Luther

LutherReligion on the Eve of the ReformationCorruption in the Catholic Church was another factor that spurred people to want reformNo doubt the failure of renaissance popes to provide spiritual leadership had affected the spiritual life of all Christendom. Pluralism led in turn to absenteeism: Church Bishops ignored their duties and hired unqualified underlings.Complaints about the ignorance and ineptness of parish priests became widespread in the 15th centuryThe Search for SalvationWhile many of the leaders of the Church were failing to meet their responsibilities, ordinary people were clamoring for meaningful religious expression and certainty od salvation. As a result, for some the salvation process became almost mechanicalVeneration of RelicsPrince Frederick of SaxonyFrederick of Saxony

Thomas a KempisOther people sought certainty o salvation in the popular mystical movement known as the Modern Devotion, which downplayed religious dogma and stressed the need to follow the teachings of Jesus.Kempis, author of the Imitation of Christ, wrote that truly, at the day of judgment we shall not be examined by what we have read, but by what we have done; not on how well we have spoken, but how religiously we lived.Most sought this within the Church as it existed.Thomas a Kempis 1380-1471

Luthers questionWhat must I do to be saved?The answer that Luther came to did not fit within the traditional teachings of the late medieval Church. Catholic doctrine had emphasized that both faith and good works were required for a Christian to achieve personal salvationThe traditional beliefs and practices of the Church seemed unable to relieve his obsession with the Salvation question.

LMartin Luther1483-1546

Penance or ConfessionThe Sacraments were a Catholics chief means of receiving Gods grace; confession offered the opportunity to have ones sins forgiven.Luther spent hours confessing his sins, but he was always doubtful.Had he remembered all of his sins?Despite his efforts Luther achieved no certainty of salvation.Luthers answerThrough his study of the Bible, especially his work on Pauls epistle (letter) to the Romans, Luther discovered another way of viewing the problem.To Luther, humans are saved not through their good works but through faith in the promises of God, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.Salvation by faith alone.The Bible as the sole source of authority in religious affairs.Wittenberg, Saxony

The Indulgence controversyThe indulgence controversy propelled him into an open confrontation with Church officials and forced him to see the theological implications of salvation by faith alone.Pope Leo X issues indulgence to finance the building of St. Peters Basilica in Rome. John Tetzel, a Dominican monk, sold the indulgences in Germany (HRE) with the slogan when a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springsHalf of the income would go to Albert of Mainz, who had purchased (simony) the office of Archbishop of Mainz, his 3rd Church position (pluralism/absenteeism)Tetzel

Luthers ResponseLuther was greatly distressed by the sale of indulgences, certain that people who relied on these pieces of paper to assure themselves of salvation were guaranteeing their eternal damnation instead.He issued his 95 Theses, the Theses were a stunning indictment of the abuses of the sale of indulgences.Thousands of copies of a German translation (Print press, Vern)Leipzig Debate, July 1519Luthers opponent was Catholic theologian John EckEck forced Luther to deny the authority of Popes and CouncilsLuther understood now that there would be no reconciliation with the ChurchHe wrote at the beginning of 1520: farewell, unhappy, hopeless, blasphemous Rome! The wrath of God has come upon you, as you deserve. We have cared for Babylon and she is still not healed: let us then, leave her, that she may be the habitation of dragons, spectres and witches.Leipzig debate

Luthers writingsIn three pamphlets published in 1520, Luther moved toward a more definite break with the Catholic ChurchThe Address to Nobility of the German NationA political tract written in German in which Luther called on the German Princes to overthrow the Papacy in Germany and establish a reformed German ChurchThe Babylonian Captivity of the ChurchWritten in Latin for theologians; attacked the sacramental system, called for the reform of monasticism and to allow priests to marryOn the Freedom of a Christian ManShort treatise on the doctrine of salvation, Faith alonePapal Bull Exsurge DomineOn 10 December 1520, sixty days after Luther had received a copy of this bull, he and Melanchthon invited the local university faculty and students to assemble that morning at the Elster Gate in Wittenberg. A bonfire was lit and volumes of canon law, papal constitutions, and works of scholastic theology were burned. Luther himself tossed a copy of the bull into the flames. Having done so, Luther is reported to have said, "Because you have confounded the truth [or, the saints] of God, today the Lord confounds you. Into the fire with you!", a declaration which alludes to Psalm 21:9. Luther's act of defiance reflected deeper motives than a mere retaliatory desire to treat these representations of Catholic authority with the same regard that the papal bull had shown for his own books. By burning these works, Luther signaled his decisive break from Catholicism's traditions and institutions

The Diet of Worms 1521The Church excommunicated Luther in January, 1521Def: officially exclude (someone) from participation in the sacraments and services of the Christian Church.He was summonsed to appear before the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire at Worms.The Diet was presided over by the recently elected Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain).Luther refused to recant (deny his teachings)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. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.Luther at Diet of Worms