virginity, Luther did so in undogmatic terms, making sure that Mary was not to be deified for such an attribute. He implied in the Table Talk that it was Mary’s choice to remain a virgin after the birth of Christ, rather than her continued virginity being a miraculous gift from God.

However, Luther did not hold a lifelong belief in Mary’s immaculate conception. The Quote above from Luther’s "Sermon On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God” was brought to cyber-space via Catholic historian Hartmann Grisar. A Catholic apologist quoted Luther from Grisar’s book and disregarded both the historical context of Luther’s writings, as well as Grisar’s explanation of the quote. If one looks up the reference, Grisar states, “The sermon was taken down in notes and published with Luther’s approval. The same statements concerning the Immaculate Conception still remain in a printed edition published in 1529, but in later editions which appeared during Luther’s lifetime they disappear.” The reason for their disappearance is that as Luther’s Christo-centric theology developed, aspects of Luther’s Mariology were abandoned. Grisar recognizes this. In regards to this Luther quote, Grisar says, “As Luther’s intellectual and ethical development progressed we cannot naturally expect the sublime picture of the pure Mother of God, the type of virginity, of the spirit of sacrifice and of sanctity to furnish any great attraction for him, and as a matter of fact such statements as the above are no longer met with in his later works.”

In regard to Therese’s Calvin quote, it really isn’t certain that Calvin held to the perpetual virginity of Mary. A few quotes from Calvin have been used by Catholics to prove his adherence to it, yet a close reading of the quotes doesn’t really prove anything definitively. Calvin’s main point in his comment on Matthew 1:25 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] is that the gospel writer did not wish to record what happened afterwards to Mary. Calvin calls it “folly” at one point, when describing those who wish to make a text say more than it does. Those who would make a necessary inference where the Gospel writer has only made a possible inference engage in folly (according to Calvin). So it can’t really be concluded that Calvin is teaching here Mary’s perpetual virginity, it sounds to me as if Calvin is simply being careful. While I myself would make a possible inference from these passages that Mary had other children, It cannot be concluded that Calvin believed in Mary’s perpetual virginity, or her “sinlessness”, only that Calvin held the gospel writer does not explicitly say, one way or the other. Interestingly, this conclusion was reached similarly by William Bouwsma in his book, John Calvin: A 16th Century Portrait. He says in a footnote on p.275, "Among matters on which (Calvin) discouraged speculation were the order of angels and the perpetual virginity of Mary."


Question 7.

What did Luther write was permissible in the Bible?

-marijuana smoking
-polygamy
-tattoos

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS….. Polygamy. Martin Luther, De Wette, II, 459: “I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict the Scripture. If a man wishes to marry more than one wife, he should be asked whether he is satisfied in his conscience that he may do so in accordance with the word of God. In such a case, the civil authority has nothing to do in such a matter.” As one of the first Sola Scriptura advocates, Luther interpreted the Bible on his own, apart from the Church, which resulted in this surprising Biblical conclusion.

My Answer: Therese has DeWette vol. 2? Amazing. The book has not been in print for well over 100 years, and it's in German. Her translation of this quote into English from the German is very good. It is true Luther allowed for polygamy, but only in a very narrow sense. Luther scholar Heinrich Boehmer points out that it was only to be in cases of “severe necessity, for instance, if the wife develops leprosy or becomes otherwise unfit to live with her husband… But this permission is always to be restricted to such cases as severe necessity. The idea of legalizing general polygamy was far from the reformers mind. Monogamy was always to him the regular form of matrimony…” (Luther And The Reformation in Light of Modern Research, 213-214). Most often, Luther detractors point out Luther’s involvement in the bigamy of Phillip of Hesse. Luther’s final opinion on the whole mess: “…if anyone thereafter should practice bigamy, let the Devil give him a bath in the abyss of hell.”


Question 8

Fill in the blank for this famous Luther quote: “…with regard to God, and in all that bears on salvation or damnation, [man] has no ______________ but is a captive, prisoner and bondslave, either to the will of God, or to the will of Satan.”

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS…. Free will. This quote if from Luther’s “Bondage of the Will”). As you can imagine, it is regarded as heresy by the Catholic Church.

My Answer: Galatians 3:22 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] describes the whole world as a “prisoner of sin”- this hardly sounds like freedom. This is but one verse among countless that describe mankind as in slavery to sin.

Luther taught that Erasmus’ view of the free will is that it is “ineffective” without God’s grace, but, Luther said, if the free will needs a little of God’s grace, then it must be a permanent prisoner to evil since it cannot turn itself to the good. Luther’s doctrine of the will at times seems deterministic. He sees neither puppet or automaton. He does not try to figure out how it all works (the relationship between creature and creator). He says we are free in horizontal relationships, to choose things (like food or spouses), but we are bound though in the vertical relationship away from choosing God. We are all born with defiance in the heart.


continues below.....


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Josiah

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.... continues from above....



Question 9

What book of the Bible was Luther referring to when he said: “I feel an aversion to it, and to me this is a sufficient reason for rejecting it.”

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS: the Book of Revelations. Here’s what he said about the Book of Revelations: “to my mind it bears upon it no marks of an apostolic or prophetic character… Everyone may form his own judgment of this book; as for myself, I feel an aversion to it, and to me this is sufficient reason for rejecting it.” (Sammtliche Werke, 63, p. 169-170, “The Facts About Luther,’ O’Hare, TAN Books, 1987, p.2-3).

My Answer: The reference to The Facts About Luther is inaccurate- it is not “2-3” but rather page 203. Luther’s Preface To The Revelation of St. John is frequently cited by Luther detractors, that is, in its original form written in 1522. Luther eventually rewrote it entirely in 1530- his opinion of the book had changed. John Warwick Montgomery points out,

“Luther’s short and extremely negative Preface to the Revelation of St. John was completely dropped after 1522, and the Reformer replaced it with a long and entirely commendatory Preface (1530). Because “some of the ancient fathers held the opinion that it was not the work of St. John the apostle,” Luther leaves the authorship question open, but asserts that he can no longer “let the book alone,” for “we see, in this book, that through and above all plagues and beasts and evil angels Christ is with His saints, and wins the victory at last.” In his original, 1532 Preface to Ezekiel, Luther made a cross-reference to the Revelation of St. John with no hint of criticism; in his later, much fuller Preface to Ezekiel, he concludes on the note that if one wishes to go into prophetic study, more deeply, “the Revelation of John can also help.”


Question 10

Fill in the blank for this 1523 Luther quote: “Whoever possesses a good faith, says the ______________ without danger.”

a. Lord’s Prayer
b. Hail Mary
c. Glory Be


Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS……B……Hail Mary. Luther: “Whoever possesses a good faith, says the Hail Mary without danger. (Sermon, March 11, 1523)

My Answer: Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Luther’s timeline will recognize that 1523 was early in his Reformation career- a close look at Luther’s Mariology shows that his opinion of Mary decreased as the years went by, particularly praying to her.

Luther’s “Hail Mary” was a much different approach to what was normal during the sixteenth century. Eric Gritsch states, “{Luther} tolerated the "Hail Mary" in "A Personal Prayer Book" of 1522, which was to be an evangelical alternative to existing prayer books advocating the wrongful veneration of Mary as co-redemptrix. Luther urged people to understand this well-known addition to the Lord's Prayer "as a meditation in which we recite what God has given her" and as an admonition "that everyone may know and respect her as one blessed by God. That is why the "Hail Mary," like the Lord's Prayer, is concerned "purely with giving praise and honor"; it is "neither a prayer nor an invocation" to Mary as the one who prays for us. Instead, Mary should be regarded as being without sin, that is, as being "full of grace" (voll Gnaden) in the sense of being "graced" (begnadet)' all she did was done by God in her, that is, "God is with her"; "she is blessed above all other women" because she became fertile through the Holy Spirit, and through Christ's birth, not through her participation in it, humankind is redeemed from death and damnation. To bless her with rosaries and a constant mouthing of "Hail Mary" takes the honor away from Christ, who alone mediates salvation.” (Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue VII, 238).

The Catholic work, Mariology Vol. 2 notes, “Luther had set the style for Protestants when he attacked the Catholic prayer "Hail Holy Queen" which he regarded as blasphemous. "Your prayers, 0 Christian," he says, "are as dear to me as hers. And why? Because if you believe that Christ lives in you as much as in her, you can help me as much as she." Eventually Luther was led to limit the communion of saints to the Church on earth because of his complete rejection of any intercessory power on the part of the saints in heaven {Juniper B. Carol (ed.) Mariology Volume 2, 195}.

Comparing John 7:37-38 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] (“If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water”) with the “Hail Mary” Luther says,

“This is the correct and reassuring message of the blessed Gospel, which the pernicious and blasphemous see of Rome has trodden underfoot for several centuries, deluging all Christendom with its lies and demonic doctrines (1 Tim. 4:1 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] ) and instituting its worship and innumerable other abominations. As a consequence, Christendom neglected and, unfortunately, lost this chief fountain and source, which overflows with rich and full grace; and it substituted Christ’s mother Mary for Christ, praying to her for grace. Thus only the words “Hail Mary, full of grace!” remained current, and the words of our text passed into oblivion. But the words remain written: “And from His fullness have we all received, grace upon grace.” (LW 22:136).


Question 11

In 1519, Luther wrote: I never approved of a ___________, nor will I approve of it for all eternity.”

a. Bible tax
b. curfew
c. schism

Her Answer: THE ANSWER IS…..C…… Schism. LUTHER’s full quote: “I never approved of a schism, nor will I approve of it for all eternity. . . . That the Roman Church is more honored by God than all others is not to be doubted. St. Peter and St. Paul, forty-six Popes, some hundreds of thousands of martyrs, have laid down their lives in its communion, having overcome Hell and the world; so that the eyes of God rest on the Roman church with special favor. Though nowadays everything is in a wretched state, it is no ground for separating from the Church.” “On the contrary, the worse things are going, the more should we hold close to her, for it is not by separating from the Church that we can make her better. We must not separate from God on account of any work of the devil, nor cease to have fellowship with the children of God who are still abiding in the pale of Rome on account of the multitude of the ungodly. There is no sin, no amount of evil, which should be permitted to dissolve the bond of charity or break the bond of unity of the body. For love can do all things, and nothing is difficult to those who are united.” (SOURCE: Letter to Pope Leo X, January 6, 1519 more than a year after the Ninety-Five Theses quoted in The Facts about Luther, 356)

My Answer: The letter was never sent. The letter was the result of Luther’s meeting with the Papal nuncio Miltitz. Miltitz was somewhat of a renegade nuncio, and was attempting to reconcile Luther with the Pope. He spoke of how favorably the pope felt toward Luther, and how angry he was with Tetzel. He attempted to make this deal with Luther: Luther would cease with his part of this controversy- and he promised those who opposed Luther would also be silent. He also requested Luther write a letter to the pope (a section of which Therese quoted above). Boehmer notes Miltitz specifically requested that Luther’s letter contain a confession-

“…that [Luther] had been too vehement and sharp although he had never thought of injuring the Roman Church, but was aiming only at the disgraceful preaching [of indulgences]…he would have a note sent out, exhorting everyone to be obedient to the Roman Church and also confessing that he had expressed the truth in an all too heated and, perhaps untimely fashion….The letter [was to] close with the characteristic words: ‘I am willing to do anything, provided I am not made to renounce anything more, for nothing will come of the recantation.’”

Source: Heinrich Boehmer, Road To Reformation (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1946), 254.

Boehmer notes the letter was written and presented to Miltitz, but Luther “absolutely refused to recant.” Miltitz then dropped the whole idea of the letter. Luther was under the impression the Miltitz would set up a meeting in which a learned bishop would evaluate Luther’s points. Luther writing to elector Frederic says, “Miltitz will write the Pope at once, informing him how things stand, and asking him to recommend the matter to some learned bishop, who will hear me and point out the errors I am to recant. For when I have learned my mistakes, I will gladly withdraw them, and do nothing to impair the honor and power of the Roman Church.” Miltitz did write the Pope- informing him Luther was ready to recant everything. Thus, the letter quoted by Therese was "Papal Nuncio subterfuge."



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Josiah

simul justus et peccator
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Tigger

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It's interesting TO ME that, having become a Lutheran, Lutherans seem to talk about Luther less than just about any other Christians (THIS year, that's probably not true!). Lutherans are focused on Scripture and the Lutheran confessions, and rare is the Lutheran who has read anything Luther wrote except for the Small Catechism (arguably his best writing). They are typically aware of some of the (now viewed as horrific) 16th century views that Luther too echoed (about Jews, for example) but this concerns them not: there is no sense in Lutheranism that Luther is our teacher or even was particularly right about much. For Lutherans, Scripture is the "norma normans" and the Confessions are the "norma normata" (yeah, Lutherans - like Catholics - do theology in Latin, lol)..

This is one of the things I highly appreciate about Lutheranism. That even though the denomination is named after him, a name given not chosen from within and which Luther himself did not want, scripture is the highest authority and anything that would contradict it , even Luther himself, would not be stood for as doctrine of the church. Nor does the church try to deny his personal struggles which actually mirrors our teachings of Simul justus et peccator (sinner and saint). Unlike the LDS and their re-engineering of Joseph Smith.
 

Josiah

simul justus et peccator
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Luther and the Jews


One of the almost constant points made about Luther (even in public school textbooks) is that Luther was a rapid Anti-Jew. Many a post at Catholic sites makes this point, but it's very common everywhere since World War II. Is this historical?

The following, again from the website of James Swan, examines that.....


Was Luther an Anti-Semite?

It should be kept in my mind that Luther’s later anti-Jewish tracts were written from a position different than current anti-Semitism. Luther was born into a society that was anti-Judaic, but it was not the current anti-Judaic type of society that bases it racism on biological factors. Luther had no objections to integrating converted Jews into Christian society. He had nothing against Jews as “Jews.” He had something against their religion because he believed it denied Christ.[14] Heiko Oberman points out, “One thing must be clearly understood: Luther was anti-Jewish in his repeated warnings against the Jews as bearers of an anti-Christian religion which had established itself both within and outside Christianity. But Luther was not an anti-Semite or racist of any kind because- to apply the test appropriate to his time- for him a baptized Jew is fully Christian. Conversely, he said that among us Christians in Germany there are horrifyingly many who in their hearts deny Christ. Those are the true Jews! Not race but belief in the law, in good works, makes Jews.”[15]

Lutheran scholar Eric Gritsch echoes Oberman’s point: “Luther was not an anti-Semite in the racist sense. His arguments against the Jews were theological, not biological.”[16] Gritsch goes on to point out the origin of biological anti-Semitism: “Not until a French cultural anthropologist in the nineteenth century held that humankind consisted of ‘Semites’ and ‘Aryans’ were Semites considered inferior. Alfonse de Gobineau’s views were quickly adopted by European intellectuals and politicians, and Jews became the scapegoats of a snobbish colonialist society in England, France, and Germany. The rest is history- including the Jewish holocaust perpetrated by Adolf Hitler and his regime. National Socialists used Luther to support their racist anti-Semitism, calling him a genuine German who had hated non-Nordic races.”[17]



In his article “Luther’s Attitudes toward Judaism,” Carter Lindberg provides an excellent example proving Luther’s anti-Jewish writings were not motivated by biological racism. Lindberg says, “More to the point is Luther’s stance on religious intermarriage. In his criticism of the medieval Catholic canonical prohibition against a Christian marrying a Jew, Luther wrote, "Just as I may eat, drink, sleep, walk, ride with, buy from, speak to, and deal with a heathen, Jew, Turk, or heretic, so I may also marry and continue in wedlock with him. Pay no attention to the precepts of those fools who forbid it. You will find plenty of Christians—and indeed the greater part of them—who are worse in their secret unbelief than any Jew, heathen, Turk, or heretic. A heathen is just as much a man or a woman—God's good creation—as St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Lucy, not to speak of a slack and spurious Christian."[18]



Rather than being motivated by biological factors, Luther’s criticisms were motivated by theological concerns. Luther directed intensely abusive language against Anabaptists, lawyers, the papacy, and the Jews.[19] Luther felt these groups were united in the conviction that men were ultimately made right before God by the law.[20] Anabaptism held a moralistic view of the gospel with an emphasis on the heavy burden of righteousness placed upon men in order to be accepted before God. Lawyers made their living by imposing the law. The papacy was viewed as the antichrist, which promoted a false religion with a false view of salvation through obedience to the law. The Jews had a religion based upon works righteousness. When Luther attacked these groups, he felt he was attacking the devil- the underlying spirit of works righteousness.[21]



In his last expositions on Genesis in 1544, Luther makes it explicit that no one has the right to boast on their race or lineage: “Accordingly, the Jews have no grounds for boasting; they should humble themselves and acknowledge their maternal blood. For on their father’s side they are Israelites; but on their mother’s side they are Gentiles, Moabites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Canaanites. And by this God wanted to point out that the Messiah would be a brother and a cousin of both the Jews and the Gentiles, if not according to their paternal genealogy, at least according to their maternal nature. Consequently, there is no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, except that Moses later separated this people from the Gentiles by a different form of worship and political regime. Moreover, these things were written to make it known to all that the Messiah would gather the Gentiles and the Jews into one and the same church, just as they are joined by nature and consanguinity.”[22]



In his commentary on Galatians 3:28, Luther explains we are all equal. No particular people has any right to claim special privilege before God: “ ‘There is neither magistrate nor subject, neither professor nor listener, neither teacher nor pupil, neither lady nor servant.’ For in Christ Jesus all social stations, even those that were divinely ordained, are nothing. Male, female, slave, free, Jew, Gentile, king, subject—these are, of course, good creatures of God. But in Christ, that is, in the matter of salvation, they amount to nothing, for all their wisdom, righteousness, devotion, and authority.”[23]


Luther’s most well known anti-Jewish writing was On The Jews and Their Lies. It is often quoted and cited as the clearest example of Luther’s anti-Semitism. Interestingly though, this very document proves that Luther was not a biological anti-Semite, he was not against the Jews as people, nor did he seek for their extermination.[24] In that treatise, Luther launches into a long section against any notion that the Jews are better than anyone else. He puts forth an alleged popular anti-Jewish argument that they thanked God that they were not born gentiles or women. In arguing against this caricature, Luther mocks those who think any one particular people is better than another: “…[T]he Greek Plato daily accorded God such praise and thanksgiving—if such arrogance and blasphemy may be termed praise of God. This man, too, praised his gods for these three items: that he was a human being and not an animal; a male and not a female; a Greek and not a non-Greek or barbarian…Similarly, the Italians fancy themselves the only human beings; they imagine that all other people in the world are nonhumans, mere ducks or mice by comparison.”[25]


Luther also levels the playing field in regards to sexuality. He sees it as blasphemy to view women as inferior to men: “[They] are also human beings and the image of God as well as we; moreover, they are our own flesh and blood, such as mother, sister, daughter, housewives, etc...”[26] Luther insists that before God, we are all equal, and this equality consists in the entire human race standing condemned by our sin before a holy God: “…[T]o strut before God and boast about being so noble, so exalted, and so rich compared to other people—that is devilish arrogance, since every birth according to the flesh is condemned before him without exception in the aforementioned verse, if his covenant and word do not come to the rescue once again and create a new and different birth, quite different from the old, first birth.”[27]

“Oh, what do we poor muck-worms, maggots, stench, and filth presume to boast of before him who is the God and Creator of heaven and earth, who made us out of dirt and out of nothing! And as far as our nature, birth, and essence are concerned, we are but dirt and nothing in his eyes; all that we are and have comes from his grace and his rich mercy.” [28]



AHHHH...



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Josiah

simul justus et peccator
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The 95 Theses

Written in Latin and intended exclusively for scholarly debate (probably originally never intended to go beyond the university there), they are not considered "Lutheran" (just the professors list of what he - at that time - brought up for discussion) and they certainly are not in the Lutheran Confessions. But they are historically VERY significant. Reading them, it's hard to believe such would have begun the firestorm it did! They seem amazingly benign.

One of my Catholic teachers put it this way to me: He referred me to the San Andres Earthquake Fault. It RARELY does anything, rocks LOCKED into place. But the pressure grows and grows and grows.... the everything is design to LOCK things in place..... but then, suddently, quite without warning, BOOM - perhaps an 8.0! He said such is how things tend to work in the RCC. Everything is designed to LOCK things. But the pressure grows and grows, and suddenly (perhaps a straw that breaks the camels back) BOOM! A 8.0 (or in the case of 1521, a 10.0). Luther, he told me, just happened to find himself as the epicenter of the earthquake.

Few Christians have read these 95 Thesis..... Here they are: http://www.christianreformation500y...81052/martin_luthers_95_theses_10-31-1517.pdf




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