Email thisPrint thisDiscuss thisShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DeliciousShare on DiggmoreThis is the date that is remembered around the world and annually recalled on the evening news as the date President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Far less noticed is the fact that another famous twentieth century figure also died on this date. On this day, November 22, l963 C.S. Lewis (who preferred to be called "Jack") went to be with the Lion named Aslan.
To understand what that means, we must recall that Jack was one of the world's outstanding writers and a professor of English Literature at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He succeeded in capturing the imagination of young and old with his Chronicles of Narnia. These seven books tell the story of boys and girls magically stepping through their wardrobe closet to venture into a fictional land protected by Aslan, a magnificent lion who symbolizes Christ. The stories have proved to be more than captivating reading adventures for children. They also have been an effective instrument for converting many to faith in Jesus Christ.
Jack referred to himself at age fourteen as a "happy atheist," but after years of analytical thinking, he concluded that knowing Christ is the only logical way to understand both man and the universe around him. Accepting Christ as his Redeemer at age 30, Jack soon achieved worldwide recognition as the author of more than 25 Christian writings. Perhaps best known of his non-fiction books is Mere Christianity, a simple yet strikingly logical statement of why the Gospel is worthy of acceptance.
Remarkably, Jack stands out as one of history's gifted geniuses who has had the versatility to fascinate and delight children with his simple stories of Aslan and at the same time challenge the most scholarly philosophers with his profound thought and keen logic. One of his widely known scholarly writings is English Literature in the Sixteenth Century. Another, Abolition of Man, was classified by Encyclopedia Britannica as one of the Great Books of the World.
Jack suffered from kidney problems late in life and had to have many transfusions. Once he went into a coma. However, he continued to read new books and reread books he loved. At five thirty on this day, November 22, 1963, Jack's brother Warnie heard a crash and found Jack unconscious. The famous writer died a few minutes later.
Shadowlands, a BBC film on Jack's life, co-produced with Gateway Films, won the international Emmy award for best drama and spun off a stage play and theatrical feature film of the same title, bringing the life of this English professor to a wide popular audience. Today, millions continue to read, enjoy, and benefit from the remarkable works of C.S. Lewis.
Bibliography:
1.Based on an earlier Christian History Institute story.
2.Gresham, Douglas A. Lenten Lands; My childhood with Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis. New York: Macmillan, 1988.
3."Lewis, Clive Staples." Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921 - 1996.
4.Petersen, William J. C. S. Lewis Had a Wife; Catherine Marshall Had a Husband. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House, 1986.
5.Sayer, George. Jack: C. S. Lewis and His Times. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.
6.Wellman, Sam. C. S. Lewis; Author of Mere Christianity. Urichsville, Ohio: Barbour, nd.
torsdag 24 mars 2011
December 30, 1384
John Wycliffe on His Death Bed
Diana Severance, Ph.D. edited by Dan Graves, MSL
Email thisPrint thisDiscuss thisShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DeliciousShare on DiggmoreWord that John Wycliffe was dying whipped like storm winds across England. Now on this day, December 30, 1384, clerics--many of them his enemies--crowded into his room at Lutterworth. If they hoped to hear some last word or a recantation from him, they were disappointed. John could not speak.
Two days earlier, he had grown numb and collapsed while saying mass. When he came to from this, his second stroke, he was paralyzed and unable to speak.
John was the most famous priest of his day. His learning was immense. He had been a leading scholar at Oxford and a chaplain to the King of England. More to the point, he spoke out boldly against the errors of the popes, the organizational hierarchy of the Roman Church, and the corruption of the clergy in his day. He criticized not only the organization of the medieval church but its theology as well and argued for a return to the Scriptures. Pastors should live lives of simplicity and holiness, he taught, shepherding their flocks (people)--not plundering them.
If the people in England were to know the truth, John reasoned that they must have the Word of God in their own language. Under his direction, the Bible was translated into English for the first time, although the job was not completed by his associates until 1395, eleven years after his death. Repeatedly condemned and burned by church authorities, copies of Wycliffe's Bible continued in use for over a century, until printed Bibles took their place. This work greatly influenced William Tyndale who made the first printed translation of the New Testament in English.
We can still puzzle out the meaning of John Wycliffe's words. Here is how he describes the transfiguration: "And aftir sixe dayes Jhesus took Petre, and James, and John and ledith [led] hem [them] by hem selve aloone in to an high hil ; and he is transfigurid before hem. And his clothis ben maad [were made] schynynge [shining] and white ful moche [much] as snow, and which maner clothis a fullere [cloth worker], or walkere [worker] of cloth, may not make white on erthe. And Helye [Elijah] with Myses apperide [appeared] to hem, and thei weren [were] spekynge [speaking] with Jhesu."
John Wycliffe died of his stroke on the last day of the year. The religious authorities had never excommunicated him because they feared public opinion--the people loved John and his fame was international. So he was buried in consecrated soil. But about thirty years later, the Council of Constance revenged itself on his criticism by condemning his teachings and ordering his bones to be dug up and burned.
But the burning of such a man's bones could not end his influence. As John Foxe said in his book of martyrs, "though they digged up his body, burnt his bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the Word of God and the truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof, they could not burn; which yet to this day...doth remain."
Bibliography:
1.Adapted from earlier Christian History Institute stories.
2.Bowie, Walter Russell. Men of Fire. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961.
3.Caughey, Ellen. John Wycliffe: herald of the Reformation. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour, 2001.
4.Innis, George S. Wycliffe: the morning star. Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, 1915.
5.Kenny, Anthony. Wycliffe. Oxford University Press, 1985.
6.Kunitz, Stanley L. British Authors Before 1800; a biographical dictionary. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1952.
7.Russell, Bertrand. Wisdom of the West. London, 1959. p. 215.
8.Wood, Douglas C. The Evangelical Doctor; John Wycliffe and the Lollards. Herts, England: Evangelical Press, 1984.
9."Wycliffe, John." Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921-1996.
John Wycliffe on His Death Bed
Diana Severance, Ph.D. edited by Dan Graves, MSL
Email thisPrint thisDiscuss thisShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DeliciousShare on DiggmoreWord that John Wycliffe was dying whipped like storm winds across England. Now on this day, December 30, 1384, clerics--many of them his enemies--crowded into his room at Lutterworth. If they hoped to hear some last word or a recantation from him, they were disappointed. John could not speak.
Two days earlier, he had grown numb and collapsed while saying mass. When he came to from this, his second stroke, he was paralyzed and unable to speak.
John was the most famous priest of his day. His learning was immense. He had been a leading scholar at Oxford and a chaplain to the King of England. More to the point, he spoke out boldly against the errors of the popes, the organizational hierarchy of the Roman Church, and the corruption of the clergy in his day. He criticized not only the organization of the medieval church but its theology as well and argued for a return to the Scriptures. Pastors should live lives of simplicity and holiness, he taught, shepherding their flocks (people)--not plundering them.
If the people in England were to know the truth, John reasoned that they must have the Word of God in their own language. Under his direction, the Bible was translated into English for the first time, although the job was not completed by his associates until 1395, eleven years after his death. Repeatedly condemned and burned by church authorities, copies of Wycliffe's Bible continued in use for over a century, until printed Bibles took their place. This work greatly influenced William Tyndale who made the first printed translation of the New Testament in English.
We can still puzzle out the meaning of John Wycliffe's words. Here is how he describes the transfiguration: "And aftir sixe dayes Jhesus took Petre, and James, and John and ledith [led] hem [them] by hem selve aloone in to an high hil ; and he is transfigurid before hem. And his clothis ben maad [were made] schynynge [shining] and white ful moche [much] as snow, and which maner clothis a fullere [cloth worker], or walkere [worker] of cloth, may not make white on erthe. And Helye [Elijah] with Myses apperide [appeared] to hem, and thei weren [were] spekynge [speaking] with Jhesu."
John Wycliffe died of his stroke on the last day of the year. The religious authorities had never excommunicated him because they feared public opinion--the people loved John and his fame was international. So he was buried in consecrated soil. But about thirty years later, the Council of Constance revenged itself on his criticism by condemning his teachings and ordering his bones to be dug up and burned.
But the burning of such a man's bones could not end his influence. As John Foxe said in his book of martyrs, "though they digged up his body, burnt his bones, and drowned his ashes, yet the Word of God and the truth of his doctrine, with the fruit and success thereof, they could not burn; which yet to this day...doth remain."
Bibliography:
1.Adapted from earlier Christian History Institute stories.
2.Bowie, Walter Russell. Men of Fire. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961.
3.Caughey, Ellen. John Wycliffe: herald of the Reformation. Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour, 2001.
4.Innis, George S. Wycliffe: the morning star. Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, 1915.
5.Kenny, Anthony. Wycliffe. Oxford University Press, 1985.
6.Kunitz, Stanley L. British Authors Before 1800; a biographical dictionary. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1952.
7.Russell, Bertrand. Wisdom of the West. London, 1959. p. 215.
8.Wood, Douglas C. The Evangelical Doctor; John Wycliffe and the Lollards. Herts, England: Evangelical Press, 1984.
9."Wycliffe, John." Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. London: Oxford University Press, 1921-1996.
The King James "Authorized Version"
Have you ever attended a frustrating meeting where nothing much seems to get done? The Hampton Court conference, held in 1604, was like that. When James VI of Scotland rode south to London on the way to the coronation that would make him James I of England, Puritans presented him with a petition, pleading for freedom from man-made rites and ceremonies in worship. Since over 1,000 leaders of these reform-minded Christians signed the petition, James could not ignore it.
He called for a conference of churchmen and theologians to be held at Hampton Court, one of the royal palaces. But his attitude toward the event was signalled by the wording of the summons, "for the hearing, and for the determining, things pretended to be amiss in the Church." [our italics]
The Puritans thought that the Church of England had kept too many Catholic practices. They wanted church government put in the hands of the people, rather than a heirarchy of bishops and archbishops. But the Puritans weren’t going to get their wish. The king made that plain at Hampton Court. He recognized the democratic tendencies of Puritanism and suspected that if the people dumped bishops they one day might dump their king. James and his son, Charles I, harassed the Puritans so fiercely that many fled to America.
James and the Puritans did agree on one thing at Hampton. When Dr. John Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, proposed a new translation of the English Bible, he found James enthusiastic. The king detested the Geneva Bible, the most popular translation in use in England. He considered its margin notes “very partial, untrue, seditious, and savoring too much of dangerous and seditious conceits.” In other words, the Geneva Bible did not support the theory that kings have divine right to rule, even if they behave badly. James wanted a Bible free of political and theological notes.
And so, on this day, January 17, 1604, the motion was carried "...that a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed, without any marginal notes..."
Forty-seven of England's top Bible scholars were appointed to do the work. In an effort to diminish bias, both Anglicans and Puritans were included. King James himself organized the task. The translators were counted off into six panels (three Old Testament, two New Testament, one Apocrypha). The king charged them to stick as close to the earlier Bishop’s Bible as accuracy would allow, but to take into account earlier versions. In the end, the new translation borrowed about seventy percent of its wording from William Tyndale’s vivid translation.
The procedure was to assign each translator a portion of Scripture. He had to present his work to the others in his group for approval. Each book was then sent to the five other groups for review and criticism. With this procedure, each book was scrutinized by every member of the team. A committee of twelve--two from each team--made a final review.
By 1611, the translation was complete, but it would take years for this Bible to win general acceptance. Readers who had memorized scripture from earlier versions hesitated to adopt new wordings. One scholar opposed it on the grounds he was preparing a better version! Others complained that it was not consistent and that there were spelling errors.
Because James was so closely involved with the work, the 1611 translation is often called the "Authorized Version" (in America, the "King James Version"). In time it became the most beloved English translation. Through its powerful rhythms and pleasing phrases, it shaped the language of the Bible-reading public. A few denominations consider the King James Version virtually inspired, the only acceptable translation for reading and study.
Bibliography:
1.Bruce, F. F. History of the Bible in English. New York: Oxford University, 1978.
2.Christian History Institute files.
3."Bible-History of the English Bible." Enclyclopedia Americana. Chicago: Encyclopedia Americana, corp., 1956.
4.McGrath, Alister E. In the beginning : the story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language, and a culture. New York: Anchor Books, 2002.
He called for a conference of churchmen and theologians to be held at Hampton Court, one of the royal palaces. But his attitude toward the event was signalled by the wording of the summons, "for the hearing, and for the determining, things pretended to be amiss in the Church." [our italics]
The Puritans thought that the Church of England had kept too many Catholic practices. They wanted church government put in the hands of the people, rather than a heirarchy of bishops and archbishops. But the Puritans weren’t going to get their wish. The king made that plain at Hampton Court. He recognized the democratic tendencies of Puritanism and suspected that if the people dumped bishops they one day might dump their king. James and his son, Charles I, harassed the Puritans so fiercely that many fled to America.
James and the Puritans did agree on one thing at Hampton. When Dr. John Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, proposed a new translation of the English Bible, he found James enthusiastic. The king detested the Geneva Bible, the most popular translation in use in England. He considered its margin notes “very partial, untrue, seditious, and savoring too much of dangerous and seditious conceits.” In other words, the Geneva Bible did not support the theory that kings have divine right to rule, even if they behave badly. James wanted a Bible free of political and theological notes.
And so, on this day, January 17, 1604, the motion was carried "...that a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed, without any marginal notes..."
Forty-seven of England's top Bible scholars were appointed to do the work. In an effort to diminish bias, both Anglicans and Puritans were included. King James himself organized the task. The translators were counted off into six panels (three Old Testament, two New Testament, one Apocrypha). The king charged them to stick as close to the earlier Bishop’s Bible as accuracy would allow, but to take into account earlier versions. In the end, the new translation borrowed about seventy percent of its wording from William Tyndale’s vivid translation.
The procedure was to assign each translator a portion of Scripture. He had to present his work to the others in his group for approval. Each book was then sent to the five other groups for review and criticism. With this procedure, each book was scrutinized by every member of the team. A committee of twelve--two from each team--made a final review.
By 1611, the translation was complete, but it would take years for this Bible to win general acceptance. Readers who had memorized scripture from earlier versions hesitated to adopt new wordings. One scholar opposed it on the grounds he was preparing a better version! Others complained that it was not consistent and that there were spelling errors.
Because James was so closely involved with the work, the 1611 translation is often called the "Authorized Version" (in America, the "King James Version"). In time it became the most beloved English translation. Through its powerful rhythms and pleasing phrases, it shaped the language of the Bible-reading public. A few denominations consider the King James Version virtually inspired, the only acceptable translation for reading and study.
Bibliography:
1.Bruce, F. F. History of the Bible in English. New York: Oxford University, 1978.
2.Christian History Institute files.
3."Bible-History of the English Bible." Enclyclopedia Americana. Chicago: Encyclopedia Americana, corp., 1956.
4.McGrath, Alister E. In the beginning : the story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language, and a culture. New York: Anchor Books, 2002.
True Spirituality
Months ago, I began a journey through the works of Francis Schaeffer beginning with the book True Spirituality. I've been writing about that over at Crosswalk the Devotional. There is still time to join the journey, and I hope you will.
As C.S. Lewis once said: "First-hand knowledge [of great authors] is not only more worth acquiring than second-hand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire." (Quoted from his introduction in Athanasius', On the Incarnation, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press: Crestwood, New York, 1993, p. 3).
In other words, you'll probably enjoy Francis Schaeffer much more than reading my devotionals on Francis Schaeffer. But it is not just your delight in reading a great man that is at stake. No. Schaeffer's message is a much-needed remedy for the low condition of joy and genuine faith that seems to plague this generation.
And Schaeffer knows something about that. He once went through a long period of being a joyless Christian himself.
In 1971, Schaeffer published True Spirituality to help people experience the reality of Christ in daily life. Not just at the moment of salvation. At first, his book was a series of Bible lessons. He taught them to his family and students who gathered regularly in their home in the Swiss Alps. But before they ever became that set of lessons to others, Schaeffer taught them to his own heart.
Before Schaeffer ever became the famous author and Christian leader that he eventually became (and prior to the time that L'Abri began), Francis went through a dark period lasting several months. He was troubled by the disproportion that he saw in himself between the large amount of Bible data he knew and claimed to believe and the lack of genuine spiritual joy in his life.
Over those months as he walked in the mountains, Francis rethought his reasons for being a Christian and, at last he…
"…saw again that there were totally sufficient reasons to know that the infinite-personal God does exist and that Christianity is true.
"In going further, I saw something else which made a profound difference in my life. I searched through what the Bible said concerning reality as a Christian. Gradually, I saw that the problem was that with all the teaching I had received after I was a Christian, I had heard little about what the Bible says about the meaning of the finished work of Christ for our present lives.
"Gradually the sun came out and the song came. ...and although I had written no poetry for many years, in that time of joy and song I found poetry beginning to flow again—poetry of certainty, an affirmation of life, thanksgiving, and praise. Admittedly, as poetry it is very poor, but it expressed a song in my heart which was wonderful to me." (from True Spirituality, p. 196 in The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, vol. 3 © 1982 Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois).
Francis Schaeffer saw and believed that the finished work of Christ really is the source of the Christian's daily life. He grew deeply convinced that the Christian life is not just about conversion, but about moment-by-moment living out of the grace of God today, in the present by the power of the Holy Spirit.
While what I've been writing at Crosswalk the Devotional faithfully summarizes Schaeffer' message, I suspect that my writing carries only a fraction of the impact that reading True Spirituality would have upon you. God has used this book to shed light and build faith in the hearts of many for years. And as C.S. Lewis said, there really is something special about reading the greats for yourself. Only then can you experience the transforming progression of Schaeffer's argument, the clarity of his thought, and his wise use of Scripture and illustrations throughout his book.
Think about it: If it suddenly became possible for you to be personally mentored by Dr. Francis Schaeffer, would you take the opportunity? In a way, you can. Pick up True Spirituality, then follow with us on the trail of his thought.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Imagine that a friend or family member is called upon to testify of the presence of spiritual reality in your life. What evidence would they give?
Think through the reasons why you became a Christian. Reflect on what it means to have an authentic relationship with the infinite-personal God who is there.
As C.S. Lewis once said: "First-hand knowledge [of great authors] is not only more worth acquiring than second-hand knowledge, but is usually much easier and more delightful to acquire." (Quoted from his introduction in Athanasius', On the Incarnation, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press: Crestwood, New York, 1993, p. 3).
In other words, you'll probably enjoy Francis Schaeffer much more than reading my devotionals on Francis Schaeffer. But it is not just your delight in reading a great man that is at stake. No. Schaeffer's message is a much-needed remedy for the low condition of joy and genuine faith that seems to plague this generation.
And Schaeffer knows something about that. He once went through a long period of being a joyless Christian himself.
In 1971, Schaeffer published True Spirituality to help people experience the reality of Christ in daily life. Not just at the moment of salvation. At first, his book was a series of Bible lessons. He taught them to his family and students who gathered regularly in their home in the Swiss Alps. But before they ever became that set of lessons to others, Schaeffer taught them to his own heart.
Before Schaeffer ever became the famous author and Christian leader that he eventually became (and prior to the time that L'Abri began), Francis went through a dark period lasting several months. He was troubled by the disproportion that he saw in himself between the large amount of Bible data he knew and claimed to believe and the lack of genuine spiritual joy in his life.
Over those months as he walked in the mountains, Francis rethought his reasons for being a Christian and, at last he…
"…saw again that there were totally sufficient reasons to know that the infinite-personal God does exist and that Christianity is true.
"In going further, I saw something else which made a profound difference in my life. I searched through what the Bible said concerning reality as a Christian. Gradually, I saw that the problem was that with all the teaching I had received after I was a Christian, I had heard little about what the Bible says about the meaning of the finished work of Christ for our present lives.
"Gradually the sun came out and the song came. ...and although I had written no poetry for many years, in that time of joy and song I found poetry beginning to flow again—poetry of certainty, an affirmation of life, thanksgiving, and praise. Admittedly, as poetry it is very poor, but it expressed a song in my heart which was wonderful to me." (from True Spirituality, p. 196 in The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, vol. 3 © 1982 Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois).
Francis Schaeffer saw and believed that the finished work of Christ really is the source of the Christian's daily life. He grew deeply convinced that the Christian life is not just about conversion, but about moment-by-moment living out of the grace of God today, in the present by the power of the Holy Spirit.
While what I've been writing at Crosswalk the Devotional faithfully summarizes Schaeffer' message, I suspect that my writing carries only a fraction of the impact that reading True Spirituality would have upon you. God has used this book to shed light and build faith in the hearts of many for years. And as C.S. Lewis said, there really is something special about reading the greats for yourself. Only then can you experience the transforming progression of Schaeffer's argument, the clarity of his thought, and his wise use of Scripture and illustrations throughout his book.
Think about it: If it suddenly became possible for you to be personally mentored by Dr. Francis Schaeffer, would you take the opportunity? In a way, you can. Pick up True Spirituality, then follow with us on the trail of his thought.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Imagine that a friend or family member is called upon to testify of the presence of spiritual reality in your life. What evidence would they give?
Think through the reasons why you became a Christian. Reflect on what it means to have an authentic relationship with the infinite-personal God who is there.
Prophet
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers" (Deuteronomy 18:18).
In Deuteronomy 18 God promises through Moses to raise a line of godly prophets in Israel. That line would culminate in one person who would be the “prophet like me” of verse 15: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” Verse 18 gives us the same promise in the Lord’s own words: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”
This “prophet like you” will have four characteristics:
1. He is raised up by God (meaning that he has a divine calling).
2. He will be like Moses (thus having intimate knowledge of God).
3. He will be from among the people (an Israelite).
4. He will speak with divine authority (as a result of the preceding factors).
Who could this prophet be?
In Acts 3 Peter heals a crippled man in the name of Jesus. When a crowd gathers in amazement to watch the formerly-crippled man walk under his own power, Peter preaches a powerful evangelistic sermon. He tells them that this miracle had been done by the power of Jesus–the same man who had been crucified just a few weeks earlier. As part of his proof that Jesus is the promised Messiah, Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18:15 and applies it directly to Jesus (Acts 3:22).
Because Jesus is the True Prophet of God, he understands the secrets of the human heart. Nothing is hidden from him. Though men cover their sin with a thin veneer of religiosity, it doesn’t fool Christ for a second. He sees through the sham, exposes the sin, and calls it what it really is.
He knows the truth and he declares the truth, even when his words are sure to offend his hearers.
When a prophet speaks, you have only two choices:
Listen to what he says.
Disregard his words.
There are no other options. If you say, “I’m going to think about it,” that’s really the same as disregarding him.
If Jesus is the True Prophet of God, then each person must either listen to him or disregard his words. You have to make a choice. There can be no neutrality about Jesus. You are either with him or against him. You either follow him or you ignore him.
What is your verdict about Jesus? Is he really the Son of God? If he is, then crown him King of your life and join the millions who willingly worship him as Savior and Lord.
Lord Jesus, may we not waver in the slightest in our devotion to you, the great Prophet sent from heaven. Grant us believing hearts that we might follow you gladly. Amen.
In Deuteronomy 18 God promises through Moses to raise a line of godly prophets in Israel. That line would culminate in one person who would be the “prophet like me” of verse 15: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” Verse 18 gives us the same promise in the Lord’s own words: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”
This “prophet like you” will have four characteristics:
1. He is raised up by God (meaning that he has a divine calling).
2. He will be like Moses (thus having intimate knowledge of God).
3. He will be from among the people (an Israelite).
4. He will speak with divine authority (as a result of the preceding factors).
Who could this prophet be?
In Acts 3 Peter heals a crippled man in the name of Jesus. When a crowd gathers in amazement to watch the formerly-crippled man walk under his own power, Peter preaches a powerful evangelistic sermon. He tells them that this miracle had been done by the power of Jesus–the same man who had been crucified just a few weeks earlier. As part of his proof that Jesus is the promised Messiah, Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18:15 and applies it directly to Jesus (Acts 3:22).
Because Jesus is the True Prophet of God, he understands the secrets of the human heart. Nothing is hidden from him. Though men cover their sin with a thin veneer of religiosity, it doesn’t fool Christ for a second. He sees through the sham, exposes the sin, and calls it what it really is.
He knows the truth and he declares the truth, even when his words are sure to offend his hearers.
When a prophet speaks, you have only two choices:
Listen to what he says.
Disregard his words.
There are no other options. If you say, “I’m going to think about it,” that’s really the same as disregarding him.
If Jesus is the True Prophet of God, then each person must either listen to him or disregard his words. You have to make a choice. There can be no neutrality about Jesus. You are either with him or against him. You either follow him or you ignore him.
What is your verdict about Jesus? Is he really the Son of God? If he is, then crown him King of your life and join the millions who willingly worship him as Savior and Lord.
Lord Jesus, may we not waver in the slightest in our devotion to you, the great Prophet sent from heaven. Grant us believing hearts that we might follow you gladly. Amen.
söndag 6 mars 2011
Biography of Martin Luther
The life of Martin Luther is one of the most fascinating stories in the history of Christianity. It has all the stuff of a good novel: parental conflict, spiritual agony, life-changing moments, near-misses, princes, popes, emperors, castles, kidnapping, mobs, revolution, massacres, politics, courage, controversy, disguises, daring escapes, humor and romance. And not only is it a good story, it marks a major turning point in western history and in Christianity.
Luther at the Diet of Worms. Youth
Luther's story begins in Eisleben, a small town in the region of Saxony in modern Germany. As a part of the Holy Roman Empire, 15th-century Saxony was under the political control of the Holy Roman Emperor and the religious control of the Roman pope. The Roman Catholicism into which Luther was born focused on purgatory, hell, angels, demons, sin, judgment and the saints. Jesus was depicted as an unapproachable, terrifying judge, but believers knew they could call upon the Blessed Virgin and other saints to intercede on their behalf.
On November 10, 1483, Hans and Margarethe Luther welcomed their firstborn son into the world. As was customary, the boy was named after the saint on whose feast day he was born, St. Martin.
Luther's house in Eisenach
Martin Luther was the eldest of seven children in a middle-class German peasant family. He seems to have been an unusually sensitive and religious youth. The prevalent graphic images of Christ as Righteous Judge and the agonies of hellfire terrified him.
At 21, Luther earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Erfurt. Hans Luther was determined that his son be well-educated, and his hard work in the copper mines financed the younger Luther's education. In May 1505, Luther entered law school in accordance with his father's wishes. But less than a year later, his life took an unexpected turn.
That same year , while traveling back to university from his parents' home, Luther was caught in a severe thunderstorm. Nearly hit by a bolt of lightening, he cried out in desperation to the patron saint of miners: "Help me, St. Anne, and I'll become a monk!" Luther escaped the ordeal unharmed, and true to his word, entered a monastery within a month.
Monastic Life
Martin Luther as a young monk (1522)Not surprisingly, the new career direction was not warmly received by the elder Luther. But the young man took the monastic life very seriously and excels at it. Still terrified of the wrath of God, he confessed sin as often as 20 times a day, punished his body by sleeping on a cold concrete floor and performed his first Mass with a trembling hand.
When he was 27, Luther was assigned to travel to the holy city of Rome to represent his monastery. The Church taught that by paying respect to relics of saints, one can earn religious merit that would shorten one's time in Purgatory. The trip was a tremendous opportunity for the young monk, but it proved to be a profoundly disappointing experience. He was shocked by the immorality, ignorance and flippancy of the Roman priests. As he dutifully kissed each of Pilate's stairs, he began to doubt the Church's teachings about relics and merits. Luther returned to Saxony more troubled than ever.
Luther's superior, Johann von Staupitz, tried to counsel the monk to stop striving and worrying and simply love God. But how could he love someone he feared so? Luther later recalled his true feelings: "Love God? I hated him!" This, of course, only added to his spiritual fear and turmoil. Finally, the exasperated Staupitz directed Luther to earn a doctorate in theology at the local University of Wittenburg, hoping the rigors of academia and helping others would force Luther to focus on things other than the state of his own soul.
A Spiritual "A-ha" Moment
Father Staupitz' plan was far more successful than he could have imagined. Luther flourished in his new role as academic, but his thorough study of Scripture yielded an another, unexpected result - religious enlightenment. While preparing for lectures in 1513, Luther read two biblical passages that changed his life. First, he read in the Psalms the words Christ had cried out on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Luther realized with amazement that the Divine Judge had once known the very desolation he was feeling. This new perspective offered some comfort. Then, almost two years later while preparing for a lecture on the book of Romans, the professor read at verse 1:17, "The just will live by faith."
Luther was struck by the power of the simple phrase. He meditated on its meaning for several days, and the full significance of the passage changed his life. No longer terrified of God or enslaved by the system of religious merits, Luther was finally able to rest in the knowledge that faith was all that was necessary to save him. The new perspective became evident in his lectures and conversations with other faculty, and before long his ideas became prominent at the University of Wittenburg.
One Indulgence Salesman
Pope Leo X with cardinals
Meanwhile, in Rome, Pope Leo X needed funds to build St. Peter's Basilica. Fortunately for him, the Church had as a major source of income at its disposal: the sale of indulgences. So, in 1517, Leo announced the availability of new indulgences. Those who purchase them, he announced, will not only help protect the precious relics of St. Paul and St. Peter from the ravages of rain and hail, but would receive valuable religious merit. This merit, which could be distributed at the Pope's discretion from the treasury of merit of the saints, would alleviate the penalty of sin in this life and the next.
A Dominican monk named John Tetzel was assigned to the sale of indulgences in Saxony. A talented and unscrupulous salesman, Tetzel was willing to make any claim that improved sales. He thus promised not only a reduction in punishment for sin, but complete forgiveness of all sin and a return to the state of perfection enjoyed just after baptism.
He added that if one would generously purchase indulgences to speed the release of a deceased loved one from Purgatory, no actual repentance on the part of the giver was even necessary. Marketing genius that he was, Tetzel employed a memorable jingle to make his offer clear and simple:
"As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs."
Ninety-Five Theses
Some of those who purchased indulgences from Tetzel were Luther's parishioners. Appalled at the abuse, Luther penned 95 statements against the practice of selling indulgences. On October 31, 1517, he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg, a common method of initiating scholarly discussion.
Luther posts his theses
The actual title of the famous theses is Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. Luther wrote them in Latin with an intended audience of his university colleagues, and could not have imagined the impact they would have on Christianity and on Europe.
But his Theses were translated into German, and using to Guttenberg's newly-invented movable-type printing press, quickly copied and disseminated all over Saxony. The Pope himself received a copy, but he was unimpressed. He is said to have inquired, "What drunken German monk wrote these?" He directed the Augustinian order to deal with the situation.
When invited to the order's next meeting, in April 1518, Luther feared for his life, and for good reason. Heresy had cost the lives of many reformers before him. But to his surprise, Luther found that many of his fellow friars agreed with him. Others simply regarded the issue as yet another dispute between the rivals Dominicans and Augustinians.
Diet of Augsburg
In October 1518, an imperial diet ("DEE-it") - a meeting of the Holy Roman Empire's princes and nobles - was held in Augsburg. The Pope sent a representative to the meeting with instructions to convince the German princes to support a crusade against the Turks. A secondary task was to meet with Luther and convince him to recant. Not entirely confident he would return home alive, Luther nevertheless attended the meeting in the hopes of defending his views.
Unfortunately, the papal representative Cardinal Cajetan showed no interest in debating issues, only in persuading Luther to recant. Like Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake for heresy 100 years prior, Luther responded that he would be glad to recant if shown his errors from the Scriptures. When he learned he was to be arrested if he refused to recant, Luther escaped by night and returned to Wittenburg.
Fortunately, politics were on his side for the moment. As one of the electors of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Pope did not wish to upset Luther's prince, Frederick the Wise. A truce was called in which both the Pope and Luther agreed to abstain from further controversy. Of course, neither would obey the truce for long.
In July of 1519, a professor from Ingolstadt named John Eck challenged one of Luther's colleagues at Wittenburg to an academic debate. The colleague, Karlstadt, was a convert to Luther's way of thinking, and in fact more radical in some ways than Luther himself. (Luther later wryly remarked of his friend: "He has swallowed the Holy Spirit, feathers and all.")
Luther accompanied Karlstadt to the debate, which was held in Leipzig. As Eck had hoped, Luther wound up participating directly. He demonstrated a superior knowledge of the Scriptures, but Eck was highly skilled in the art of debate. Luther was led to state that councils can err, and that the average Christian with the authority of Scripture has more power than a council or the Pope himself. Eck considered himself victorious, for Luther had proved himself to be a heretic just like Hus. From this point forward, anti-Lutheran propaganda often portrayed the monk as "the Saxon Hus."
Papal bull excommunicating Luther.Excommunication
Luther spent the next year developing his ideas, teaching, and writing. His most important treatises of this period include Address to the German Nobility, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and Freedom of a Christian.
On October 10, 1520, Luther received a papal bull (official proclamation from the Pope). Entitled Exsurge Domine ("Arise, O Lord"), the bull began by dramatically appealing to God to protect his church from the threat of Luther.
Arise, O Lord, and defend Thy cause!
A wild boar has invaded Thy vineyard.
Less poetic was the papal bull's sober message that Luther would be excommunicated if he did not recant within 60 days. In Catholic doctrine, in which salvation is only available through the church, excommunication amounts to eternal damnation.
Luther burns the papal bull Luther, once a trembling Catholic kissing each of Pilate's steps in Rome, publicly cast the bull into a bonfire. He was officially excommunicated by the Pope on January 3, 1521.
Diet of Worms
Emperor Charles V opened the imperial Diet of Worms (pronounced "DEE-it of Vorms") on 22 January 1521. Luther was summoned to renounce or reaffirm his views and was given an imperial guarantee of safe-conduct to ensure his safe passage. When he appeared before the assembly on 16 April, Johann Eck, an assistant of Archbishop of Trier, acted as spokesman for the Emperor. (Bainton, p. 141) He presented Luther with a table filled with copies of his writings. Eck asked Luther if the books were his and if he still believed what these works taught. Luther requested time to think about his answer. It was granted.
Luther prayed, consulted with friends and mediators and presented himself before the Diet the next day. When the counselor put the same questions to Luther, he said: "They are all mine, but as for the second question, they are not all of one sort." Luther went on to say that some of the works were well received by even his enemies. These he would not reject.
A second class of the books attacked the abuses, lies and desolation of the Christian world. These, Luther believed, could not safely be rejected without encouraging abuses to continue.
The third group contained attacks on individuals. He apologized for the harsh tone of these writings, but did not reject the substance of what he taught in them. If he could be shown from the Scriptures that he was in error, Luther continued, he would reject them. Otherwise, he could not do so safely without encouraging abuse.
Eck, after countering that Luther had no right to teach contrary to the Church through the ages, asked Luther to plainly answer the question: Would Luther reject his books and the errors they contain? Luther replied:
"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason — I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other — 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."
According to tradition, Luther is then said to have spoken these famous words:
"Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." (Bainton, pp. 142-144)
Private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. Before a decision was reached, Luther left Worms. During his return to Wittenberg, he disappeared. The Emperor issued the Edict of Worms on May 25, 1521, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw and a heretic and banning his literature.
A Nighttime Kidnapping and Exile in Wartburg
Luther as Knight George
Luther's disappearance after the Diet of Worms was planned. Frederick the Wise arranged for Luther to be seized on his way from the Diet by a company of masked horsemen, who carried him to Wartburg Castle at Eisenach, where he stayed for about a year. He grew a wide flaring beard, took on the garb of a knight, and assumed the pseudonym Jörg (or "Knight George"). During this period of forced sojourn in the world, Luther was still hard at work upon his celebrated translation of the New Testament, though he couldn't rely on the isolation of a monastery.
With Luther's residence in the Wartburg began the constructive period of his career as a reformer; while at the same time the struggle was inaugurated against those who, claiming to proceed from the same Evangelical basis, were deemed by him to swing to the opposite extreme and to hinder, if not prevent, all constructive measures. In his "desert" or "Patmos" (as he called it in his letters) of the Wartburg, moreover, he began his translation of the Bible, of which the New Testament was printed in September 1522. Here, too, besides other pamphlets, he prepared the first portion of his German postilla and his Von der Beichte, in which he denied compulsory confession, although he admitted the wholesomeness of voluntary private confessions.
He also wrote a polemic against Archbishop Albrecht, which forced him to desist from reopening the sale of indulgences; while in his attack on Jacobus Latomus he set forth his views on the relation of grace and the law, as well as on the nature of the grace communicated by Christ. Here he distinguished the objective grace of God to the sinner, who, believing, is justified by God because of the justice of Christ, from the saving grace dwelling within sinful man; while at the same time he emphasized the insufficiency of this "beginning of justification," as well as the persistence of sin after baptism and the sin still inherent in every good work.
Wartburg Castle
Although his stay at Wartburg kept Luther hidden from public view, Luther often received letters from his friends and allies, asking for his views and advice. For example, Philipp Melanchthon wrote to him and asked how to answer the charge that the reformers neglected pilgrimages, fasts and other traditional forms of piety. Luther's replied: "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign." (Letter 99.13, To Philipp Melanchthon, 1 August 1521.)
Meanwhile some of the Saxon clergy, notably Bernhardi of Feldkirchen, had renounced the vow of celibacy, while others, including Melanchthon, had assailed the validity of monastic vows. Luther in his De votis monasticis, though more cautious, concurred, on the ground that the vows were generally taken "with the intention of salvation or seeking justification." With the approval of Luther in his De abroganda missa privata, but against the firm opposition of the prior, the Wittenberg Augustinians began changes in worship and did away with the mass. Their violence and intolerance, however, were displeasing to Luther, and early in December he spent a few days among them. Returning to the Wartburg, he wrote his Eine treue Vermahnung . . . vor Aufruhr und Empörung; but in Wittenberg Carlstadt and the ex-Augustinian Zwilling demanded the abolition of the private mass, communion in both kinds, the removal of pictures from churches, and the abrogation of the magistracy
Around Christmas, Anabaptists from Zwickau added to the anarchy. Thoroughly opposed to such radical views and fearful of their results, Luther entered Wittenberg on March 7, and the Zwickau prophets left the city. The canon of the mass, giving it its sacrificial character, was now omitted, but the cup was at first given only to those of the laity who desired it. Since confession had been abolished, communicants were now required to declare their intention, and to seek consolation, under acknowledgment of their faith and longing for grace, in Christian confession. This new form of service was set forth by Luther in his Formula missæ et communionis (1523), and in 1524 the first Wittenberg hymnal appeared with four of his own hymns. Since, however, his writings were forbidden by Duke George of Saxony, Luther declared, in his Ueber die weltliche Gewalt, wie weit man ihr Gehorsam echuldig sei, that the civil authority could enact no laws for the soul, herein denying to a Roman Catholic government what he permitted an Evangelical.
The Peasants' War
The Peasants' War (1524-1525) was in many ways a response to the preaching of Luther and other reformers. Revolts by the peasantry had existed on a small scale since the 14th century, but many peasants mistakenly believed that Luther's attack on the Church and its hierarchy meant that the reformers would support an attack on the social hierarchy as well. Because of the close ties between the hereditary nobility and the princes of the Church that Luther condemned, this is not surprising. Revolts that broke out in Swabia, Franconia, and Thuringia in 1524 gained support among peasants and some disaffected nobles. Gaining momentum and a new leader in Thomas Münzer, the revolts turned into an all-out war, the experience of which played an important role in the founding of the Anabaptist movement.
Initially, Luther seemed to many to support the peasants, condemning the oppressive practices of the nobility that had incited many of the peasants. As the war continued, and especially as atrocities at the hands of the peasants increased, Luther came out forcefully against the revolt; since Luther relied on support and protection from the princes, he was afraid of alienating them. In Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants (1525), he encouraged the nobility to visit swift and bloody punishment upon the peasants. Many of the revolutionaries considered Luther's words a betrayal. Others withdrew once they realized that there was neither support from the Church nor from its main opponent. The war in Germany ended in 1525, when rebel forces were put down by the armies of the Swabian League.
Luther resented Germany's domination by a group of clergymen based in Rome, and these nationalist feelings may have motivated the Reformation to some extent. During the Peasants' War, Luther continued to stress obedience to secular authority; many may have interpreted this doctrine as endorsement of absolute rulers, leading to acceptance of monarchs and dictators in German history.
Luther's Death and Legacy
Luther's deathbed
Luther died in Eisleben, the same town in which he was born, on 18 February, 1546.
Monument to Luther in Eisleben
Martin Luther's bold rebellion, more than the other religious dissenters that preceded him, led to the Protestant Reformation. Thanks to the printing press, his pamphlets were well-read throughout Germany, and soon other thinkers developed other Protestant sects. Since Protestant countries were no longer bound to the powerful Roman Catholic Church, an expanded freedom of thought developed which probably contributed to Protestant Europe's rapid intellectual advancement in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On the darker side, Roman Catholics waged bitter and ferocious wars of religion against Protestants. A century after Luther's protests, a revolt in Bohemia ignited the Thirty Years' War, which ravaged much of Germany. And Luther's violent writings against the Jews may well have strengthened medieval and modern anti-Semitism in Europe.
Both for better and for worse, the legacy of Martin Luther's massive personality is still felt across the western world
Luther at the Diet of Worms. Youth
Luther's story begins in Eisleben, a small town in the region of Saxony in modern Germany. As a part of the Holy Roman Empire, 15th-century Saxony was under the political control of the Holy Roman Emperor and the religious control of the Roman pope. The Roman Catholicism into which Luther was born focused on purgatory, hell, angels, demons, sin, judgment and the saints. Jesus was depicted as an unapproachable, terrifying judge, but believers knew they could call upon the Blessed Virgin and other saints to intercede on their behalf.
On November 10, 1483, Hans and Margarethe Luther welcomed their firstborn son into the world. As was customary, the boy was named after the saint on whose feast day he was born, St. Martin.
Luther's house in Eisenach
Martin Luther was the eldest of seven children in a middle-class German peasant family. He seems to have been an unusually sensitive and religious youth. The prevalent graphic images of Christ as Righteous Judge and the agonies of hellfire terrified him.
At 21, Luther earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Erfurt. Hans Luther was determined that his son be well-educated, and his hard work in the copper mines financed the younger Luther's education. In May 1505, Luther entered law school in accordance with his father's wishes. But less than a year later, his life took an unexpected turn.
That same year , while traveling back to university from his parents' home, Luther was caught in a severe thunderstorm. Nearly hit by a bolt of lightening, he cried out in desperation to the patron saint of miners: "Help me, St. Anne, and I'll become a monk!" Luther escaped the ordeal unharmed, and true to his word, entered a monastery within a month.
Monastic Life
Martin Luther as a young monk (1522)Not surprisingly, the new career direction was not warmly received by the elder Luther. But the young man took the monastic life very seriously and excels at it. Still terrified of the wrath of God, he confessed sin as often as 20 times a day, punished his body by sleeping on a cold concrete floor and performed his first Mass with a trembling hand.
When he was 27, Luther was assigned to travel to the holy city of Rome to represent his monastery. The Church taught that by paying respect to relics of saints, one can earn religious merit that would shorten one's time in Purgatory. The trip was a tremendous opportunity for the young monk, but it proved to be a profoundly disappointing experience. He was shocked by the immorality, ignorance and flippancy of the Roman priests. As he dutifully kissed each of Pilate's stairs, he began to doubt the Church's teachings about relics and merits. Luther returned to Saxony more troubled than ever.
Luther's superior, Johann von Staupitz, tried to counsel the monk to stop striving and worrying and simply love God. But how could he love someone he feared so? Luther later recalled his true feelings: "Love God? I hated him!" This, of course, only added to his spiritual fear and turmoil. Finally, the exasperated Staupitz directed Luther to earn a doctorate in theology at the local University of Wittenburg, hoping the rigors of academia and helping others would force Luther to focus on things other than the state of his own soul.
A Spiritual "A-ha" Moment
Father Staupitz' plan was far more successful than he could have imagined. Luther flourished in his new role as academic, but his thorough study of Scripture yielded an another, unexpected result - religious enlightenment. While preparing for lectures in 1513, Luther read two biblical passages that changed his life. First, he read in the Psalms the words Christ had cried out on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Luther realized with amazement that the Divine Judge had once known the very desolation he was feeling. This new perspective offered some comfort. Then, almost two years later while preparing for a lecture on the book of Romans, the professor read at verse 1:17, "The just will live by faith."
Luther was struck by the power of the simple phrase. He meditated on its meaning for several days, and the full significance of the passage changed his life. No longer terrified of God or enslaved by the system of religious merits, Luther was finally able to rest in the knowledge that faith was all that was necessary to save him. The new perspective became evident in his lectures and conversations with other faculty, and before long his ideas became prominent at the University of Wittenburg.
One Indulgence Salesman
Pope Leo X with cardinals
Meanwhile, in Rome, Pope Leo X needed funds to build St. Peter's Basilica. Fortunately for him, the Church had as a major source of income at its disposal: the sale of indulgences. So, in 1517, Leo announced the availability of new indulgences. Those who purchase them, he announced, will not only help protect the precious relics of St. Paul and St. Peter from the ravages of rain and hail, but would receive valuable religious merit. This merit, which could be distributed at the Pope's discretion from the treasury of merit of the saints, would alleviate the penalty of sin in this life and the next.
A Dominican monk named John Tetzel was assigned to the sale of indulgences in Saxony. A talented and unscrupulous salesman, Tetzel was willing to make any claim that improved sales. He thus promised not only a reduction in punishment for sin, but complete forgiveness of all sin and a return to the state of perfection enjoyed just after baptism.
He added that if one would generously purchase indulgences to speed the release of a deceased loved one from Purgatory, no actual repentance on the part of the giver was even necessary. Marketing genius that he was, Tetzel employed a memorable jingle to make his offer clear and simple:
"As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs."
Ninety-Five Theses
Some of those who purchased indulgences from Tetzel were Luther's parishioners. Appalled at the abuse, Luther penned 95 statements against the practice of selling indulgences. On October 31, 1517, he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg, a common method of initiating scholarly discussion.
Luther posts his theses
The actual title of the famous theses is Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. Luther wrote them in Latin with an intended audience of his university colleagues, and could not have imagined the impact they would have on Christianity and on Europe.
But his Theses were translated into German, and using to Guttenberg's newly-invented movable-type printing press, quickly copied and disseminated all over Saxony. The Pope himself received a copy, but he was unimpressed. He is said to have inquired, "What drunken German monk wrote these?" He directed the Augustinian order to deal with the situation.
When invited to the order's next meeting, in April 1518, Luther feared for his life, and for good reason. Heresy had cost the lives of many reformers before him. But to his surprise, Luther found that many of his fellow friars agreed with him. Others simply regarded the issue as yet another dispute between the rivals Dominicans and Augustinians.
Diet of Augsburg
In October 1518, an imperial diet ("DEE-it") - a meeting of the Holy Roman Empire's princes and nobles - was held in Augsburg. The Pope sent a representative to the meeting with instructions to convince the German princes to support a crusade against the Turks. A secondary task was to meet with Luther and convince him to recant. Not entirely confident he would return home alive, Luther nevertheless attended the meeting in the hopes of defending his views.
Unfortunately, the papal representative Cardinal Cajetan showed no interest in debating issues, only in persuading Luther to recant. Like Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake for heresy 100 years prior, Luther responded that he would be glad to recant if shown his errors from the Scriptures. When he learned he was to be arrested if he refused to recant, Luther escaped by night and returned to Wittenburg.
Fortunately, politics were on his side for the moment. As one of the electors of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Pope did not wish to upset Luther's prince, Frederick the Wise. A truce was called in which both the Pope and Luther agreed to abstain from further controversy. Of course, neither would obey the truce for long.
In July of 1519, a professor from Ingolstadt named John Eck challenged one of Luther's colleagues at Wittenburg to an academic debate. The colleague, Karlstadt, was a convert to Luther's way of thinking, and in fact more radical in some ways than Luther himself. (Luther later wryly remarked of his friend: "He has swallowed the Holy Spirit, feathers and all.")
Luther accompanied Karlstadt to the debate, which was held in Leipzig. As Eck had hoped, Luther wound up participating directly. He demonstrated a superior knowledge of the Scriptures, but Eck was highly skilled in the art of debate. Luther was led to state that councils can err, and that the average Christian with the authority of Scripture has more power than a council or the Pope himself. Eck considered himself victorious, for Luther had proved himself to be a heretic just like Hus. From this point forward, anti-Lutheran propaganda often portrayed the monk as "the Saxon Hus."
Papal bull excommunicating Luther.Excommunication
Luther spent the next year developing his ideas, teaching, and writing. His most important treatises of this period include Address to the German Nobility, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, and Freedom of a Christian.
On October 10, 1520, Luther received a papal bull (official proclamation from the Pope). Entitled Exsurge Domine ("Arise, O Lord"), the bull began by dramatically appealing to God to protect his church from the threat of Luther.
Arise, O Lord, and defend Thy cause!
A wild boar has invaded Thy vineyard.
Less poetic was the papal bull's sober message that Luther would be excommunicated if he did not recant within 60 days. In Catholic doctrine, in which salvation is only available through the church, excommunication amounts to eternal damnation.
Luther burns the papal bull Luther, once a trembling Catholic kissing each of Pilate's steps in Rome, publicly cast the bull into a bonfire. He was officially excommunicated by the Pope on January 3, 1521.
Diet of Worms
Emperor Charles V opened the imperial Diet of Worms (pronounced "DEE-it of Vorms") on 22 January 1521. Luther was summoned to renounce or reaffirm his views and was given an imperial guarantee of safe-conduct to ensure his safe passage. When he appeared before the assembly on 16 April, Johann Eck, an assistant of Archbishop of Trier, acted as spokesman for the Emperor. (Bainton, p. 141) He presented Luther with a table filled with copies of his writings. Eck asked Luther if the books were his and if he still believed what these works taught. Luther requested time to think about his answer. It was granted.
Luther prayed, consulted with friends and mediators and presented himself before the Diet the next day. When the counselor put the same questions to Luther, he said: "They are all mine, but as for the second question, they are not all of one sort." Luther went on to say that some of the works were well received by even his enemies. These he would not reject.
A second class of the books attacked the abuses, lies and desolation of the Christian world. These, Luther believed, could not safely be rejected without encouraging abuses to continue.
The third group contained attacks on individuals. He apologized for the harsh tone of these writings, but did not reject the substance of what he taught in them. If he could be shown from the Scriptures that he was in error, Luther continued, he would reject them. Otherwise, he could not do so safely without encouraging abuse.
Eck, after countering that Luther had no right to teach contrary to the Church through the ages, asked Luther to plainly answer the question: Would Luther reject his books and the errors they contain? Luther replied:
"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason — I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other — 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."
According to tradition, Luther is then said to have spoken these famous words:
"Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." (Bainton, pp. 142-144)
Private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. Before a decision was reached, Luther left Worms. During his return to Wittenberg, he disappeared. The Emperor issued the Edict of Worms on May 25, 1521, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw and a heretic and banning his literature.
A Nighttime Kidnapping and Exile in Wartburg
Luther as Knight George
Luther's disappearance after the Diet of Worms was planned. Frederick the Wise arranged for Luther to be seized on his way from the Diet by a company of masked horsemen, who carried him to Wartburg Castle at Eisenach, where he stayed for about a year. He grew a wide flaring beard, took on the garb of a knight, and assumed the pseudonym Jörg (or "Knight George"). During this period of forced sojourn in the world, Luther was still hard at work upon his celebrated translation of the New Testament, though he couldn't rely on the isolation of a monastery.
With Luther's residence in the Wartburg began the constructive period of his career as a reformer; while at the same time the struggle was inaugurated against those who, claiming to proceed from the same Evangelical basis, were deemed by him to swing to the opposite extreme and to hinder, if not prevent, all constructive measures. In his "desert" or "Patmos" (as he called it in his letters) of the Wartburg, moreover, he began his translation of the Bible, of which the New Testament was printed in September 1522. Here, too, besides other pamphlets, he prepared the first portion of his German postilla and his Von der Beichte, in which he denied compulsory confession, although he admitted the wholesomeness of voluntary private confessions.
He also wrote a polemic against Archbishop Albrecht, which forced him to desist from reopening the sale of indulgences; while in his attack on Jacobus Latomus he set forth his views on the relation of grace and the law, as well as on the nature of the grace communicated by Christ. Here he distinguished the objective grace of God to the sinner, who, believing, is justified by God because of the justice of Christ, from the saving grace dwelling within sinful man; while at the same time he emphasized the insufficiency of this "beginning of justification," as well as the persistence of sin after baptism and the sin still inherent in every good work.
Wartburg Castle
Although his stay at Wartburg kept Luther hidden from public view, Luther often received letters from his friends and allies, asking for his views and advice. For example, Philipp Melanchthon wrote to him and asked how to answer the charge that the reformers neglected pilgrimages, fasts and other traditional forms of piety. Luther's replied: "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign." (Letter 99.13, To Philipp Melanchthon, 1 August 1521.)
Meanwhile some of the Saxon clergy, notably Bernhardi of Feldkirchen, had renounced the vow of celibacy, while others, including Melanchthon, had assailed the validity of monastic vows. Luther in his De votis monasticis, though more cautious, concurred, on the ground that the vows were generally taken "with the intention of salvation or seeking justification." With the approval of Luther in his De abroganda missa privata, but against the firm opposition of the prior, the Wittenberg Augustinians began changes in worship and did away with the mass. Their violence and intolerance, however, were displeasing to Luther, and early in December he spent a few days among them. Returning to the Wartburg, he wrote his Eine treue Vermahnung . . . vor Aufruhr und Empörung; but in Wittenberg Carlstadt and the ex-Augustinian Zwilling demanded the abolition of the private mass, communion in both kinds, the removal of pictures from churches, and the abrogation of the magistracy
Around Christmas, Anabaptists from Zwickau added to the anarchy. Thoroughly opposed to such radical views and fearful of their results, Luther entered Wittenberg on March 7, and the Zwickau prophets left the city. The canon of the mass, giving it its sacrificial character, was now omitted, but the cup was at first given only to those of the laity who desired it. Since confession had been abolished, communicants were now required to declare their intention, and to seek consolation, under acknowledgment of their faith and longing for grace, in Christian confession. This new form of service was set forth by Luther in his Formula missæ et communionis (1523), and in 1524 the first Wittenberg hymnal appeared with four of his own hymns. Since, however, his writings were forbidden by Duke George of Saxony, Luther declared, in his Ueber die weltliche Gewalt, wie weit man ihr Gehorsam echuldig sei, that the civil authority could enact no laws for the soul, herein denying to a Roman Catholic government what he permitted an Evangelical.
The Peasants' War
The Peasants' War (1524-1525) was in many ways a response to the preaching of Luther and other reformers. Revolts by the peasantry had existed on a small scale since the 14th century, but many peasants mistakenly believed that Luther's attack on the Church and its hierarchy meant that the reformers would support an attack on the social hierarchy as well. Because of the close ties between the hereditary nobility and the princes of the Church that Luther condemned, this is not surprising. Revolts that broke out in Swabia, Franconia, and Thuringia in 1524 gained support among peasants and some disaffected nobles. Gaining momentum and a new leader in Thomas Münzer, the revolts turned into an all-out war, the experience of which played an important role in the founding of the Anabaptist movement.
Initially, Luther seemed to many to support the peasants, condemning the oppressive practices of the nobility that had incited many of the peasants. As the war continued, and especially as atrocities at the hands of the peasants increased, Luther came out forcefully against the revolt; since Luther relied on support and protection from the princes, he was afraid of alienating them. In Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants (1525), he encouraged the nobility to visit swift and bloody punishment upon the peasants. Many of the revolutionaries considered Luther's words a betrayal. Others withdrew once they realized that there was neither support from the Church nor from its main opponent. The war in Germany ended in 1525, when rebel forces were put down by the armies of the Swabian League.
Luther resented Germany's domination by a group of clergymen based in Rome, and these nationalist feelings may have motivated the Reformation to some extent. During the Peasants' War, Luther continued to stress obedience to secular authority; many may have interpreted this doctrine as endorsement of absolute rulers, leading to acceptance of monarchs and dictators in German history.
Luther's Death and Legacy
Luther's deathbed
Luther died in Eisleben, the same town in which he was born, on 18 February, 1546.
Monument to Luther in Eisleben
Martin Luther's bold rebellion, more than the other religious dissenters that preceded him, led to the Protestant Reformation. Thanks to the printing press, his pamphlets were well-read throughout Germany, and soon other thinkers developed other Protestant sects. Since Protestant countries were no longer bound to the powerful Roman Catholic Church, an expanded freedom of thought developed which probably contributed to Protestant Europe's rapid intellectual advancement in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On the darker side, Roman Catholics waged bitter and ferocious wars of religion against Protestants. A century after Luther's protests, a revolt in Bohemia ignited the Thirty Years' War, which ravaged much of Germany. And Luther's violent writings against the Jews may well have strengthened medieval and modern anti-Semitism in Europe.
Both for better and for worse, the legacy of Martin Luther's massive personality is still felt across the western world
Prenumerera på:
Inlägg (Atom)
