English Bible History

Martin Luther

Martin Luther had a small head-start on Tyndale, as Luther declared his intolerance for the Roman Churchs corruption on Halloween in 1517, by nailing his 95 Theses of Contention to the ittenberg Church door! Luther, who would be e"iled in the months following the #iet of orms Council in 1521 that was designed to martyr him, would translate the $ew Testament into %erman for the first time from the &5&' %ree(-Latin $ew Testament of )rasmus, and publish it in *eptember of 1522! Luther also published a %erman +entateuch in &5,-, and another edition of the %erman $ew Testament in &5,9! .n the &5-/s he would go on to publish the entire 0ible in %erman! 1artin Luther 2$o3ember &/, &45- - 6ebruary &5, &54'7 was a Christian theologian and 8ugustinian mon( whose teachings inspired the +rotestant Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of +rotestant and other Christian traditions! 1artin Luther was born to Hans and 1argaretha Luder on &/ $o3ember &45- in )isleben, %ermany and was baptised the ne"t day on the feast of *t! 1artin of Tours, after whom he was named! Luthers call to the Church to return to the teachings of the 0ible resulted in the formation of new traditions within Christianity and the Counter-Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church, culminating at the Council of Trent! His translation of the 0ible also helped to de3elop a standard 3ersion of the %erman language and added se3eral principles to the art of translation! Luther9s hymns spar(ed the de3elopment of congregational singing in Christianity! His marriage, on :une &-, &5,5, to ;atharina 3on 0ora, a former nun, began the tradition of clerical marriage within se3eral Christian traditions!

Martin Luther's early life

1artin Luthers father owned a copper mine in nearby 1ansfeld! Ha3ing risen from the peasantry, his father was determined to see his son ascend to ci3il ser3ice and bring further honor to the family! To that end, Hans sent young 1artin to schools in 1ansfeld, 1agdeburg and )isenach! 8t the age of se3enteen in &5/& he entered the <ni3ersity of )rfurt! The young student recei3ed his 0achelor9s degree after =ust one year in &5/,> Three years later, in &5/5, he recei3ed a 1aster9s degree! 8ccording to his father9s wishes, 1artin enrolled in the law school of that uni3ersity! 8ll that changed during a thunderstorm in the summer of &5/5! 8 lightening bolt struc( near to him as he was returning to school! Terrified, he cried out, ?Help, *t! 8nne> .9ll become a mon(>? *pared of his life, but regretting his words, Luther (ept his bargain, dropped out of law school and entered the monastery there!

Luther's struggle to find peace with God

@oung 0rother 1artin fully dedicated himself to monastic life, the effort to do good wor(s to please %od and to ser3e others through prayer for their souls! @et peace with %od escaped him! He de3oted himself to fasts, flagellations, long hours in prayer and pilgrimages, and constant confession! The more he tried to do for %od, it seemed, the more aware he became of his sinfulness! :ohann 3on *taupitA, Luther9s superior, concluded the young man needed more wor( to distract him from pondering himself! He ordered the mon( to pursue an academic career! .n &5/B Luther was ordained to the priesthood! .n &5/5 he began teaching theology at the <ni3ersity of ittenberg! Luther earned his 0achelor9s degree in 0iblical *tudies on 9 1arch &5/5 and a 0achelor9s degree in the *entences by +eter Lombard, 2the main te"tboo( of theology in the 1iddle 8ges7 in &5/9! Cn &9 Cctober &5&,, the <ni3ersity of ittenberg conferred upon 1artin Luther the degree of #octor of Theology!

Martin Luther s E!angelical "isco!ery

The demands of study for academic degrees and preparation for deli3ering lectures dro3e 1artin Luther to study the *criptures in depth! Luther immersed himself in the teachings of the *cripture and the early church! *lowly, terms li(e penance and righteousness too( on new meaning! The contro3ersy that bro(e loose with the publication of his 95 Theses placed e3en more pressure on the reformer to study the 0ible! This study con3inced him that the Church had lost sight of se3eral central truths! To Luther, the most important of these was the doctrine that brought him peace with %od! ith =oy, Luther now belie3ed and taught that sal3ation is a gift of %od9s grace, recei3ed by faith and trust in %od9s promise to forgi3e sins for the sa(e of Christ9s death on the cross! This, he belie3ed was %od9s wor( from beginning to end!

Luther s 95 Theses
Cn Halloween of &5&B, Luther changed the course of human history when he nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at ittenberg, accusing the Roman Catholic church of heresy upon heresy! 1any people cite this act as the primary starting point of the +rotestant ReformationD though to be sure, :ohn ycliffe, :ohn Hus, Thomas Linacre, :ohn Colet, and others had already put the lifes wor( and e3en their li3es on the line for same cause of truth, constructing the foundation of Reform upon which Luther now built! Luther9s action was in great part a response to the selling of indulgences by :ohann TetAel, a #ominican priest! Luther9s charges also directly challenged the position of the clergy in regard to indi3idual sal3ation! 0efore long, Luthers 95 Theses of Contention had been copied and published all o3er )urope!

Here # $tand

Luther9s +rotestant 3iews were condemned as heretical by +ope Leo E in the bull )"surge #omine in &5,/! ConseFuently Luther was summoned to either renounce or reaffirm them at the #iet of orms on &B 8pril &5,&! hen he appeared before the assembly, :ohann 3on )c(, by then assistant to the 8rchbishop of Trier, acted as spo(esman for )mperor Charles the 6ifth! He presented Luther with a table filled with copies of his writings! )c( as(ed Luther if he still belie3ed what these wor(s taught! He reFuested time to thin( about his answer! %ranted an e"tension, Luther prayed, consulted with friends and mediators and presented himself before the #iet the ne"t day! hen the counselor put the same Fuestion to Luther the ne"t day, the reformer apologiAed for the harsh tone of many of his writings, but said that he could not re=ect the ma=ority of them or the teachings in them! Luther respectfully but boldly stated, ?Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.? Cn 1ay ,5, the )mperor issued his )dict of orms, declaring 1artin Luther an outlaw!

Luther in E%ile at the &artburg 'astle

Luther had powerful friends among the princes of %ermany, one of whom was his own prince, 6rederic( the ise, )lector of *a"ony! The prince arranged for Luther to be seiAed on his way from the #iet by a company of mas(ed horsemen, who carried him to the castle of the artburg, where he was (ept about a year! He grew a wide flaring beardG too( on the garb of a (night and assumed the pseudonym :Hrg! #uring this period of forced so=ourn in the world, Luther was still hard at wor( upon his celebrated translation of the 0ible, though he couldn9t rely on the isolation of a monastery! #uring his translation, Luther would ma(e forays into the nearby towns and mar(ets to listen to people spea(, so that he could put his translation of the 0ible into the language of the people! 8lthough his stay at the artburg (ept Luther hidden from public 3iew, Luther often recei3ed letters from his friends and allies, as(ing for his 3iews and ad3ice! 6or e"ample, Luthers closest friend, +hilipp 1elanchthon, wrote to him and as(ed how to answer the charge that the reformers neglected pilgrimages, fasts and other traditional forms of piety! Luther9s repliedI ?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 hrist be stronger, and re!oice in hrist who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. "e will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where !ustice resides. "e, however, says #eter $%. #eter &'(&) are loo*ing forward to a new heaven and a new earth where !ustice will reign.? JLetter 99!&-, To +hilipp 1elanchthon, & 8ugust &5,&!K

Martin Luther's Ger(an Bible

1artin Luther was the first person to translate and publish the 0ible in the commonly-spo(en dialect of the %erman people! He used the recent &5&' critical %ree( edition of )rasmus, a te"t which was later called te+tus receptus! The Luther %erman $ew Testament translation was first published in *eptember of &5,,! The translation of the Cld Testament followed, yielding an entire %erman language 0ible in &5-4! Luther is also (now to ha3e befriended illiam Tyndale, and gi3en him safe ha3en and assistance in using the same &5&' )rasmus %ree(-Latin +arallel $ew Testament that had been the source te"t for his %erman $ew Testament of &5,,, as the trustworthy source te"t for Tyndales )nglish $ew Testament of &5,5-,'!

Luther's &ritings
The number of boo(s attributed to 1artin Luther is Fuite impressi3e! Howe3er, some Luther scholars contend that many of the wor(s were at least drafted by some of his good friends li(e +hilipp 1elanchthon! Luthers boo(s e"plain the settings of the epistles and show the conformity of the boo(s of the 0ible to each other! Cf special note would be his writings about the )pistle to the %alatians in which he compares himself to the 8postle +aul in his defense of the %ospel! Luther also wrote about church administration and wrote much about the Christian home! Luther9s wor( contains a number of statements that modern readers would consider rather crude! 6or e"ample, Luther was (now to ad3ise people that they should literally L,ell the -evil he may *iss my ass.M .t should be remembered that Luther recei3ed many communications from throughout )urope from people who could write anonymously, that is, without the specter of mass media ma(ing their communications (nown! $o public figure today could write in the manner of the correspondences Luther recei3ed or in the way Luther responded to them! Luther was certainly a theologian of the middle-ages! He was an earthy man who en=oyed his beer, and was bold and often totally without tact in the blunt truth he 3ehemently preached! hile this offended many, it endeared him all the more to others! He was open with his frustrations and emotions, as well! Cnce, when as(ed if he truly lo3ed %od, Luther replied L.ove God/ Sometimes I hate Him0M Luther was also frustrated by the wor(s-emphasis of the boo( of :ames, calling it Lthe )pistle of *traw, and Fuestioning its canonicity! 8lso irritated with the comple" symbolism of the 0oo( of Re3elation, he once said that it too, was not canon, and that it should be thrown into the ri3er> He later retracted these statements, of course! Luther was a man who was easily misFuoted or ta(en out of conte"t! hile a brilliant theologian, and a bold reformer, he would not ha3e made a good politician! 0ut then, he ne3er aspired to any career in politics!

Martin Luther and )udais(

Luther initially preached tolerance towards the :ewish people, con3inced that the reason they had ne3er con3erted to Christianity was that they were discriminated against, or had ne3er heard the %ospel of Christ! Howe3er, after his o3ertures to :ews failed to con3ince :ewish people to adopt Christianity, he began preaching that the :ews were set in e3il, anti-Christian ways, and needed

to be e"pelled from %erman politics! .n his 1n the 2ews and ,heir .ies, he repeatedly Fuotes the words of :esus in 1atthew &,I-4, where :esus called them ?a brood of 3ipers and children of the de3il? Luther was Aealous toward the %ospel, and he wanted to protect the people of his homeland from the :ews who he belie3ed would be harmful influences since they did not recogniAe :esus as their *a3iour! .n Luther9s time, parents had a right and a duty to direct their children9s marriage choices in respect to matters of faith! Li(ewise, Luther felt a duty to direct his %erman people to cling to the :esus the :ews did not accept! .t should be noted that church law was superior to ci3il law in Luther9s day and that law said the penalty of blasphemy was death! hen Luther called for the deaths of certain :ews, he was merely as(ing that the laws that were applied to all other %ermans also be applied to the :ews! The :ews were e"empt from the church laws that Christians were bound by, most notably the law against charging interest!

Martin Luther's "eath

1artin Luther escaped martyrdom, and died of natural causes! His last written words were, ?3now that no one can have indulged in the Holy "riters sufficiently, unless he has governed churches for a hundred years with the prophets, such as 4li!ah and 4lisha, 2ohn the Baptist, hrist and the apostles... "e are beggars' this is true.?