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Martin Luther: Catalyst of Change

Delve into the life, theology, and profound impact of the pivotal figure of the Protestant Reformation, exploring his journey from monk to revolutionary thinker.

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Who Was Martin Luther?

A Pivotal Figure

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Augustinian friar. He is recognized as the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological doctrines form the foundation of Lutheranism. His influence extends profoundly throughout Western and Christian history.

Sparking the Reformation

Luther initiated a global debate on church practices, most notably challenging the sale of indulgences with his Ninety-five Theses in 1517. His theological stance led to his excommunication by Pope Leo X in 1521 and condemnation by Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms.

Core Theological Tenets

Central to Luther's theology was the doctrine of justification—that individuals are declared righteous solely through God's grace, received by faith in Jesus Christ, not through human works or merit. He championed the Bible as the ultimate authority (sola scriptura) and the concept of the universal priesthood of all believers.

Early Life and Education

Birth and Family

Born Martin Luder on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Holy Roman Empire, Luther was the son of Hans and Margarethe Luther. His father, a successful mine operator and town council member, intended for Martin to become a lawyer.

Academic Foundations

Luther received a rigorous education at Latin schools in Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. He entered the University of Erfurt in 1501, where he earned his master's degree in 1505. Initially studying law as per his father's wishes, he soon shifted his focus to philosophy and theology.

Philosophical Discontent

Luther found philosophy unsatisfying, as it provided intellectual rigor but little assurance regarding the love of God. He increasingly turned to scripture, believing that divine revelation, not human reason alone, was the path to understanding God.

Monastic Vow and Ordination

The Vow

In July 1505, caught in a violent thunderstorm, Luther vowed to become a monk if Saint Anne saved him. This led him to abandon his legal studies and enter St. Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt, much to his father's dismay.

Ordination and Spiritual Struggle

Luther dedicated himself to monastic discipline, engaging in fasting, prayer, and confession. He experienced profound spiritual despair, feeling alienated from God. His superior, Johann von Staupitz, encouraged him to pursue an academic career to distract him from excessive introspection. Luther was ordained a deacon in 1507 and a priest on April 3/4, 1507.

Academic Career Begins

In 1508, Luther began teaching theology at the newly established University of Wittenberg. He earned his Doctor of Theology degree in 1512 and succeeded von Staupitz as chair of theology, dedicating the rest of his career to this position.

The Reformation Ignites

The Indulgence Controversy

In 1516, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, began selling indulgences to fund the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica. Luther protested this practice, viewing it as a corruption that offered false assurance of salvation, and penned his Ninety-five Theses in 1517.

The Ninety-five Theses

Luther's Ninety-five Theses, initially intended as a scholarly objection, questioned the Pope's authority and the efficacy of indulgences. The theses were widely circulated, sparking debate across Germany and beyond, marking the beginning of the Reformation.

Diet of Worms

Summoned to the Diet of Worms in 1521, Luther refused to recant his writings unless convinced by Scripture or clear reason. Declared an outlaw by Emperor Charles V, he faced condemnation but remained steadfast, famously stating, "Here I stand. I can do no other."

Influential Writings and Translations

The German Bible

While in hiding at Wartburg Castle, Luther translated the New Testament into German (1522), followed by the Old Testament in 1534. This monumental work, the Luther Bible, made scripture accessible to the common people and significantly shaped the German language and literature.

Hymns of Faith

Luther was a prolific hymn writer, authoring enduring hymns such as "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" and "Vater unser im Himmelreich." His music blended high art with folk traditions, fostering congregational singing and enriching Protestant worship.

Catechisms and Doctrine

To educate the populace, Luther published the Small Catechism (1529) for children and laypeople, and the Large Catechism (1529) for pastors and teachers. These works clearly articulated core Christian doctrines, including the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Sacraments.

Enduring Legacy

Shaping Christianity and Culture

Luther's actions fundamentally altered the religious and political landscape of Europe. His emphasis on individual faith, scripture, and accessible worship profoundly influenced the development of Protestant denominations and Western culture.

Family and Church Life

Luther's marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, in 1525 set a precedent for clerical marriage within Protestantism. They raised six children, and their home became a center for theological discussion and hospitality.

Theological Impact

His doctrines of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the authority of Scripture continue to be central tenets for millions worldwide, shaping theological discourse and practice for centuries.

Controversial Views

Antisemitic Writings

In his later years, Luther expressed staunchly antisemitic views in works such as On the Jews and Their Lies. These writings called for the expulsion of Jews and the burning of synagogues, contributing to a legacy of religious antisemitism in Germany.

Peasants' War Stance

While initially sympathetic to some peasant grievances, Luther vehemently condemned the violent German Peasants' War (1524–1525) in his pamphlet Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, urging authorities to suppress the rebellion ruthlessly.

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References

References

  1.  Ewald M. Plass, What Luther Says, 3 vols., (St. Louis: CPH, 1959), 88, no. 269; M. Reu, Luther and the Scriptures, (Columbus, Ohio: Wartburg Press, 1944), 23.
  2.  Luther, Martin. Concerning the Ministry (1523), tr. Conrad Bergendoff, in Bergendoff, Conrad (ed.) Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1958, 40:18 ff.
  3.  Fahlbusch, Erwin and Bromiley, Geoffrey William. The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999–2003, 1:244.
  4.  Bainton, Roland. Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther. New York: Penguin, 1995, 269.
  5.  Schaff, Philip: History of the Christian Church, Vol. VIII: Modern Christianity: The Swiss Reformation, William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, 1910, page 706.
  6.  Grunberger, Richard. The 12-Year Reich: A Social History of Nazi Germany 1933–1945 (NP:Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971), 465.
  7.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 1.
  8.  Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:3–5.
  9.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 3.
  10.  Rupp, Ernst Gordon. "Martin Luther," Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 2006.
  11.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, pp. 2–3.
  12.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 4.
  13.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 5.
  14.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 6.
  15.  Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:48.
  16.  Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. Viking Penguin, 2004, p. 7.
  17.  Kittelson, James. Luther The Reformer. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishing House, 1986, 79.
  18.  Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:93.
  19.  Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:112–127.
  20.  Wriedt, Markus. "Luther's Theology," in The Cambridge Companion to Luther. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003, 88–94.
  21.  Luther, Martin. "The Smalcald Articles," in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2005, 289, Part two, Article 1.
  22.  "Johann Tetzel," Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007
  23.  Hillerbrand, Hans J. "Martin Luther: Indulgences and salvation," Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.
  24.  Krämer, Walter and Trenkler, Götz. "Luther" in Lexicon van Hardnekkige Misverstanden. Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 1997, 214:216.
  25.  Gerhard Prause "Luthers Thesanschlag ist eine Legende,"in Niemand hat Kolumbus ausgelacht. Düsseldorf, 1986.
  26.  Bainton, Roland. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), p. 79, online
  27.  Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 1:204–205.
  28.  Spitz, Lewis W. The Renaissance and Reformation Movements, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1987, 338.
  29.  Papal Bull Exsurge Domine, 15 June 1520.
  30.  Bainton, Roland. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950), Chapter V, p. 96, online
  31.  Brecht, Martin. (tr. Wolfgang Katenz) "Luther, Martin," in Hillerbrand, Hans J. (ed.) Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, 2:463.
  32.  Cindy Wooden, "Lutheran World Council OKs joint declaration on justification," The Pilot, 19 June 1998, 20.
  33.  Reformation Europe: 1517–1559, London: Fontana, 1963, 53; Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe's House Divided, 1490–1700, London: Allen Lane, 2003, 132.
  34.  Jaroslav J. Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, Luther's Works, 55 vols. (St. Louis and Philadelphia: Concordia Pub. House and Fortress Press, 1955–1986), 46: 50–51.
  35.  Brecht, 2:267; MacCulloch, 165. On one occasion, Luther referred to the elector as an "emergency bishop" (Notbischof).
  36.  Luther, Martin. Luther's Works. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971, 50:172–173; Bainton, Mentor edition, 263.
  37.  Christopher Boyd Brown, Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation. (2005)
  38.  Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns." Lutheran Quarterly 1998 12(1): 79–88, 89–98.
  39.  Robin A. Leaver, "Luther's Catechism Hymns: 5. Baptism." Lutheran Quarterly 1998 12(2): 160–169, 170–180.
  40.  Christoph Markschies, Michael Trowitzsch: Luther zwischen den Zeiten â€“ Eine Jenaer Ringvorlesung; Mohr Siebeck, 1999; pp. 215–219 (in German).
  41.  Psychopannychia (the night banquet of the soul), manuscript Orléans 1534, Latin Strasbourg 1542, 2nd.ed. 1545, French, Geneva 1558, English 1581.
  42.  Sermons of Martin Luther: the House Postils, Eugene F.A. Klug, ed. and trans., 3 vols., (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1996), 2:240.
  43.  Blackburne A short historical view of the controversy concerning an intermediate state (1765) p. 121
  44.  Henry Eyster Jacobs Martin Luther the Hero of the Reformation 1483 to 1546 (1898). Emphasis added.
  45.  Weimar Ausgabe 26, 442; Luther's Works 37, 299–300.
  46.  Mallett, 198; Marius, 220. The siege was lifted on 14 October 1529, which Luther saw as a divine miracle.
  47.  The "first use of the law," accordingly, would be the law used as an external means of order and coercion in the political realm by means of bodily rewards and punishments.
  48.  Brecht, Martin, Martin Luther, tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:212.
  49.  Brecht, Martin, Martin Luther, tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:214.
  50.  Brecht, Martin, Martin Luther, tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:205–215.
  51.  Oberman, Heiko, Luther: Man Between God and the Devil, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006, 294.
  52.  Michael, Robert. Holy Hatred: Christianity, Antisemitism, and the Holocaust. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 109; Mullett, 242.
  53.  Brecht, 3:341–343; Mullett, 241; Marty, 172.
  54.  Noble, Graham. "Martin Luther and German anti-Semitism," History Review (2002) No. 42:1–2; Mullett, 246.
  55.  Luther, On the Jews and Their Lies, quoted in Robert Michael, "Luther, Luther Scholars, and the Jews," Encounter 46 (Autumn 1985) No. 4:343–344.
  56.  Luther, Martin. Sermon No. 8, "Predigt über Mat. 11:25, Eisleben gehalten," 15 February 1546, Luthers Werke, Weimar 1914, 51:196–197.
  57.  Poliakov, Léon. From the Time of Christ to the Court Jews, Vanguard Press, p. 220.
  58.  Mackinnon, James. Luther and the Reformation. Vol. IV, (New York): Russell & Russell, 1962, p. 204.
  59.  Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:369–379.
  60.  Dorfpredigten: Biblische Einsichten aus Deutschlands 'wildem Süden'. Ausgewählte Predigten aus den Jahren 1998 bis 2007 Teil II 2002–2007 by Thomas O.H. Kaiser, p. 354
  61.  See Noble, Graham. "Martin Luther and German anti-Semitism," History Review (2002) No. 42:1–2.
  62.  Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe's House Divided, 1490–1700. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 2004, pp. 666–667.
  63.  Bernd Nellessen, "Die schweigende Kirche: Katholiken und Judenverfolgung," in Buttner (ed), Die Deutschen und die Jugendverfolg im Dritten Reich, p. 265, cited in Daniel Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners (Vintage, 1997)
  64.  Siemon-Netto, The Fabricated Luther, 17–20.
  65.  Siemon-Netto, "Luther and the Jews," Lutheran Witness 123 (2004) No. 4:19, 21.
  66.  Bainton, Roland: Here I Stand, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, New American Library, 1983), p. 297
  67.  "Der Deutsche Luthertag 1933 und die Deutschen Christen" by Hansjörg Buss. In: Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte Vol. 26, No. 2
  68.  Richard (Dick) Geary, "Who voted for the Nazis? (electoral history of the National Socialist German Workers' Party)", in History Today, 1 October 1998, Vol. 48, Issue 10, pp. 8–14
A full list of references for this article are available at the Martin Luther Wikipedia page

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