Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Luther

Now we come to the beginnings of the movement on which this course is based; but first, I want you to see some pictures of the historical figures represented in the Luther film. I'll begin with Luther himself, who as you recall I complained was much too pretty as represented by Joseph Fiennes. Here he is first as a young monk and then as a mature man.

We move on to Emperor Charles V, who was 19 when he became emperor in 1519. He had the famous Hapbsburg jaw, the consequence of inbreeding over generations (it became even worse in subsequent monarchs). The depiction in the film is remarkably accurate.

Next, there's Catherine von Bora, Luther's wife.

We end with Frederick the Wise of Saxony, Luther's prince and protector, an old man at the time of Luther's revolt.

The chapter we're reading is like the previous one in its density and detail. Luther (1483--1546) was born in Saxony, Northern Germany, of peasant stock.  His family, however, was upwardly mobile; his father ended up becoming a partial owner of a mine.  The parents looked to Martin as the means for continuing to advance the family's status, and thus he enrolled in law school, but like many law students who enroll for that reason, he was unhappy.  One day as he was coming home for break he got caught in a thunderstorm, and feared the loss of his life and his soul.  He prayed to Saint Anne, saying that if his life were spared he would become a monk.  His entry into an Augustinian cloister did not please his parents, and his disobedience was a continuing source of tension.

Luther was a model monk, going beyond the call of duty.  He was plagued by scruples, however, especially a feeling of anxiety and concern that he was not saved.  The Catholic church's remedy for such concerns in the sacramental system.  In Luther's case, the most immediately relevant sacrament was penance.  As we've seen, there are four stages to this sacrament:  contrition, confession, absolution, and acts of penance. The church also believed in a system of merits that was social as well as individual.  Prayers of the entire church could compensate for the inadequacies of individuals. None of this is to suggest that the church didn't teach that Christ's sacrifice on the cross atoned for the sinfulness of mankind; however, sacraments, good works, and prayers were considred a necessary supplement, the means by which this sacrifice would be rendered efficacious.  Another way of putting it might be to say that the sacraments are the conduit by which the flow of grace is directed from Christ's mercy to individual sinners, and to the church as a body. 

Luther found himself unable to be comforted by this.  He was ordained a priest, and felt terror when it came time to perform his first mass, including a sense of his basic unworthiness to the point of existential dread.  His theological breakthrough came from reading Paul's letter to the Romans, which he describes in the first selection from the Hillerbrand anthology.  His insight lifted the burden in one clean sweep; he went from a sense of dread to a sense of confidence, gratitude, and love. Faith to Luther was not an intellectual assent to certain principles, but rather a condition of life.  For him, the experience had nothing to do with his own volition, but seemed to be entirely the result of a supernatural source.  He came to the conclusion that faith alone, which pours into the soul through the agency of God, is the basis for salvation.  Man's merits have nothing to do with it.

Luther's breakthrough caused him to look at church teachings and practices in a new way, leading to the famous indulgence controversy. In 1517, a Dominican friar named John Tetzel came to town, hawking an indulgence for the purpose of supporting the construction of St. Peter's church in Rome.  The indulgence was sponsored by the Archbishop of Mainz, who had purchased his position by taking a loan from this fund and needed the money to pay it back.  All of the abuses of the clergy seem to have converged in this incident, which spurred Luther, by now a professor of theology at Wittenberg, to post his 95 Theses. Others (including Erasmus) had protested such abuses, but Luther went beyond what they did to undermine the very basis on which the sacramental system functioned.  The doctrinal foundation for the church's existence was challenged, not merely church practice.  This is what made him dangerous.

The 95 Theses were printed and spread, causing an uproar.  Luther followed up with a treatise.  Subtle efforts were made to silence him through instructions to his order, but they were unavailing. In 1518 he publicly defended his views at a disputation in Heidelberg, and in 1519 along with his associate Andreas Karlstadt at the Leipzig Debate. On the opposing side was theologian Johann Eck, who made an association between Luther and the Bohemian reformer Jan Hus. In 1520 he produced three treatises: the Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, calling on the princes to overthrow the tyranny of Rome; The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, attacking the sacramental system in detail, and The Freedom of a Christian, setting forth his doctrine of salvation. In the same year Pope Leo issued his bull Exsurge Domine, condemning Luther’s opinions and calling on him to recant.  Luther responded by burning a copy of the bull in public. Finally, in 1521, Luther was examined before a meeting of the Imperial Council under Charles’ leadership--the Diet of Worms.  The outcome was the Edict of Worms, in which the Emperor condemned Luther’s teaching and declared him an outlaw.  Luther, who had arrived at Worms under a safe-conduct, was abducted on his way home by soldiers of Frederick the Wise of Saxony and taken into safekeeping.  He remained at Wartburg in a fortified castle for a year. This gave him a chance to continue his writing in safety.

Here are some questions on the textbook that will help you gain some clarity:

Questions on the Freedom of a Christian :

Laurel Carrington carringt@stolaf.edu
Most recent update: September 24, 2007

 

 

 

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