"...this was not an argument between peasants and kings, with himself on the side of the workmen. It was something much deeper than that. He must stand by the truth as he had come to see it-- that the Bible is God's word, that every man has the right to read it for himself, that God has no need of penance or purgatory before He will forgive people, that in many things the Pope and his counsellors were wrong, and simple godly people were right."
-A passage from The Monk Who Shook the World
Who was the monk who shook the world?
Martin Luther lived from 1483-1546. His parents wanted him to become a lawyer and he almost did, but an encounter with God during a thunderstorm changed his mind. If he had become a lawyer, instead of a monk, he may have been wealthy and comfortable, but as a monk he rattled the entire world. People still discuss his ideas, both for and against.
Martin Luther lived from 1483-1546. His parents wanted him to become a lawyer and he almost did, but an encounter with God during a thunderstorm changed his mind. If he had become a lawyer, instead of a monk, he may have been wealthy and comfortable, but as a monk he rattled the entire world. People still discuss his ideas, both for and against.
I love stories of the little people rising up.
I guess I am a rebel at heart. We have to speak.
Even a small person can make a huge difference.
I guess I am a rebel at heart. We have to speak.
Even a small person can make a huge difference.
As much as I find this part of his life inspiring, Luther in his later years is known for writing a heartbreaking treatise about the Jewish people that was later used by the Nazis as propaganda. I find that incomprehensible and had to mention it here. Just like Martin Luther had to protest, so do we. Even against Luther. We can each only look to God.
Luther said a truth that still holds true today.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I did not know about his treatise. My husband knows all about it! He read it in a Dietrich Bonhoeffer book. Luther was a great contradiction in many ways. This doesn't change how he changed the world for Christians, but it is sad.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what he would say to us today if he could?
DeleteInteresting post. It seems some people are trying hard to figure out how to put God back into their way of life. Freedom of religion is posing a challenge. I think the invention of the printing press changed everything years ago and now we have internet it is totally upsetting many norms.
ReplyDeleteThe norms need to be upset!
DeleteInteresting post. It seems some people are trying hard to figure out how to put God back into their way of life. Freedom of religion is posing a challenge. I think the invention of the printing press changed everything years ago and now we have internet it is totally upsetting many norms.
ReplyDeleteI was telling my kids that same thing. Most people didn't have their own books before the printing press. Not many could read either. They had to rely on someone else to tell them what the bible said. But then things changed with mass publication and education. The Internet is part of that too. Look at us now! ;)
DeleteAs is often the case with figures of history, there's good and bad, and infinitely complex.
ReplyDeleteLuther has faith reformed.
ReplyDeleteHe rebelled against the catholic church , invented a printing machine, but will be ill remembered for his calling to slay the jews. He was a disturbed, tormented figure.
ReplyDeleteLuther's view on Jews in later life is a sad one. But it reminds me that we are all fallen humans and that through God's grace any of us can be used by Him to share His truth. Luther did that over and over again. Standing against the world to share the true Gospel.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog today Sandi!
Yes, we can each only look to God! Good post.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Luther's views about Jews were so unkind. Sadly he mirrored so many people around him on that front. Odd for a man who challenged accepted wisdom on so many fronts.
ReplyDeleteIt's often sad but true that some of the people who did some of the best things also had feelings that were amongst the worst at times. Did you know Ben Franklin was very opposed to William Penn's German immigration plan? He was afraid we'd turn into a Germanic country (or at least part of it) instead of an Anglo one. Sounds a bit familiar these days.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that! Imagine if we all spoke German.
Deleteso it is true that
ReplyDeleteNO ONE IS PERFECT!
YES.
Delete:)
A relief for me actually, since I am not either.
Sandi: I am reading through the Bible and find it interesting that all our heroes of faith had large, glaring flaws. It gives me hope that God can and will use me! Great post!
ReplyDeleteYes! King David and also Rahab come to mind.
DeleteVery eye-opening. I was raised Lutheran and - thank God - we did not hear any of Luther's prejudices against Jews. In fact, just the opposite. We learned the Jews were God's chosen people.
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteI found out more about him in college and was shocked. At the time I was attending a Messianic Jewish synagogue and it was heartbreaking. I can see why no one talked much about it, but these things need to be faced.
Sandi, pink flowers with a yellow dot is Bellis perennis.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from spring Poland.
Lucja
I was in Berlin at the time when the 500 years of the Reformation were celebrated.
ReplyDeleteMonumental ceremony.
Greetings.
Lucja
Perhaps The Almighty allows even our heroes of the faith to have such flaws so we will remember not to worship them.
ReplyDelete...I like that!
DeleteSuch an interesting post you've shared, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Sandi, I'm glad you included that last paragraph. The views that Luther expressed later in his life are difficult to explain. Sad that they came to be used against the Jews in that way.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther abalou mesmo o mundo na sua época.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e continuação de boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
O prazer dos livros