Encore Post: Most people think of October 31st, 1517 as the anniversary of the Lutheran Church. However, Martin Luther and most Lutheran historians disagree. On the day that Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses, he was very much a Catholic. In fact, Luther on this day was upset that people did not have to suffer enough for their sins, and were being let off the hook way too easy. You could say he was more Catholic than the Pope. Considering the nature of Pope Leo X, he was.
On the first Reformation day, the Reformation was just beginning. We only first begin to recognize Luther’s complete theology in his writings in 1520. And it really wasn’t until 1529 that the reformers and their princes began to think of the Lutheran tradition as a separate faith.
Emperor Charles V had many problems in 1529. The Turkish Empire of Suleiman the Great had invaded Austria and laid siege to Vienna. France and the Pope were constantly challenging his Authority in southern Europe. He very badly wanted to unify his German territories under Roman Catholic control. So he called all the territories together at Augsburg for a meeting of the Holy Roman Empire.
Elector John of Saxony, Luther’s Prince, commissioned Luther and his friends to create a unified statement of the disputes between the Pope and the Lutheran territories. The result was a document called the Augsburg confession. All of the Lutheran princes who attended the diet of Augsburg sign the document as their own faith.
On June 25th 1530, the Augsburg confession was presented to Charles V by the Lutheran princes. To this day, June 25th is known as the birthday of Lutheran Church.
As Time passed, the Augsburg Confession gained acceptance by Lutheran territories and theologians. It became the standard for what we believe and confess and remained so. Today, every Lutheran Pastor pledges to teach according to the Augsburg Confession and the other documents contained in the book of Concord 1580.
©2018 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
This is a great history. Thanks and stay bless. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY CHURCH, THE LUTHERAN CHURCH.
You write: “In fact, Luther on this day was upset that people did not have to suffer enough for their sins, and were being let off the hook way too easy.”
This is incorrect as evidenced by Theses 82: “Why does not the Pope deliver all souls at the same time out of Purgatory for the sake of most holy love and on account of the bitterest distress of those souls – this being the most imperative of all motives, – while he saves an infinite number of souls for the sake of that most miserable thing money, to be spent on St. Peter’s Minster: – this being the very slightest of motives?”
Thanks for the note! We don’t have the space to go into this, but I stand by the note. See p 200 of Dr Mackenzie’s article: http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/MacKenzieTheNinety…
When Luther said “Here I stand,” he had at least cogently argued from the primary sources of Scripture and the Church Fathers. To simply say “I stand by the note” and offer MacKenzie, who is a secondary source (from a nonfunctional 404 link) over Luther himself does not advance your claim. Luther’s clear point that “the most imperative of all motives” for the Theses is for the delivery of “all souls at the time out of Purgatory for the sake of most holy love and on account of the bitterest distress of those souls” (82); in order that they be freed “for pure love’s sake” “because of the need of [those] pious and beloved soul[s]” (84) comports perfectly with his earlier discovery of the doctrine of justification by faith and not by works. “Cur Papa non evacuat purgatorium propter sanctissimam charitatem et summam animarum necessitatem ut causam omnium iustissimam.” WA I, 237
To claim without evidence that when posting the 95 Theses Luther was upset that people “did not have to suffer enough for their sins” is both historically incorrect and theologically untenable.
Dear Kristian:
I’m not sure why the link does not work. Try this link: http://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/MacKenzieTheNinety-FiveThesesandWhyTheyAreStillImportant.pdf My point is there this is not a good venue for a debate. Dr. MacKenzie’s article lays out all the evidence in detail. I’ll not rehearse it here. So, I’ll not do it.
Thank you for the link, Robert. It worked. My point is just that you appear to be doing MacKenzie an injustice who does not suggest that “Luther on this day [Oct. 30, 1517] was upset that people did not have to suffer enough for their sins.” His reference is WA 3, 416 where he says, “As early as his first Psalms lectures (1513–1516), he had complained that people were trying to get into heaven too easily with indulgences.” The issue for Luther in his lecture on Psalm 69 is faith over spiritual laziness, namely that the only sincere heart is one that regards itself as being nothing in order to become something. Neither Luther nor MaKenzie, though, suggest that sinners do not suffer enough for their sins, nor that Luther was of that mind on All Hallowed Eve in 1517. Thanks again for the opportunity to comment.
For a more in-depth look at Luther’s thoughts I recommend:
https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luthers-PRIESTHOOD-ALL-BELIEVERS/dp/1537547372
Dear Kristian: my point is that a comment section on a blog is not a good place to discuss a scholarly point. That is why I am not taking you up on it here. The purpose of my blog is not to write scholarly essays, nor get into the weeds that are necessary when engaging in such discussions. I’ve learned that moderating internet forums for over thirty years. So forgive me if I don’t engage. I and my spiritual son, Rev. Hercamp, have about 400 words to make one point. And do it in plain English. So, I’ll let it rest.