Martin Luther

Christianity

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Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was one of the most important leaders in the history of Christianity and the history of German culture. He was the reformer and theologian who launched the Protestant Reformation and founded the Lutheran Church as a branch of Christianity dominant in Germany and Scandinavia.

Previous reform movements in the Roman Catholic Church were small-scale and did not disrupt the medieval Church. Luther was the first to definitively break the unity of Roman Catholic Christendom. His Lutheran Church broke with the pope, but became subservient to the state. He reshaped German religious culture through rejection of Catholic liturgy and celibacy; he created a new Lutheran liturgy using his very popular hymns and his translation of the Bible into German helped to shape the German language. The newly invented printing press permitted the rapid diffusion of his religious tracts and hymns

To Mainline Protestants, Luther was a great reformer --a witness to and agent of Jesus Christ who God mysteriously chose to bestow a gift of deep insight into scripture and the true nature of the Catholic church, not unlike the kind of conversion experience given to St. Paul. "Luther, and with him all the Reformers of the sixteenth century, German, Swiss, and British alike, believed that God spoke to them in the Scriptures in exactly the same way He had spoken to his prophets and apostles." From the Roman Catholic perspective, Luther remains a monk who overeacted to the problems of the day and caused a great deal of needless trouble.

Life

Luther was born on Nov. 10, 1483, in the central German town of Eisleben in Thuringia. His father, Hans Luther, originally a peasant, learned mining skills, and became a businessman who owned several small foundries; his mother, Margaretta, came from an educated urban professional family. Martin was strictly brought up in a traditional family. He entered the University of Erfurt in 1501, took a master of arts degree in 1505 and studied law in preparation for the legal career his father planned for him. Erfurt was the center of humanism, and Luther was well educated in Aristotle and the Latin classics by leading scholars.

Young Luther was tormented by the current picture of man's destiny. His Germany was obsessed by a cult of death, which had arisen after the Black Death more than a century before; however, not even death was as appalling as the God's judgment thereafter and the prospect of everlasting damnation. In July 1505, a thunderstorm overtook him. Struck to the ground by a bolt of lightning, he cried in terror to his father's patron saint, "St. Anne, help me! I will become a monk." Two weeks later he entered the strict Augustinian order.

Years in the Catholic Monastery

Luther took his final vows and in May 1507 he was ordained a priest. He was assigned to the town of Wittenberg, Saxony, the next year as an instructor in logic and physics at the new University of Wittenberg, with its 180 students. Luther spent nearly his entire life in Wittenberg. He was favored and protected by the government, thanks to the influence of his friend, the court chaplain Georg Spalatin (1484-1545). He learned Greek and Hebrew and especially studied the Bible itself, as well as standard theological treatises by Scholastic thinkers Peter Lombard (c.1100-60), John Duns Scotus (c.1265-1308), Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Pierre d' Ailly (1350-1420) and William of Occam (1288-1347). Above all he was influenced by Augustine 354-430), the reputed founder of his order. He was also influenced by Nominalist theologian Gabriel Biel (c.1420-95) (his teacher's teacher), who taught that sinners could attain genuine contrition for their sins. Biel clarified the issue and Luther in 1517 came down strongly in opposition to it. The university awarded him the degree of doctor of theology in 1512 and Luther rapidly advanced in his teaching career and became a successful administrator; he preached regularly in the parish church. In 1510-11 he went to Rome on official business for five months, his only trip outside Germany. He later said he saw Rome's corruption, but most historians believe his later animadversions were shaped by his later alienation from the papacy and by his later alignment with German nationalist anti-Italian xenophobia. He did not yet in 1511 share the anti-papal and anti-Roman mood in Renaissance Germany that he later became leader of.

Years as scholar in Wittenberg

In October 1512, Luther received a doctorate of theology from the University of Wittenberg and soon after assumed a Wittenberg professorship in Bible studies endowed by his Augustinian order. Lecture notes exist for courses he taught, including Psalms (1513-1515 and 1519), Romans (1515-1516), Galatians (1516-1517), and Hebrews (1517-1518). During this time Luther rose to the level of district vicar of his Roman-Catholic Augustian Order in 1515, later even overseeing the administration of Augustianian monasteries in Saxony.

Luther's fears continued to harass him. Repeated bouts of depression may have arisen partly from physical causes having to do with Luther's savagely ascetic regime that was self-imposed and against the advice of his confessor. "I vexed myself with fasts and prayers beyond what was common...if I could have got to heaven by fasting, I should have merited that twenty years ago.... I afflicted myself almost to death." That is, he sought to earn heaven by self-torture. In reaction, he decided that nothing in the power of man is good enough to constitute a claim upon God. He fully explored the penitential system of the Church so that the sins which he could not expunge or eradicate might yet be forgiven, only to discover that he could not confess all of his sins. Some sins were forgotten and others not recognized, for man does not see that he is a sinner until confronted by the accusing finger of God. The mystic way of ceasing to struggle and of surrendering oneself to the wonder and the goodness of God offered no solution--for Luther, God was a consuming flame.

The solution to Luther's problems came through the study of the Bible; he was appointed to the chair of biblical study at Wittenberg. Luther later tells of having had religious experiences led to two important theological discoveries: (1)the evangelical purpose of the Gospels (1514) and (2) his replacement of scholastic theology with what he called the "theology of the cross" (1518, possibly earlier).

In writing lectures on Psalms, Romans, and Galatians from 1513 to 1516 Luther came to the conclusion, fundamental to Protestant theology, that man depends for his salvation on the sheer grace of God, made available through the sacrificial death of Christ. Christ is not primarily the terrible judge who condemns sinners, but the redeemer upon the cross. Man has only to believe and to accept in trust what God has done to be forgiven, even though sin is never entirely taken away. This was to become the central doctrine of Luther's creed: the doctrine of justification by faith.

The critical point at which Luther's position diverged from that of the Catholic Church was in his absolute denial of man's ability to do anything whatsoever toward his own salvation. The Church taught that through grace man is given by God the ability to fulfill His commandments. Since man is free to reject this grace, if he accepts it instead and performs good works, his deeds are meritorious. But Luther affirmed that when good deeds are performed with an eye to reward they are damnable sins.

Founding of Protestantism

Martin Luther tried to revive the Catholic Church on October 31, 1517, when he nailed the 95 Theses or issues to the door of his Wittenberg Church in what is now Germany. The source of Luther's complaint was a project to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, for which church officials were offering indulgences in exchange for donations. Martin Luther objected and produced a list of 95 complaints to spark public debate.

Here are two of Luther's most important Theses:

• Thesis 82: Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial.

• Thesis 86: Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?

Pope Leo X spent his time on the beauty flourishing during the Renaissance, and was a patron of the great artist Raphael. Pope Leo X probably never recognized the significance of Luther and his followers. Some historians feel that if the pope had responded more seriously, then the subsequent schism in Germany would not have occurred; others argue that a Reformation was inevitable and that many leaders were emerging.

But German nobles did not like the flow of money to Rome, and they backed Martin Luther in order to cut off the donations by Germans to support Rome.

In 1520, Pope Leo X announced the papal bull Exsurge Domine, which required Luther to withdraw 41 of his 95 Theses or be excommunicated. Luther refused and was then excommunicated by the Catholic Church.

It was then up to German authorities to take any legal action against Luther. The 21-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ordered him to stand trial before an assembly (a "Diet") of estates of the Holy Roman Empire that met in Worms, a small town in what is now Germany. This famous assembly is therefore known as the "Diet of Worms." The verdict (the "Edict of Worms") was "guilty". Luther was declared an outlaw who should be arrested.

But Luther had already left the trial before the verdict was rendered. He hid at Wartburg Castle at Eisenach, where 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. 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". 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.

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. 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.)

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.

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 synagogues and Jewish schools, the destruction of their prayer books, their homes razed and their money and property confiscated.

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.

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 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

Impact

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.

Quotes

Quotes attributed to Luther include,

• You should not believe your conscience and your feelings more than the word which the Lord who receives sinners preaches to you.

• Justice is a temporary thing that must at last come to an end; but the conscience is eternal and will never die.

• My conscience is captive to the Word of God, I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

• We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.

• If he have faith, the believer cannot be restrained. He betrays himself. He breaks out. He confesses and teaches this gospel to the people at the risk of life itself.

• I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.

• To gather with God's people in united adoration of the Father is as necessary to the Christian life as prayer.

• Peace if possible, truth at all costs.

• You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.

• I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.

• Where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel.

• I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.

• If you young fellows were wise, the devil couldn't do anything to you, but since you aren't wise, you need us who are old.

See also

• Priesthood of all believers
• Lutheranism

Further reading

• Atkinson, James. Martin Luther: Prophet to the Church Catholic, (2nd ed. 2004) ISBN 0-8028-1260-0
• Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1978; reprinted 2009) excerpt and text search
• Bayer, Oswald. Martin Luther's Theology: A Contemporary Interpretation (2008) excerpt and text search
• Beard, Charles. Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany Until the Close of the Diet of Worms (1896) 468 pages; complete text online this Charles Beard is not the American historian
• Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. (3 vols. 1985–93), the most complete and intensive study; by a leading German scholar
• Brown, Christopher Boyd. Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation. (2005) excerpt and text search
• Dickens, A. G. Martin Luther and the Reformation (1969), basic introduction
• Edwards, Jr., Mark U. Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics, 1531-46 (1983).
• Ganss, Henry G. "Martin Luther," in Catholic Encyclopedia (1910) vol 9, a thorough but hostile short biography from a Catholic perspective.
• Hillerbrand, Hans J. ed. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation. (OUP 1996); the book is online at many academic libraries; excerpt and text search
• Junghans, Helmar. Martin Luther: Exploring His Life and Times, 1483–1546. (book plus CD ROM) (1998)
• Köstlin, Julius. "Martin Luther," New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, (1911) 8:69-79, short older biography by leading German scholar
• MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation (2005), influential recent survey of the entire movement; excerpt and text search
• McKim, Donald K., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther (2003), 320pp; 18 essays by scholars; online edition at Questia; also excerpt and text search
• Mullett, Michael A. Martin Luther (2004) online edition
• Nestingen, James A. Martin Luther: A Life (2009) excerpt and text search
• Ranke, Leopold von. History of the Reformation in Germany (1905) 792 pp; by Germany's foremost scholar complete text online free
• Ritter, Gerhard. Luther, His Life and Work (1963)online edition
• Schwiebert, Ernest G. Luther and His Times: The Reformation from a New Perspective (1950), 914pp, stresses the role of universities
• Smith, Preserved. The Life and Letters of Martin Luther. (1911) complete edition online free

Primary sources

• Luther, Martin. Martin Luther: Selections From His Writings, edited by John Dillenberger (1958) excerpt and text search
• Luther, Martin. Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings (with CD-ROM), edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Timothy F. Lull, and William R. Russell (2005) excerpt and text search
• Luther, Martin. The Letters of Martin Luther (1908) full text online free
• Luther, Martin. Conversations with Luther...Table Talk (1915) full text online free
• Luther, Martin. Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther ed. by Captain Henry Bell, and Henry Morley (2009) excerpt and text search

External links

• Project Wittenberg, extensive online collection of primary sources by Luther and his colleagues