Part 2: From Apostates to Apostles
The protestant reformation officially began with Martin Luther. He was not the first reformer, yet because of a multitude of converging events, his arrival on the scene at this time in history allowed him to achieve actual change and survive.
These included some of the most glaring abuses by the Pope and clergy. But there are other major discoveries and events to consider. With these quickly converging historical developments, his chances for survival were becoming both time sensitive and uniquely optimal.
Have you noticed how many times in the history of man, when the light of Christ seems to be threatened with total extinction, somehow, a person steps forward and proves to be the right man, in the right place, under the right conditions? Is it not self-evident that the hand of God had arranged in advance every detail necessary for accomplishment of a rescue at this very critical hour?
Consider the following for instance:
1/ The Renaissance age or the grand awakening of men’s minds had just begun.
2/ The printing press, capable of creating thousands of copies of books had just been perfected.
3/ The discovery of the Americas, which included about 50% of available habitable landmass, hitherto unknown, became available with all its natural resources and unlimited possibilities.
4/ The military and moral support of the German Princes became available to Luther’s cause.
5/ The capture of Constantinople by the Muslims weakened the power of the Pope.
6/ There was an influx of Greek scholars from the vanquished Eastern Christian cities. These keen intellectuals were eager to engage in a religious reformation.
7/ The Bible becoming available to the common people making the word of God available in the common language of the masses for the first time.
8/ The Pope’s refusal to correct himself added determination to those thirsting for change.
9/ The refusal of the Roman Church to purge itself of corruption left no option but that which was offered by Luther.
10/ An immoral and corrupt Pope, Rodrigo Borgia, and his son Caesar Borgia bought the Office of Pope. He appointed his private master-assassin Don Michelotto to assist him, which heightened public loathing of the Church leadership and priests to a fever pitch.
11/ Compulsory collection of tithes from the peasants turned yet another group away in bitterness from Roman Church support.
12/ Bishops support of relics, another publicly hated money generating scheme by the clergy.
13/ The selling of Priesthood Offices to the highest bidders crystallized condemnation of Church officers for gross corruption.
14/ The selling of indulgences was condemned as fraudulent and shameful.
Things had become so desperate for the people, believers and non-believers alike, that the protest by Luther was like a burning torch flung into the tinder-dry, rotting, heap of foul stinking stench the Church and its clergy had become. It was more than sufficient to light the fires of reform.
When Luther compiled his 95 complaints, he posted them on the University’s equivalent of a Bulletin Board, the Door of the Church at Wittenberg. That act was electrifying and much more far reaching than anyone could ever anticipated or imagined. They were immediately copied and spread throughout Germany.
Luther was a monk of the Augustinian order, a priest and a professor of philosophy at the University of Wittenberg. He was well known and very well respected. He totally believed the doctrine and never revised or altered any of Augustinian thought. His ambition was not to start a new church or to reform Church orthodoxy. That would be the challenge for later reformers. His calling was to reform the church of its deplorable corrupt practices.
Luther saw the Church through the eyes of the New Testament. When Jesus had said “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), Luther saw the contrast played out in what was taught and what had become of the Roman Church. It confirmed all that had been reported in his theses. There is little doubt that if the Roman Church, starting with the Pope, had reformed itself, there would have been no need for the protestant reformation. But the Councils of the Bishops had been not only dismissed, but were no longer being called. There was no avenue for reform from within. Luther maintained that not only was the Pope not “Infallible” but he was also major contributor to the Church’s problems.
Luther used the writings of Paul frequently to underscore his views, but when they opposed his own views, he was quick to denounce Paul. Eventually Luther was called before a court council in Worms by the Emperor (in 1521) and asked that his theses be retracted or he would be deemed to be a heretic. Luther’s famously replied, “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me, Amen.”
Luther left Worms and on the road to Eisenach, his carriage was attacked by a group of armed horsemen. He was carried away captive. Rumours spread like wild fire. Was he alive or dead? Had he been put in prison by emissaries of the Pope? It was not until much later that it became known that the Elector of Saxony had ordered his counsellors to hide Luther until the threat to his life had passed. It was even later that the Elector himself was told that Luther was in disguise and hiding in the Elector’s very own castle.
Luther’s opposition to the Roman Church was at its peak at this time. The Church threatened Luther and his followers with extermination, but the German princes refused to carry out the order. There had been too much of an uproar from mere rumours that Luther had been killed. Fearing a war, they delayed instead. Meanwhile Luther’s books were circulating everywhere including England and Scotland. King Henry VIII ordered that all Luther’s Books be burned and earned himself and all English kings thereafter, the title of “Defender of the Faith”.
The Emperor was embroiled in a war with France. Upon his departure from Germany there was no will to enforce his edict. This gave Luther time to work upon his translation of the New Testament. Luther’s stand for the rights of individual conscience began to have an effect on the population of Germany. It had become divided into two camps, Lutheran and Catholic.
In 1524, what was called “The Peasants War”, broke out. This was more a war against high taxes than religion. The peasants had endured crippling taxes imposed by the nobles and princely Bishops. When the news reached Luther, he demanded the Bishops put the peasants down for rebelling against God and his constituted authority. Over 100,000 thousand people lost their lives and had their property confiscated under the guise that they had allegiance to Lutheran teachings.
At two subsequent meetings at Spires, with representation from the Emperor and the German Princes, the Emperor attempted to enforce the will of the Pope. It was their intent to secure unity against the protesters by execution, unless they agreed to the sole supremacy of the Catholic Church. Again, the Lutherans protested. They pointed out that in the meeting held at Worms, it had been determined that each Prince would be responsible for their own subjects. No state could impose their executions on another state. They also contended that what had been decided unanimously at one meeting, could not be revoked by a simple majority at another. As a result of this protest, the Lutherans were given the name of Protestants.
Just when it appeared that the protestant minority would have to submit to force, an independent religious revolt began in Switzerland. The leader was Ulrich Zwingli. Under the insistence of Phillip, Landgrave of Hesse, the most influential of Protestant Princes, a meeting was held between Zwingli and Luther. The purpose of the meeting was to consider unity. Luther could not come to a compromise on the understanding of the sacrament and dismissed the idea of unity. Luther was not about to become tolerant of any views other than his own in spite of his newly confessed belief that each individual has the right to his own interpretation of the scriptures. In the end neither Luther, Zwingli nor Calvin for that matter, could agree. That was the end of unity for protection.
In 1530, the Emperor called a meeting at Augsburg. He needed the help of the German Princes and wanted to resolve how best to deal with the differences of the Holy Church and the division of the Christian religion. Luther, being under a ban since the meeting in Worms could not attend but could only wait in the castle in Coburg, overlooking the town. Presented at the meeting to the Emperor were three “Confessions” or proposals. One was approved by Luther, one from the Lutherans of Southern Germany, and one written by Zwingli. The Emperor refused to read or hear the latter two. Attempts were made to show that Lutheran doctrines were in agreement with the traditional Roman doctrines and Luther was attempting to influence the church only so far as it should abolished certain abuses. The proposal referred to seven errors and abuses, and 21 defined differing beliefs of the Lutherans. They were refuted. The Roman Church demanded the protestants recant or be suppressed by force. The Lutherans, believing they did not constitute a new Church but rather a continuation of the early church, broke ranks with the Roman Church. The Protestant schism was official and final.
So, we might ask: What effect did Luther have upon the Lutheran Church and the Protestant reformation of the Roman Church?
Answer 1: The effect was major in both instances. So far as the Lutheran Church is concerned, Luther was able to succeed in establishing an alternative religious answer to the dominant rule of a corrupt, self-serving, political power that had thwarted the individual incentive of millions of people for over 1500 years. His contribution to the liberty of the individual from both spiritual and physical bondage was extremely beneficial to everyone. He encouraged the reading of the Bible by everyone and made it accessible to them in their own language.
Answer 2: He did not succeed in changing orthodoxy or the Government of the Church. His interpretation was not any different from that of the Roman Church. Still clinging to the teachings of Augustine, he adopted the Roman views of infant baptisms, and baptism without authority. He modified only the idea of transubstantiation, and claimed the merits of Christ was all that was needed for the salvation of man. The Roman Church believed that the “Treasury of the Church” consisted of Christ’s merits and the deeds of the Saints which could be used by the righteous living and dead for their salvation. Luther did not think the offices of the Church were needed at all. A person’s own faith in Christ was sufficient for his own salvation. In theory, Luther’s idea of Church government was democratic, but in practice he appointed himself as Bishop of Bishops. His source of revenue came from State support, which was levied against the people in the form of a compulsory tithing, just as the Catholics did before him.
In order to rationalize his split from the Roman church, Luther cited the corruption of the Papacy and maintained there was an invisible Church and a visible Church. Rome was the visible Church, but the invisible Church was one that would last forever. This was what Christ had referred to in Matthew 28:20 when he exclaimed “…Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world“. This Church was formed by the believers of the Church, for wherever the Church is formed by believers in Christ who preach and administer the sacrament correctly, there is also Christ.
He later realized that this idea was insufficient and that there had to be a visible Church too. Equally important as well was that Pastors with congregations had to exist.
Baptism, he believed, conferred the priesthood authority, so accordingly, he and all the German princes who had been baptized had as much authority as the Priests or Pope.
While his contribution to new thinking about Church doctrine was limited, the political and religious freedoms were immense. Without these freedoms, any attempt to reform or restore truths later would have failed. In 1583, Luther died having bequeathed this great blessing and freedom to us all.