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Line 77: + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + − + − ===The printing press and Luther's influence on history===+ − A remarkable invention awaited Luther's German translation of the [[Bible]]: in 1447 the German [[Johannes Gutenberg]] had already invented the movable-type [[Printing Press|printing press]]. This enabled Luther's translation to be printed for the public in September 1522. The Christian world would never be the same again. (The [[Gutenberg Bible]], which put the [[Latin Vulgate]] in book format, had been printed in 1455 and it is the oldest existing book in the West.)+ + + + + + + + − Martin Luther continued to write, and taught at a German university for his financial support. Luther's writings in defense of his religious views were often harsh and passionate. After first reaching out to the Jews, when they did not embrace his Christianity, in 1543 he published a tract entitled ''On the Jews and Their Lies'' which called for the burning of [[synagogue]]s and Jewish schools, the destruction of their prayer books, their homes razed and their money and property confiscated.<ref>[http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/documents/luther-jews.htm Text of Luther's ''On the Jews and Their Lies]</ref><ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Luther_on_Jews.html The Jewish Virtual Library]</ref>+ + + − === ''Freedom of a Christian Man'' === − ''Freedom of a Christian Man''. This pamphlet--published in both German and Latin in 1520--succintly set forth his views on ecclesiastical (church) reform. The title became a popular slogan that was widely echoed throughout the Reformation. Luther also published two other tracts in 1520 that filled out his thought and complemented ''Freedom of a Christian Man''. These were ''Babylonian Captivity of the Church'' (which questioned [[Sacrament|sacramental]] teachings) and ''Open Letter to the Christian Nobility''. ''Freedom of a Christian Man'' was a document of principles of piety, telling how a Christian should live<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=0TF12TnVtc8C&pg=PA3&dq=%22Freedom+of+a+Christian+Man%22&ei=XP-nSdjeHZTUlQTQ76CEBA]</ref> − + − Lutheranism has only 70 million adherents today, which is only about 7% of the Catholic population. But nearly all Christians, even Catholics, have sung a famous hymn written by Luther: "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Moreover, hundreds of millions of Christians worldwide agree with Luther that justification is by faith alone and belong to Protestant congregations that first sprung into being because of Luther's stand.+ + + − Luther passed away in February, 1546, having lived his latter years in poor health. He had many children, some of whom preceded him in death, by the former nun [[Katharina von Bora]].+
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Luther had already left the trial before the verdict was rendered. He hid at Wartburg Castle at Eisenach, where [[Frederick of Saxony|Frederick the Wise]], Elector of Saxony, protected him. Luther took the pseudonym Junker Jorg (Nobleman George), grew a wide beard and dressed like a knight.
Luther had already left the trial before the verdict was rendered. He hid at Wartburg Castle at Eisenach, where [[Frederick of Saxony|Frederick the Wise]], Elector of Saxony, protected him. Luther took the pseudonym Junker Jorg (Nobleman George), grew a wide beard and dressed like a knight.
==The Reformation==
===Wartburg: 1521-22===
While in hiding in Wartburg, the Reformation speeded up, stimulated by Luther's tracts and organized by his friends in Wittenberg, especially [[Philipp Melanchthon]], who always remained close, as well as the more radical Andreas Carlstadt. The liturgy was deliberately changed with Luther's approval. For example in a celebration of the Lord's Supper they gave wine to the laity. Monks and nuns left the cloister and got married. Luther concluded that the monks were right. Luther returned to Wittenberg. The emperor wanted to arrest him but had to worry first about serious wars with the Turks, with France, and even with the pope himself.
===Confronting radicals===
Luther was always troubled by violence and challenges to state authority. He was opposed when reformers broke up Catholic Masses and smashed images and statues of saints. Peasants, long smarting under social inequalities, revolted in 1524-26 in Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, and Thuringia using his name and that of Thomas Münzer (1490-1525). At first he tried to mediate. In his ''Admonition to Peace,'' Luther blamed the unrest on the rulers, who persecuted the gospel and mistreated their subjects. Many of the peasants' demands were just, he said, and for the sake of peace, the rulers should accommodate them. On the other hand, Luther warned the peasants they were blaspheming Christ by quoting the gospel to justify their secular demands. He told them bluntly that the gospel taught obedience to secular authorities and the humble suffering of injustice. As rebellion spread Luther was appalled and denounced the rebellion. In May 1525, he wrote against the "Robbing and Murdering Horde of Peasants," urging the princes to "smite, strangle, and stab [the peasants], secretly or openly, for nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one must kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you and a whole land with you." Luther argued that man's chief duty on earth was work, in particular agricultural labor and the duty of the ruling classes was the maintenance of peace. He castigated all layers of society for not fulfilling their duties. The Peasant War broke the peace, an evil he thought greater than the evils the peasants were rebelling against. He later criticized the merciless ruling classes, who killed some 100,000+ peasants (as well as Münzer) to crush the insurrection.
As the institutional Lutheran church developed, politicians gained increasing influence. In 1531, the League of Schmalkalden, an alliance of Protestant princes, was formed to defend the Protestant states against possible Catholic attack. In 1536, the Lutherans and southern Germans reached a concord on the Lord's Supper. (The southern Germans acceded to the Lutheran insistence that Christ's body and blood were received in the Lord's Supper even by the "unworthy," and Lutherans let drop the question whether this also applied to the "godless.") The agreement also regularized the military alliance between the northern and southern parties.
Luther's later works were increasingly angry. His reading of the Bible revealed from the beginning there had been a perpetual struggle between the true and false church. What happened to the prophets and apostles could and would happen to the church of his day. Luther concluded the papacy was the Antichrist. Protestant opponents were "false brethren," like those who had plagued the true prophets and apostles. The Turks, who threatened Europe from the east, were a clear sign of the end times: they were Gog and the little horn in the Book of Daniel.<ref> Edwards, ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics, 1531-46'' (1983)</ref> Luther grew very hostile toward Jews who refused to convert to Christianity, saying they were a rejected people suffering God's wrath for rejecting the true Messiah and should be expelled from Germany.<ref> Most Lutherans ignored these violent polemics against Jews and stressed instead his earlier favorable views. Johannes Wallmann, "The Reception of Luther's Writings on the Jews from the Reformation to the End of the 19th Century." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 1987 1(1): 72-97. </ref>
===Spreading the word===
For his last 25 years Luther was primarily the professor, the preacher, and writer.<ref> Edwards, ''Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics, 1531-46'' (1983)</ref> He taught at the University of Wittenberg, where some 16,000 students were enrolled, 1520-60, most of whom became enthusiastic proponents of Luther's "New Theology." Since Luther remained under the imperial ban, it was Melanchthon, not Luther, who attended the many conferences where theologians disputed the new ideas. Luther remained the symbol of the Reformation; his enemies derided him as the pope of Wittenberg. While in hiding Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into High German, marking a literary and cultural as well as religious revolution. It appeared in 1522; his translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew appeared in 1534.
The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press. From 1517 onward religious pamphlets flooded Germany and much of Europe. By 1530 over 10,000 publications are known, with a total of ten million copies. The Reformation was thus a media revolution. Luther strengthened his attacks on Rome by depicting a "good" against "bad" church. From there, it became clear that print could be used for propaganda in the Reformation for particular agendas. Reformist writers used pre-Reformation styles, clichés, and stereotypes and changed items as needed for their own purposes.<ref> Mark U. Edwards, Jr., ''Printing, Propaganda, and Martin Luther'' (1994)</ref>
Illustrations in the newly translated Bible and in many tracts popularized Luther's ideas. [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]] (1472-1553), the great painter patronized by the electors of Wittenberg, was a close friend of Luther, and illustrated Luther's theology for a popular audience. He dramatized Luther's views on the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, while remaining mindful of Luther's careful distinctions about proper and improper uses of visual imagery.<ref>Christoph Weimer, "Luther and Cranach on Justification in Word and Image." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 2004 18(4): 387-405. Issn: 0024-7499 </ref>
===Catechisms===
Especially effective were Luther's ''Small Catechism'', for use of parents teaching their children, and ''Larger Catechism,'' for pastors.<ref> See texts at [http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-hymn English translation]</ref> Using the German vernacular they expressed the Apostles' Creed in simpler, more personal, Trinitarian language. He rewrote each article of the Creed to express the character of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. Luther's goal was to enable the catechumens to see themselves as a personal object of the work of the three persons of the Trinity, each of which works in the catechumen's life. That is, Luther depicts the Trinity not as a doctrine to be learned, but as persons to be known. The Father creates, the Son redeems, and the Spirit sanctifies, a divine unity with separate personalities. Salvation originates with the Father and draws the believer to the Father. Luther's treatment of the Apostles Creed must be understood in the context of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) and the Lord's Prayer, which are also part of the Lutheran catechical teaching.<ref> Charles P. Arand, "Luther on the Creed." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 2006 20(1): 1-25. Issn: 0024-7499; James Arne Nestingen, "Luther's Catechisms" ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation.'' Ed. Hans J. Hillerbrand. (1996) </ref>
===Hymns===
Luther was a prolific hymn writer, such as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."<ref>For a short collection see [http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html#sw-hymn online hymns] </ref> Luther opened the way for a bringing together of high art and folk music, of all classes, clergy and laity, men, women and children. His device for this linking was the singing of German hymns in connection with worship, the school, the home, and the public arena.<ref> Christopher Boyd Brown, ''Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation.'' (2005) </ref>
Luther's 1524 creedal hymn "We All Believe in One True God" is a three-stanza confession of faith prefiguring Luther's 1529 three-part explanation of the Apostles' Creed in the ''Small Catechism.'' Luther's hymn, adapted and expanded from an earlier German creedal hymn, gained widespread use in vernacular Lutheran liturgies as early as 1525. Sixteenth-century Lutheran hymnals also included ''Wir Glauben All'' among the catechetical hymns, although 18th-century hymnals tended to label the hymn as trinitarian rather than catechetical, and 20th-century Lutherans rarely use the hymn because of the perceived difficulty of its tune.
Luther's 1538 hymnic version of the Lord's Prayer, "Vater Unser in Himmelreich," corresponds exactly to Luther's explanation of the prayer in the ''Small Catechism,'' with one stanza for each of the seven prayer petitions, plus opening and closing stanzas; the hymn functioned both as a liturgical setting of the Lord's Prayer and as a means of examining candidates on specific catechism questions. The extant manuscript shows multiple revisions, demonstrating Luther's concern to clarify and strengthen the text and to provide an appropriately prayerful tune. Other 16th- and 20th-century versifications of the Lord's Prayer have adopted Luther's tune, although modern texts are considerably shorter.<ref> Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 1998 12(1): 79-88, 89-98. </ref>
Luther wrote "Aus Tiefer Not Schrei ich zu Dir" [From depths of woe I cry to you] in 1523 as a hymnic version of Psalm 130 and sent it as a sample to encourage evangelical colleagues to write psalm-hymns for use in German worship. In 1524 Luther developed his original four-stanza psalm paraphrase into a five-stanza Reformation hymn that developed the theme of "grace alone" more fully. Because it expressed essential Reformation doctrine, this expanded version of "Aus Tiefer Not" was designated as a regular component of several regional Lutheran liturgies and was widely used at funerals, including Luther's own. Along with Erhart Hegenwalt's hymnic version of Psalm 51, Luther's expanded hymn was also adopted for use with the fifth part of Luther's catechism, concerning confession.<ref>Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns: 5. Baptism." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 1998 12(2): 160-169, 170-180. </ref>
Luther's 1540 hymn "Christ unser Herr zum Jordan Kam" [To Jordan came the Christ our Lord] reflects the structure and substance of his questions and answers concerning baptism in the ''Small Catechism.'' Luther adopted a preexisting Johann Walter tune associated with a hymnic setting of Psalm 67's prayer for grace; Wolf Heintz's four-part setting of the hymn was used to introduce the Lutheran Reformation in Halle in 1541. Preachers and composers of the 18th century, including J. S. Bach, used this rich hymn as a subject for their own work, although its objective baptismal theology was displaced by more subjective hymns under the influence of late-19th-century Lutheran pietism.
==New theology==
===Eucharist===
Luther's hierarchy of eucharistic meaning reflects his broader theology in structure and content. The divine Word, not ubiquity and the presence of Christ in the Sacrament, is the center of Luther's eucharistic theology. The hierarchy runs along this course: from the Word at the center of the Sacrament, to the benefit of the Sacrament in the Word of forgiveness, to the comfort given and received when the Sacrament is rightly used, to the fruit of communion in the Word of love. The hierarchy is the Word on which power, benefit, comfort, and communion are dependent. The presence is less important than the Word. Since the Word is incarnational in Jesus Christ, the issue was the very nature of the Word itself.<ref> Thomas J. Davis, "'The Truth of the Divine Words': Luther's Sermons on the Eucharist, 1521-28, and the Structure of Eucharistic Meaning." ''Sixteenth Century Journal'' 1999 30(2): 323-342. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2544707 in Jstor]; Thomas Osborne, "Faith, Philosophy, and the Nominalist Background to Luther's Defense of the Real Presence," ''Journal of the History of Ideas,'' Vol. 63, No. 1 (Jan., 2002), pp. 63-82 [ http://www.jstor.org/stable/3654258 in JSTOR]</ref>
=== ''Freedom of a Christian Man'' ===
''Freedom of a Christian Man''. This pamphlet--published in both German and Latin in 1520--succintly set forth his views on ecclesiastical (church) reform. The title became a popular slogan that was widely echoed throughout the Reformation. Luther also published two other tracts in 1520 that filled out his thought and complemented ''Freedom of a Christian Man''. These were ''Babylonian Captivity of the Church'' (which questioned [[Sacrament|sacramental]] teachings) and ''Open Letter to the Christian Nobility''. ''Freedom of a Christian Man'' was a document of principles of piety, telling how a Christian should live<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=0TF12TnVtc8C&pg=PA3&dq=%22Freedom+of+a+Christian+Man%22&ei=XP-nSdjeHZTUlQTQ76CEBA online text]</ref>
==Translations==
==Translations==
While in hiding he translated the [[New Testament]] from Greek into German in 1522. By 1534, Luther had translated all of the [[Old Testament]] from Hebrew to German also.
While in hiding he translated the [[New Testament]] from Greek into German in 1522. By 1534, Luther had translated all of the [[Old Testament]] from Hebrew to German also.
Luther translated Romans 3:28 by adding an extra German word for "alone" (alleine or alleyn) after the phrase: "justified by faith".<Ref> he wrote in german, "So halten wir nun dafür, daß der Mensch gerecht werde ohne des Gesetzes Werke, alleyn durch den Glauben."</ref> Luther believed that man is justified by faith alone, and that salvation comes only from faith. The Catholic Church taught that man is justified by faith, good works and confession to the Church authorities.
Luther translated Romans 3:28 by adding an extra German word for "alone" (alleine or alleyn) after the phrase: "justified by faith".<Ref>He wrote in German, "So halten wir nun dafür, daß der Mensch gerecht werde ohne des Gesetzes Werke, alleyn durch den Glauben."</ref> Luther believed that man is justified by faith alone, and that salvation comes only from faith. The Catholic Church taught that man is justified by faith, good works and confession to the Church authorities.
A remarkable invention awaited Luther's German translation of the Bible: in 1447 the German [[Johannes Gutenberg]] had already invented the movable-type [[printing press]]. This enabled Luther's translation to be printed for the public in September 1522. The Christian world would never be the same again.<ref>The [[Gutenberg Bible]], which put the [[Latin Vulgate]] in book format, had been printed long before--in 1455--but only in a very small edition.</ref>
===Marriage===
In 1525 Luther married Katharina von Bora (1499-1552). She had been placed in a Cisterian cloister at an early age, where she received an unusually strong education. Her intelligence and strong will challenged traditional gender roles and allowed Luther to exemplify his beliefs. Their marriage reinforced his position against monastic celibacy. Katharina was not a conventional housewife; in addition to raising four children, she managed Luther's cloister and expanded his estate. However, despite being the sole heir in Luther's will, Katharina received nothing after his death.<ref>Martin Treu, "Katharina von Bora, the Woman at Luther's Side." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 1999 13(2): 157-178. </ref>
In "The estate of marriage" (1522) Luther removed marriage as a Christian sacrament but elevated its position in German society by advocating it as preferable to celibacy. This change was consistent with his teachings that lay people were in no way inferior to the clergy. Luther spoke of marriage as a temporal institution instituted by God in which both sexes should be treated with respect and the duties of child-rearing should be joyfully accepted. He loosened the restrictions on marriage, including allowing marriage between Christians and non-Christians, and allowed divorce in situations involving adultery, although he called on Christians to forgive.<ref> Scott Hendrix, "Luther on Marriage." ''Lutheran Quarterly'' 2000 14(3): 335-350. </ref>
In Luther's later years, his health, precarious even as a monk, gradually declined. He suffered from constipation, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, dizziness, ringing in his ears, an ulcer on his leg, kidney stones, and heart problems. He suffered from bouts of depression (battles with the Devil, he called them). Nevertheless he kept on writing to the end, with 360 published works from 1516 to 1530, and another 184 before his death in 1546.
==Wars==
Charles V tried to stop the spread of [[Lutheranism]]. In 1544, Charles V sent armies against the German princes, but the [[Peace of Augsburg]] in 1555 gave each German ruler the right to choose the religion for his state. The princes in southern Germany selected Roman Catholicism, but the princes in northern Germany chose Lutheranism. After [[World War II]], when Germany split into West and East Germany, the West German part contained the predominantly Roman Catholic regions and the East German part consisted of the mostly Lutheran regions.
Charles V tried to stop the spread of [[Lutheranism]]. In 1544, Charles V sent armies against the German princes, but the [[Peace of Augsburg]] in 1555 gave each German ruler the right to choose the religion for his state. The princes in southern Germany selected Roman Catholicism, but the princes in northern Germany chose Lutheranism. After [[World War II]], when Germany split into West and East Germany, the West German part contained the predominantly Roman Catholic regions and the East German part consisted of the mostly Lutheran regions.
Luther continued to write, and taught at a German university for his financial support.
==Jews==
Luther's writings in defense of his religious views were often harsh and passionate. After first reaching out to the Jews, when they did not embrace his Christianity, in 1543 he published a tract entitled ''On the Jews and Their Lies'' which called for the burning of [[synagogue]]s and Jewish schools, the destruction of their prayer books, their homes razed and their money and property confiscated.<ref>[http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/documents/luther-jews.htm Text of Luther's ''On the Jews and Their Lies]</ref><ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Luther_on_Jews.html The Jewish Virtual Library]</ref>
Historians debate the impact Luther's writings may have had on German thought leading into the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. Luther harshly criticized many peoples in addition to Jews; a pamphlet of his in 1545, the year before he died, was entitled "Against the Roman Papacy an Institution of the Devil,". It is also recorded that at a round table discussion he said he believed in burning witches. Some of Luther’s writings seem quite vulgar by today's standards, but much of it was also in response to vulgar accusations against his religious views.
Historians debate the impact Luther's writings may have had on German thought leading into the Nazi Holocaust of World War II. Luther harshly criticized many peoples in addition to Jews; a pamphlet of his in 1545, the year before he died, was entitled "Against the Roman Papacy an Institution of the Devil,". It is also recorded that at a round table discussion he said he believed in burning witches. Some of Luther’s writings seem quite vulgar by today's standards, but much of it was also in response to vulgar accusations against his religious views.
== Impact ==
==Legacy==
Luther's image changed over the centuries. Calvinists challenged his theology while Catholics systematically reviled his personality well into the 20th century. Lutherans saw him as an authoritative interpreter of the Word whose texts must be studied word for word, then as a prophet of God whose overall message was more important than particular writings, and finally as a hero of the German people who transcended religion.<ref> Robert Kolb, ''Martin Luther as Prophet, Teacher, and Hero: Images of the Reformer, 1520-1620'' (1999)</ref>
After his death a furious theological battle raged over control of Luther's legacy. On the one hand were the "Synergists" or "Philippists" (named after [[Philipp Melanchthon]]) based at the universities of Wittenberg and Leipzig, who sought a compromise with the [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] over disputed issues such as free will and the Eucharist.<ref> Randall C. Zachman, ''The Assurance of Faith: Conscience in the Theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin'' (1993)</ref> The other camp were "Gnesio-Lutherans" ("true Lutherans"), centered at Magdenburg, who denounced the first camp for suggesting good works were necessary for salvation. The upshot was the emergence of "confessionalism", an inward-directed search for the "true" Luther that ended up with a highly orthodox theology that seemed frozen in place until the [[Pietists]] emerged in the 18th century. While this battle continued, Calvinists made major gains and dominated Protestant thought outside Germany. <ref> Robert Kolb, ''Luther's Heirs Define His Legacy: Studies on Lutheran Confessionalization'' (1996)</ref>
Lutheranism has 70 million adherents today, and its influence in secularized Europe has faded. But many Christians, even some Catholics, have sung a famous hymn written by Luther: "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Moreover, hundreds of millions of Protstants worldwide agree with Luther that justification is by faith alone and belong to Protestant congregations that first sprung into being because of Luther's stand.
==Quotes==
==Quotes==