FREE ESSAY ON MARTIN LUTHER

MARTIN LUTHER

Martin Luther (1483-1546), and his concept of Christianity. Luther began his
ecclesiastical career as an Augustinian Monk in the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently,
Luther was initially loyal to the papacy, and even after many theological conflicts, he
attempted to bring about his reconciliation with the Church. But this was a paradox not
to endure because in his later years, Luther waged a continual battle with the papacy.
Luther was to become a professor of biblical exegesis at Wittenberg where, in 1957, he
posted his critique of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings and practices. This is
otherwise known as The Ninety-Five Theses, which is usually considered to be the original
document of the Reformation. Basically, this document was an indictment of the venality
of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the widespread practice of selling indulgences
in association with the sacrament of penance. Luther's beliefs on the matter was that
after confession, absolution relied upon the sinner's faith and God's Divine Grace rather
than the intervention of a priest. At this point, Luther did not advocate an actual
separation from the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, Luther felt his suggested reforms
York-3 could be implemented within Catholicism. If this had taken place, the Protestant
Reformation would probably not of ever seen the light of day--nor would it have been
necessary. But the theological practices being what they were in the Roman Church, there
was little chance at that time for any great variations to occur within its folds. The
Church of Rome was thoroughly monolithic and set in its ways and was not about to mutate
into something else. If a metamorphosis had occurred within the Roman Catholic Church,
Luther would have had a different destiny. But Luther's fate was sealed, and his job was
cut out for him. Concerning Luther and the Reformation, Paul Tillich states: The turning
point of the Reformation and of church history in general is the experience of an
Augustinian monk in his monastic cell--Martin Luther. Martin Luther did not merely teach
different doctrines; others had done that also, such as Wyclif. But none of the others
who protested against the Roman system were able to break through it. The only man who
really made a breakthrough, and whose breakthrough has transformed the surface of the
earth, was Martin Luther. . . . He is one of the few great prophets of the Christian
Church, and his greatness is overwhelming, even if it was limited by some of his personal
traits and his later development. He is responsible for the fact that a purified
Christianity, a Christianity of the Reformation, was able to establish itself equal terms
with the Roman tradition (Tillich 227). Tillich's York-4 main emphasis, then, is not on
Luther as the founder of Lutheranism, but as the person who broke through the system of
the Church of Rome. Luther shattered the theological restraints and distortions of the
Roman Catholic religion. This accomplishment amounts to the establishment of another
religion known as Protestantism, a faith that was generated from the Reformation, with
its advocates such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Knox. However,
Luther stood out as one of the Reformation titans in a most unique manner. Roland H.
Bainton suggests the following concerning Luther's reforms with regard to the Catholic
sacraments; But Luther's rejection of the five sacraments might even have been tolerated
had it not been for the radical transformation which he effected in the two which he
retained. From his view of baptism, he was not a second baptism, and no vow should ever
be taken beyond the baptismal vow. Most serious of all was Luther's reduction of the mass
to the Lord's Supper. The mass is central for the entire Roman Catholic system because
the mass is believed to be a repetition of the Incarnation and the Crucifixion. When the
bread and wine are transubstantiated, God again becomes flesh and Christ again dies upon
the altar. This wonder can be performed only by priests empowered through ordination. . .
His first insistence was that the sacrament of the mass must be not magical but mystical.
. . He, too, had no mind to subject it to human frailty and would not concede that York-5
he had done so by positing the necessity of faith, since faith is itself a gift from God,
but this faith is given by God when, where, and to whom he will and even without the
sacrament is efficacious; whereas the reverse is not true, that the sacrament is of
efficacy without faith. 'I may be wrong on indulgences,' declared Luther, 'but as to the
need for faith diminished the role of the priests who may place awafer in the mouth but
cannot engender faith in the heart (Bainton 107). For Luther, the Holy Eucharist of
Lord's supper was really a symbolic act rather than an actual instance of
transubstantiation in which the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of
Christ. That was a magical aspect to this sacrament which Luther could not accept.
According to the Roman Church, the bread and wine may have the appearance of such, but
their inner substances have literally become the flesh and blood of Christ. All of this
is a literal acceptance of the words of Jesus at the Last Supper: And as they were
eating, Jesus took the bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,
and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it
to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26: 26-28). Luther's view of the
communion sacrament was strictly symbolic as is the view of Protestants to this day.
However, this idea was heresy so far as the Roman Catholic Church was concerned. The
sacramental power of its York-6 priests was no longer necessary if this concept were to
prevail. This is the type of change the Reformation and Martin Luther wrought. The power
of the Roman clergy could not exist if Luther's concepts were to be accepted. Because the
principal sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church is the Holy Eucharist of Holy Communion,
the fact that Luther was tampering with it could not help but be looked upon by the Roman
clergy with great dismay. Luther generated the Protestant belief that this sacrament is a
commemoration through which clergy and communicants raise their spirits by symbolic
remembrance of Christ's life and death. In contrast, according to the teachings of the
Roman Church, Christ's human body and blood are actually present in the consecrated bread
and wine. As Bertrand Russell states: Even more important in the Middle Ages, was
transubstantiation; only a priest could perform the miracle of the mass. It was not until
the eleventh century in 1079, that the doctrine of transubstantiation became an article
of faith, though it had generally been believed for a long time (Russell 408). As Luther
saw it, no sacrament is effective by itself without listening to the Word associated with
the sacrament, and the faith that believes in it. There is no magical element to any
sacrament, including the doctrine of transubstantiation. Consequently, Luther's teachings
on the sacraments took away the power of the priests and the special nature of the Holy
Eucharist. The Roman York-7 Catholic mass depends completely on these concepts in order
for the Roman Church to sustain its efficacy as the representative of Christ on earth.
Paul Tillich states: From this it followed that transubstantiation was destroyed, because
this doctrine makes the bread and wine a piece of divine reality inside the shrine and
put on the altar. But such a thing does not occur. The presence of God is not a presence
in the sense of an objective presence, at a special place, in a special form; it is a
presence for the faithful alone. There are two criteria for this: if it is only for the
faithful, then it is only an action. Then if you enter a church and the sacrament is
spread, you do not need to do anything, because it is pure bread. If becomes more than
this only in action, that is when it is given to those who have faith. For the theory of
transubstantiation, it is there all the time. When you enter an empty Roman church, you
must bow down before the shrine because God himself is present there, even though no one
else is present besides you and this sacrament. Luther abolished this concept of
presence. He denounced the character indelebilis as a human fiction (Tillich 236-237).
For Luther to take this position required considerable courage on his part due to the
fact he was facing an ecclesiastical force of great strength and authority. Luther did
what most kings would fear to do. Thus his reservation over transubstantiation was
monumental, besides being a highly York-8 important concern, to say the least. After all,
as a Augustinian Monk, who was he to fight the doctrines of the pope or even attempt any
reforms? However, this is the task which Luther undertook against all odds. Luther's
courage and boldness can be seen in his Open Letter to Pope Leo X dated: Wittenberg,
September 6, 1520: I have, to be sure, sharply attacked ungodly doctrines in general, and
I have snapped at my opponents, not because of their bad morals, but because of their
ungodliness. Rather than repent this in the least, I have determined to persist in that
fervent zeal and to despise the judgment of men, following the example of Christ who in
his zeal called his opponents 'a blood of vipers,' 'blind fools,' 'hypocrites'. . . I
have truly despised your see, the Roman Curia, which, however, neither you nor anyone
else can deny is more corrupt than any Babylon or Sodom ever was, and which, as far as I
can see, is characterized by a completely depraved, hopeless, and notorious godlessness
(Luther and Dillenberger 44-45). It would seem statistics would favor the Church of Rome;
however, such was not the situation. As the central figure of a violent religious
rebellion in Germany, Martin Luther brought forth his principal theological doctrine
about Christianity. According to Luther, mankind is justified by faith alone, and not by
works. On the concept of this belief in a personal faith instead of the power of the
Roman Catholic Church, Luther favored the abolition of many rituals and challenged the
supreme authority of the pope. For York-9 this, Luther paid the ultimate penalty the
Roman Catholic Church could inflict, he was excommunicated. Luther then went before the
Diet of Worms, where he took a firm stand concerning his beliefs and was placed under the
ban of the Holy Roman Empire. All of this entails considerably more details concerning
Luther's concept of Christianity. Justification by faith, not by works is perhaps
Luther's most important doctrinal contribution to the Reformation, and all it implies.
According to Luther, salvation is a gift from God, and no human being can possibly do
anything to merit this blessing. Thus good works are of no avail with regard to the
salvation of one's soul. Therefore, the most a Christian can do is to have faith in Jesus
Christ as their Savior. This is basically what a Christian is. Because Christianity has
only two real sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper), it is necessary for a person to
partake of both in order to actually be a Christian. Certainly, a heathen or pagan can go
around doing good works, but this means nothing to God. Christ is the Second Person of
the Holy Trinity, with the father being the First Person of the Holy Trinity, and the
Holy Spirit being the Third Person. However, a Christian should do good works; yet, this
will not save one's soul. God blesses certain Christian persons with His Divine Grace
according to His Divine Wisdom. Only God knows who will be saved. Nevertheless, all
Christians must conduct their lives according to God's York-10 teachings for the very
reason that they are Christians. God, in His Infinite Mercy and Judgment knows his own.
Only God is capable of judging His people fairly and wisely. Paul Tillich states: I want