November 10: Birthday of Martin Luther (1483)
Prayer Idea
Pray for people you know who are growing spiritually and think about how you can support them on their journey.
History Note
Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, now part of Germany. The Roman Catholic Church was the dominant form of Christianity in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Martin Luther decided to become a Catholic monk as a young man. When Luther visited Rome in 1510, he was aghast at the wealth and corruption he saw there.
Luther earnestly wanted spiritual peace. As he read the Bible, he saw an emphasis on grace and faith and a discrediting of the idea that works can earn salvation. He saw nothing to support the selling of indulgences and some other practices of the Catholic Church.
In 1517 Martin Luther published a list of 95 theses or points for discussion. This was a common practice for those who wanted to generate a public debate on some topic. What was different about Luther’s list was its length and its direct challenge to some Catholic practices.
Catholic leaders condemned Luther as a heretic, and in 1521, he was called to appear before Church and civic officials at the Diet (or Parliament) in the city of Worms. There Luther gave a famous speech defending what he had done.
One of his core beliefs was the value of the individual believer before God. Each Christian could approach God himself, Luther said, without the intercession of a priest. Every believer had the right and the necessity to study the Bible on his own, so Luther translated the Bible into German for all to read. His translation had a profound effect on the faith (and the language) of the German people.
Luther was not perfect. He was so sure about his ideas that he strongly opposed any who disagreed with him. He wanted the freedom to think anew, but he did not necessarily grant that freedom to others. He was harshly critical of poor people who rebelled against the heavy taxes of the German lords, even encouraging their being put to death by the authorities. Near the end of his life, he wrote strongly in favor of persecution against Jews.
Luther did not intend to break from the Catholic Church but only to reform it. To him, the church was simply the church and he wanted to reform its practices. When the Catholic Church did not accept his reforms and excommunicated those who followed him, Luther’s fellow believers decided that they were a separate fellowship from that led by the pope.
Unfortunately, Catholics who considered themselves Christians and Protestants who considered themselves Christians often fought with each other over the next few centuries, while Protestant groups divided from one another over differences in perspective and practice. Human beings struggle to hold their own convictions strongly while giving grace to other people to learn and grow and come to their own conclusions about important matters.
This hymn book is open to Martin Luther’s hymn, “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). Photo by Paul T. McCain / CC BY-SA 2.5.
Learn More
In 1529 Martin Luther wrote “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” based on Psalm 46. It was soon translated into English and Swedish. The words and music have inspired generations of Christians. This performance is by the Roger Wagner Chorale.
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