View Full Version : The Real Story of Martin Luther the RCC would rather not be understood
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
It was most helpful to Martin Luther's continued health and well being that his mentor, Frederick the Wise of Saxony had the largest army in Europe.
Martin Luther quickly learned that Rome had no problems with burning books and the people who published them from Savanorola, Wycliffe and Huss, and that a letter guaranteeing safe passage wasn't worth the paper it was written on.
The printing press and a more literate populace spread Martin Luther 's teachings and Bible. [imagine if Martin Luther had the internet. . . .]
Martin Luther knew that the Roman Catholic Church was incapable of meaningful change, the only reasonable option was to LEAVE. [problem is that Martin Luther took a huge part of Europe with him]
Web Resources on Martin Luther:
Martin Luther's Account of His Own Conversion (http://www.modernreformation.org/mlconversion.htm)
Numerous Sermons by Martin Luther (At Ev. Trinity Lutheran Church: Over a Hundred Available). (http://www.trinitylutheranms.org/MartinLutherPage.html)
Project Wittenburg's Luther Page: (Numerous Primary Source Books, Articles, Hymns and Sermons) (http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html)
A Treatise on Good Works (CCEL) (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/luther/good_works.html)
Luther's 1534 Bible Saved by Grace (http://www.born-again-christian.info/martin.luther.1534.bible.saved.goethe.schiller.boo ks.burned.htm)
Martin Luther went to the theological root of the problem with Roman Catholic Theology: their perversion of the doctrine of redemption [How are we saved?] and grace.
One day, while sitting on the privy in Wittenburg Castle, Luther had what he later described as a "thunderbolt to my conscience" - the realization that the righteousness of God is not a negative characteristic (i.e. judgmental), but rather a merciful one (justification of sinners through faith).
Romans 1:17 was the spark for this revelation:
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Later, Romans 1:17 would become the centerpiece of Luther's theology, capsulizing his views on justification by faith, and salvation by grace, and grace alone:
"The righteousness of God is the cause of our salvation. This righteousness, however, is not that according to which God Himself is righteous as God, but that by which we are justified by Him through faith in the Gospel. It is called the righteousness of God in contradistinction to man's righteousness which comes from works...righteousness (justification) precedes works and good works grow out of it." (Luther's Commentary on Romans, p. 41)
Luther was also a strong proponent of viewing the Bible as the sole source of Christian belief. He vociferously rejected non-Biblical tenants such as purgatory, worship of Mary and the Saints, and indulgences (although not infant baptism). He generally viewed the Bible as literally true (what would be called fundamentalism today), but at the same time, he cast some doubt on the authority of several books in the Bible, including James, Hebrews, and Revelation.
Luther was also a strong proponent of the doctrine of a "priesthood of believers", a view which says that each Christian can make their own interpretation of the Scriptures, and that no intermediaries (such as clerics) are needed for a Christian to communicate with God. Coming out of this viewpoint was Luther's total rejection of papal authority. He noted that, in the first several centuries of the Church, the Bishop of Rome had no special authority.
Martin Luther (http://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/reform/reform.htm)
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
Luther rejects the authority of popes and councils because they contradict each other: "I do not believe in the authority of either popes or councils by themselves, for it is plain that they have often erred and contradicted each other."
Unlike modern theologians who find in contradiction, paradox, antinomy, mystery, and tension a sign of divine "inspiration," "spirituality," and "piety," Luther rejected contradiction as error: "They [popes and councils] have often erred and contradicted each other."
Those who defend church tradition and church authority and heap scorn on "Lone Rangers," "schismatics," and individualists echo the tyrants of Rome.
Standing alone before the assembled powers of Europe, Luther said, "My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe."
In doing this, Luther was imitating Elijah, who thought he alone was left;
. . . and Daniel, who alone faced the lions and became ruler of Babylon;
. . . and Christ, standing alone before the powers of Judaism and pagan Rome;
. . . and Paul, who said no one stood with him at his trial;
. . . and Athanasius, who opposed all the other bishops; and Wycliffe, and Hus, and many more.
The Lord has frequently raised up such heroic individuals, standing alone on the Word of God, challenging the judgments of kings, councils, and popes.
The defenders of church authority and tradition are not worthy to lick their boots.
Luther was not putting forth some Jiminy Cricket philosophy of "let your conscience be your guide"; he was setting forth the Biblical principle that the only reliable guide is Scripture, and it is the right of all men to read and interpret Scripture for themselves, according to the logical rules that Scripture itself contains.
As for the so-called church fathers, Luther wrote, "Scripture should be placed alongside Scripture in a right and proper way. He who can do this best is the best of the fathers"
Forgotten Principles of the Reformation (http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=202)
It was most helpful to Martin Luther's continued health and well being that his mentor, Frederick the Wise of Saxony had the largest army in Europe.
The Reformation was made possible by one man. And it wasn't Luther. It also wasn't Zwingli or Hus or Wycliffe or Calvin or Hobbes. The credit goes to Frederick the Wise, without whom Dr. Luther would have been turned into a little pile of carbon by age 34, if not earlier. Frederick the Wise, alias Frederick III, just happened to command the largest army in Europe, and he was royally peeved because he had not been made Pope.
Now, in Saxony, where Frederick ruled, there was this perfectly delightful, beer-loving German monk who taught Augustinian theology at the University of Wittenberg. And he was really upset with the church. Luther's conduct and writings were reprehensible to the Roman Catholic Church, and normally we would have been put on trial as a heretic and burned alive.
But Prince Frederick, bless his heart, took a shine to Luther, and decided to give protection to the Germanic radical. Essentially what Frederick said was, "Let that man say what he has to say; let no one touch him." And no one else had an army big enough to argue with him.
If you do not understand Frederick the Wise's army, you do not understand the Reformation. Catholic malcontents had been around for centuries. The key to the Reformation's success was not some great spiritual revival, but the military might of Frederick (who, ironically, probably remained a Catholic to the end).
The final outcome of this was that the land of Saxony removed Roman Catholicism as its official state religion (the first nation ever to do so). To fill this vacuum, Luther was given free rein to establish a whole new state religion from the ground up!
Luther Quit Too Soon (http://www.lostkeysrevelation.com/open/martin.htm)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
Probably the most outrageous abuse of the Gospel by the Catholic Church was selling indulgences: Salvation for Sale.
Of course, the most famous excess of the Roman Catholic Church during the period of the Reformation was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence in of itself is nothing sinister - in the Catholic Church, an indulgence is used to signify a remission of worldly punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has already been absolved (during Confession). Common means of gaining indulgences include prayer, fasting, giving alms, going on pilgrimages.
However, in the 15th-16th centuries, indulgences were also granted for money. Typically, the Church sold indulgences to either finance wars, or (a bit more noble reason), to finish the Sistine Chapel. Matthew 16:19 was often used as the somewhat dubious theological basis for the sale of indulgences:
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Of course, the idea of selling "a remission of worldly punishment due to sin" is a concept ripe for abuse. In 1476, Sixtus IV declared that indulgences could be applied to people in purgatory, so peasants began buying indulgences to get their Uncle Almaric out of purgatory (a place which, of course, the Reformers later stated didn't exist).
In 1517, Pope Leo X took things a bit further by announcing a blue light special (feste dies - jubilee bargain) on indulgences. Indulgences bought during this period were not just for already committed sins, but for sins not yet committed!
So, for example, if you wanted to steal a chicken, you could buy your indulgence beforehand, steal the chicken, and be comforted by the fact that you were already absolved of your sin! It should be pointed out, though, that the proceeds of the sale of these indulgences went to the building of St. Peter's in Rome.
A gentleman named Johann Tetzel, who has been described as a "medieval P.T. Barnum", sold indulgences for Pope Leo in Germany from a push cart, in a somewhat huckster-ish manner. It was Tetzel's irreverent sale of indulgences which eventually led Martin Luther to tack his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle in 1517.
Indulgences (http://www.sundayschoolcourses.com/reform/reform.htm)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
The doctrine of indulgences had been opposed by men of learning and piety in the Roman Church, and there were many who had no faith in pretensions so contrary to both reason and revelation. No prelate dared lift his voice against this iniquitous traffic; but the minds of men were becoming disturbed and uneasy, and many eagerly inquired if God would not work through some instrumentality for the purification of His church.
Luther’s theses challenged discussion; but no one dared accept the challenge. The questions which he proposed had in a few days spread through all Germany, and in a few weeks they had sounded throughout Christendom. Many devoted Romanists, who had seen and lamented the terrible iniquity prevailing in the church, but had not known how to arrest its progress, read the propositions with great joy, recognizing in them the voice of God.
They felt that the Lord had graciously set His hand to arrest the rapidly swelling tide of corruption that was issuing from the see of Rome. Princes and magistrates secretly rejoiced that a check was to be put upon the arrogant power which denied the right of appeal from its decisions.
Luther’s teachings attracted the attention of thoughtful minds throughout all Germany. From his sermons and writings issued beams of light which awakened and illuminated thousands. A living faith was taking the place of the dead formalism in which the church had so long been held. The people were daily losing confidence in the superstitions of Romanism. The barriers of prejudice were giving way.
The word of God, by which Luther tested every doctrine and every claim, was like a two-edged sword, cutting its way to the hearts of the people. Everywhere there was awakening a desire for spiritual progress. Everywhere was such a hungering and thirsting after righteousness as had not been known for ages. The eyes of the people, so long directed to human rites and earthly mediators, were now turning in penitence and faith to Christ and Him crucified.
What Started The Protestant Reformation? (http://www.everythingimportant.org/theReformation/)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
Martin Luther described Paul's Epistle to the Romans as the chief book of the New Testament . . . it deserves to be known by heart, word for word, by every Christian.
Salvation is by God's free, sovereign and unmerited grace, we can be justified by faith. Paul uses the example of Abraham to demonstrate that it is by faith not works that mankind can be seen as righteous before God.
Paul teaches that the keeping of the law [legalism] is unable to save because man is incapable of keeping it. Legalism is the final refuge for all who cannot accept the Gospel of Grace.
Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans by Martin Luther
This letter [Paul's Epistle to the Romans] is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul.
It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.
Therefore I want to carry out my service and, with this preface, provide an introduction to the letter, insofar as God gives me the ability, so that every one can gain the fullest possible understanding of it.
Up to now it has been darkened by glosses and by many a useless comment, but it is in itself a bright light, almost bright enough to illumine the entire Scripture.
To begin with, we have to become familiar with the vocabulary of the letter and know what St. Paul means by the words law, sin, grace, faith, justice, flesh, spirit, etc. Otherwise there is no use in reading it.
You must not understand the word law here in human fashion, i.e., a regulation about what sort of works must be done or must not be done. That's the way it is with human laws: you satisfy the demands of the law with works, whether your heart is in it or not. God judges what is in the depths of the heart.
Therefore his law also makes demands on the depths of the heart and doesn't let the heart rest content in works; rather it punishes as hypocrisy and lies all works done apart from the depths of the heart. All human beings are called liars (Psalm 116), since none of them keeps or can keep God's law from the depths of the heart.
Everyone finds inside himself an aversion to good and a craving for evil. Where there is no free desire for good, there the heart has not set itself on God's law. There also sin is surely to be found and the deserved wrath of God, whether a lot of good works and an honorable life appear outwardly or not.
Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans by Martin Luther, 1483-1546 (http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/german.bible/rom-eng.txt)See also:
Unger's Bible Dictionary: Romans (http://www.bible-history.com/new-testament-books/newtestamentbooks_unger_s_bible_dictionary_romans. html)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0800753429.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.gif
The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0800753429/ref=cm_rev_sort/103-0630930-1907859?customer-reviews.sort_by=-HelpfulVotes&x=16&y=8&s=books)
Some will see this book as nothing more than Martin Luther's combative apologetic against the doctrine of free will and works salvation. But this is precisely why this book ranks among the best ever written because it passionately, logically, and decisively deals with the error concerning free will and the error adding any human merit to salvation.
The subject matter according to Luther is "the hinge on which the whole gospel turns". Luther himself said that this was perhaps his greatest work. I found my own logical attempts to resolve to free will controversy pinned to the mat by Luther's irrefutable logic and accurate use of the scriptures.
This book left me with the impression that the modern church as robbed God of His glory by insisting that a believer merits salvation because he/she was smart enough or had will enough to make a decision for Christ.
In some ways it makes me realize that we have abandoned the true gospel in favor of a man-centered, warm-fuzzy, gospel.
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This treatise by Martin Luther laid down in unmistakeable terms a clear line between the Reformers and Rome that has still not been resolved. And while modern readers may be taken aback by the overly polemical tone of Luther, this book nonetheless constitutes the most definitive Reformation era writing on the issue of free will.
Just as the debate between Augustine and Pelagius represented a dividing line that distinguished Christianity from non-Christianity, so this debate between Luther and Erasmus demonstrated just how close the Roman Catholic Church was (and is) to adopting the basic premises of Pelagianism that it had previously and rightly condemned.
There is little doubt that Luther's heated passion about the need for reform in the Roman Catholic Church stemmed from the belief that the church was far flung on basic issues of doctrine, free will being one of the biggest.
As is described in the introduction to this book, it is clear that when Erasmus wrote his 'Diatribe' which precipitated this book-length response from Luther, he was writing as a person who was not particularly passionate about the issue and it showed in his writing. Erasmus was uncharacteristically careless in his Diatribe, and Luther makes him pay for it painfully in this book.
Repeatedly citing Erasmus's contention/concession that the 'probable' correct view on the human will is that it can do no good, Luther proceeds to systematically dismantle the rest of Erasmus's treatise which contradicts that concession.
Basically, Erasmus, like much of present day Arminianism, tried to have it both ways. Unable to deal with the many texts in Scripture describing the sinful state of humanity, they attempt to assert that while man is thoroughly sinful, he really isn't thoroughly sinful and has a free will that defies his sinful nature.
It is this basic extrabiblical imperative of Erasmus that Luther destroys here.
He eloquently demonstrates that one cannot have it both ways, and that the repeated plain teaching of Scripture militates against the free will imperatives that Erasmus forces onto the text.
In particular, Luther is masterful in dealing with the exhortation commands in Scripture and demonstrating that such commands are not indicative of man's ability, but of God's holiness and man's obligation to that holiness - which should clearly lead man to fall at the mercy God's grace once it's clear that his ability cannot satisfy his obligation to God.
Bondage of the Will: Review by Richard Engstrom (http://www.apostasynow.com/reviews/bondage.html)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
The Reformer [Martin Luther] had lectured on this Epistle of St. Paul's in 1519 and again in 1523. It was his favorite among all the Biblical books. In his table talks the saying is recorded: "The Epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Katherine."
Much later when a friend of his was preparing an edition of all his Latin works, he remarked to his home circle: "If I had my way about it they would republish only those of my books which have doctrine. My Galatians, for instance. "
The importance of this Commentary on Galatians for the history of Protestantism is very great. It presents like no other of Luther's writings the central thought of Christianity, the justification of the sinner for the sake of Christ's merits alone.
Luther's Commentary on Galatians (http://www.bibleteacher.org/luthercom_1.htm)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
In the words of reformer Martin Luther, the doctrine of sola Scriptura means that “what is asserted without the Scriptures or proven revelation may be held as an opinion, but need not be believed.” Roman Catholicism flatly rejects this principle, adding a host of traditions and Church teachings and declaring them binding on all true believers—with the threat of eternal damnation to those who hold contradictory opinions.
In Roman Catholicism, “the Word of God” encompasses not only the Bible, but also the Apocrypha, the Magisterium (the Church’s authority to teach and interpret divine truth), the Pope’s ex cathedra pronouncements, and an indefinite body of church tradition, some formalized in canon law and some not yet committed to writing. Whereas evangelical Protestants believe the Bible is the ultimate test of all truth, Roman Catholics believe the Church determines what is true and what is not. In effect, this makes the Church a higher authority than Scripture.
As long as the Roman Catholic Church continues to assert its own authority and bind its people to “another gospel,” it is the spiritual duty of all true Christians to oppose Roman Catholic doctrine with biblical truth and to call all Catholics to true salvation. Meanwhile, evangelicals must not capitulate to the pressures for artificial unity. They cannot allow the gospel to be obscured, and they cannot make friends with false religion, lest they become partakers in their evil deeds (2 John 11 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20John%2011&version=31)).
The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura (http://www.gty.org/resources.php?section=articles&aid=231224)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
The doctrinal disputes of the Reformation era remain substantially unchanged today, extending to:
(1) religious authority,
(2) the doctrine of justification,
(3) beliefs concerning the Virgin Mary, and
(4) sacramentalism and the Mass.The twentieth century trend toward religious pluralism has also become a serious concern.
What think ye of Rome? (http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/web/crj0096a.html)
Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
From the website of a Catholic priest:
In the Western church "reform" became synonymous with "break" from the church. There are many reasons why the Reformation took place, but probably the most overwhelming reason was that people in the Middle Ages wanted to return to the Jesus of the Gospels.
Because emotions ran so high whenever Martin Luther's name was mentioned it had been impossible to look objectively at "why" the break occurred. The Protestants saw Martin Luther as a "humble doctor", "an angel raised up by providence to fight the Antichrist of Rome.
For Catholics he was nothing more than a drunkard, liar and a sensualist who left the Church in order to be free to gratify his baser instincts. BUT! IT WAS NECESSARY FOR SOMEONE LIKE MARTIN LUTHER TO SHAKE UP THE SELF-COMPLACENT CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The Reformers (http://frterry.org/History/Chapter_11/Chap.11%20Renaissance%20and%20Reformation.htm)
[quote=Sid;15722]Martin Luther proved most troublesome to the Roman Catholic Church for at least five reasons:
Martin Luther concentrated on the Roman Catholic Church's bad theology and apostasy and not just on the debauchery of the clerical caste. The Catholic Church has always been able to excuse bad clerical behavior, but they cannot tolerate their theology being questioned. [still can/can't]
Martin Luther was an Augustinian priest and professor of theology at the Catholic University of Wittenberg. He objected to representatives of the pope selling pardons from purgatory in order to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica.
Luther made a list of 95 reasons why this was wrong and nailed it to the Church door at Wittenberg.
Luther's writings helped form the three guiding principles of the 16th century call for reform:
The Bible is the only source of authoritative truth for salvation.
Man is saved by God through faith alone.
Every believer has direct access to God through Jesus Christ alone.
When ordered to recant, Luther responded, "My conscience is captive to the Word of God." He narrowly escaped with his life.
Sharing the True Jesus Christ with Roman Catholics (http://www.buzzardhut.net/Sharing/)
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