Author: Robert Smith

Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt (known as Karlstadt) was a professor of theology at Wittenberg when Martin Luther arrived at the university. Born in the village of Karlstadt not far from Frankfort on the Main River. He attended the University of Erfurt at the same time Luther was studying for a law degree. From there he studied at Cologne and Wittenberg, was ordained a priest and served at the Elector‘s Castle Church. After becoming a Doctor of Theology, he briefly studied canon law in Rome.

In any other time or place, Karlstadt would have been a significant figure. He was learned, insightful and committed to what he believed. Yet he lived in the shadow of a genius who changed the world and ended up more of footnote in the history of the Reformation. Like St. Peter, he lived life governed by his heart, with all the subtlety of a loaded freight train. At the beginning of the Reformation, he was a loyal friend and ally of Luther’s, one of the first to be convinced of the truth of the Reformer’s insights. When Martin Luther received his Doctor of Theology degree, it was Karlstadt who conferred it.

In 1517, he lectured on Saint Augustine’s book, On the Spirit and the Letter, a work on Law and Gospel. When Johann Eck’s criticisms of the Ninety-Five theses were published, Karlstadt waded into the debate to defend his friend and his university. In May 1518, Karlstadt published his book Apologeticae conclusiones, which directly challenged Eck. He argued that man could not of his own free will do anything to earn God’s grace, but only receive it as a gift. He insisted, as did Luther, that Scripture is the final authority in matters of theology.

Johann Eck responded in August 1518 with theses on the relationship between grace, free will, penance and indulgences. He challenged Karlstadt to debate them. In the following months, he added theses, that on the surface appeared to attack the professor, but were really aimed at Martin Luther. Luther, who had been trying to bring the two together felt betrayed and entered the war of words.

Unlike the Ninety-Five theses, which were never publicly debated, the theses flying back and forth between Eck, Karlstadt and Luther were explored in the Leipzig Disputation, five hundred years ago today. This conference made it clear to everyone, including Martin Luther, that the reformers would accept no authority but the Holy Scriptures in faith and the teachings of the church — not even the pope or church councils. The breach between Rome and Wittenberg was not able to be closed.

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

Johann Maier von Eck (known as Eck) was born the son of a judge in the little town of Eck, a Swabian village between Stuttgart and Augsburg. A child prodigy like Philip Melanchthon, he enrolled at Heidelberg University at age eleven and earned his Doctor of Theology degree by age twenty-four from the University of Freiburg. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1508. In 1510, he moved to the university at Ingolstadt where he earned a second doctoral degree and joined the faculty.

Eck quickly became a leading figure in the German Humanist movement. As a true Renaissance man, in wrote works in many fields, especially philosophy and theology. One of his major works, called Chrysopassus explored the doctrine of predestination. He argued that God predestined people because he could see in advance the sins and good works they would perform. He and Martin Luther struck up a friendship over their shared interest in reforming university education based upon the insights of the Renaissance. He earned a reputation as a skilled debater, not exactly known for his subtlety — just like Luther.

When the Indulgence Controversy broke out, the Bishop of Eichstätt requested Eck’s opinion on the 95 Theses. He wrote what were more or less footnotes on them. Someone leaked this private opinion to the printers and soon the criticisms were published with the title Obelisks. Luther soon fired off a response entitled Asterisks. The friendship came to an end as Eck assumed the role of Luther’s chief and most skilled opponent.

Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt (known as Karlstadt), a colleague of Luther at Wittenberg, rose to the reformer’s defense. Soon Eck and Karlstadt agreed to meet in a disputation (a debate). Under the sponsorship of George “The Beard,” Duke of Saxony, cousin of Luther’s prince, the conference convened five hundred years ago tomorrow in Leipzig. It became know as the Leipzig Disputation and was the event that set in motion Luther’s excommunication.

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com