Posted on 03/25/2017 11:20:07 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
It is unlikely that Martin Luther set out to shatter authority. Yet the Reformation, which started with the publication of his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, set in motion a chain of events that fundamentally undermined the idea of authority itself. Luther demanded that the papacy respond to his criticisms of the Churchs moral failings. His actions did not simply call into question the moral authority of the Church. His defiant stand gave voice to a sentiment that would eventually provide legitimation for disobeying all forms of authority.
Luthers challenge to the papacys moral status converged with the ascendancy of secular political forces that challenged its power. This intermeshing of religious and political conflict, which eventually led to the disintegration of a united Christendom, also provoked an irresolvable debate about the locus of religious authority. Luthers claim that Christians could have direct access to God without the need for an intermediary threatened the role of the clergy and the Church hierarchy. His theology of reform also opened up a wider debate on obedience and resistance to political rule. The very idea of authority religious and political became, for the first time, a focus for philosophical debate. Until this point, authority was rarely questioned explicitly: the authority of individual rulers or the legitimacy of a particular claim to authority was challenged, but not authority itself.
Did Luther really hurl the legendary words Here I stand, so help me God, I can do no other at his accusers? In a sense it does not matter. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at historytoday.com ...
Keep in mind that a lot of biblical prophecy is not about “telling the future” but about God specifically bringing something to pass b/c He wants it to come to pass (sounds similar, but two somewhat different concepts here). The fact that God made a law to regulate the monarchy shows He intended for them to have a monarchy. It wasn’t some accident that God had to suddenly come up with a fix for.
Could you elaborate?
Exactly. Luther’s religious ideas were translated into political ideas.
This is where “self governance” was born, where each man is a sovereign.
Agreed. The USA would not exist without the notion of the sovereignty of the individual. Luther’s Theses meant nothing without that concept.
God knows, the Roman Catholic church never burned or tortured anyone. LOL !!!
Are you familiar with the law of sowing and reaping?
Your link goes on to say this:
“Furedi is associated with the web journal Spiked Online. Furedi maintains that society and universities are undergoing a politically driven ‘dumbing down’ process which is manifest in society’s growing inability to understand and assess the meaning of risk. The rise of the environmental and green movements parallels society’s growing obsession with risk. Furedi also attacks the scientific consensus on global warming,[5] and has criticised the prominent role played by science in policy formation.[6] As a humanist educator, he is critical of the attempt to subject schooling to technocratic and instrumentalist policy making.[7]
. . .
In 2008 he criticised opponents of American vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on the Spiked website.[8] He claims: ‘It seems that even fervent advocates of womens rights will adopt outdated and chauvinistic moral rhetoric when targeting a woman they do not like.’”
I'm sure that's true in the ------> KING <------ James Bible. But what about the Geneva Bible?
You ever thought that propping up kings under the guise of Biblical premise is a reason why James had the Geneva Bible banned and his own preferential version printed?
The Geneva Bible is known to be unflattering to monarchs. It was also known to be a popular version among the first settlers of the new world.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely - and Luther saw the result in the very human institution of the Roman Catholic Church. It could no longer claim many aspects of its writ were either “divine” or “divinely inspired”.
Ping
there is a vast difference between authority as exercised in the world today, and absolute authority as exercised by Popes and monarchs of yesterday.
PRESUMED authority maybe ...
Unfortunately, he became quite anti-Semitic.
The perversion of the Catholic church was easy to see.
Nicely said, and I agree.
for starters...Vatican was lots of ornate gold everything. Icons everywhere... The reformation church was pure white walls with no icons or distractions.....
to be continued....
Poor old Luther .. (no I am not a Lutheran) but the war against him misses who really has authority .. since the beginning .. and authority, sure was NOT passed off to some ‘man’ elected’ character calling himself ‘holy father’...
The next reformation will leave NO doubt about WHO has authority and WHO is in control.
The Word of God was not enough..along came “religion”, a particular system of faith and worship...becoming a kaleidoscope of faiths, many were forms of law and order...none are better than other.
He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.
Thank you for an educational and enlightening post. I had never heard of the Geneva Bible. I did some internet searching. Planning to buy one now!
Thanks again! And God bless you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.