Posted on 10/31/2017 4:51:44 AM PDT by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Five hundred years ago today, the Augustinian monk Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses to the chapel door of Germany’s University of Wittenberg. And for much of the ensuing half-millennium, the man who begat the Protestant Reformation has been reviled by the Catholic Church.
Indeed, the view of Luther among many if not most of today’s Catholics is informed by a polemic written by the not entirely objective Catholic clergyman Henry George Ganss. It was published in the Catholic Encyclopedia all the way back in 1910 and republished on the Internet in 1995.
Ganss suggested that Luther was given to “uncontrolled rage.” That he exhibited “psychopathic” tendencies. That he suffered “satanic delusion.” That his observations were “highly exaggerated, frequently contradictory, and commonly misleading.” That he “hated God.” And that he “blasphemed God.”
But that was just so much defamation. Luther’s real offense, in the eyes of those who though him a heretic, who believed him justifiably excommunicated by Pope Leo X, is that he had the temerity to accuse the Holy Roman Catholic Church of slouching towards corruption.
Five centuries and 50 pontiffs later, Pope Francis declared last year that Luther was done a historic injustice. “I think the intentions of Martin Luther were not mistaken,” the Holy Father said. “He was a reformer.”
Moreover, Pope Francis continued, there was during the time of Luther “corruption in the Church. There was worldliness, attachment to money, to power… and this he protested.”
Luther’s 95 Theses concentrated primarily on the Church’s profane practice of selling so-called “indulgences,” which was the currency of the economy of salvation. While penitent sinners were forgiven and would no go to hell after they died, without indulgences, certificates bearing the pope’s imprimatur, they would still face punishment both on this side of the grave and in purgatory.
So it was that Pope Leo ramped up the selling of indulgences to finance construction of St. Peter’s Basilica, sending indulgence preachers to shakedown the Catholic laity. And so it was that Luther decried the Church’s money-changers, who misled the laity into believing that God’s grace could be purchased.
Clearly, the 16th century Church had strayed far from the teachings of the Church that traces its origins to the Apostle Peter, who condemned those who thought the gifts of God could be purchased. Indeed, in Acts 8 Peter tells a sorcerer who offers money to receive the Holy Spirit, “Your money perish with you because you thought the gifts of God could be purchased with money.”
The Protestant Reformation Martin Luther begat saved Christianity be eschewing the corrupt practices of the mid-century Roman Catholic Church in favor of a doctrine based on the Five Solas: Sola Scriptura, which declares the Bible alone is our highest authority; Sola Fide, we have been saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ; Sola Gratia, we are saved by the grace of God alone; Sola Christus, Jesus Christ alone is our Lord and Savior; and Sola Deo Gloria; we live for the glory of God alone.
Because of Martin Luther, Pope Francis said, “Today Lutherans and Catholics, and Protestants, all of us agree on the doctrine of justification. On this point, which is very important, he did not err.”
Just stopping by to observe that — as expected — Google has a theme today and has chosen to celebrate Halloween.
The 500th anniversary of Martin Luther and his 95 theses? Google has no time for such fluff.
Same guy called Italy’s foremost tire pump abortionist a treasure, so take his praise for what it’s worth.
William Blake
A bit conflicted.
I don’t trust this pope. Not much anyway.
Yet this article paints a picture I can agree with. Makes me want to see the direct quotes.
Yeah. I do wonder if his meds are off.
If the quote is accurate, he is pushing for a reunification.
Don”t give this destructive communist credit for anything. The Catholic Church has said as much for some time now.
He's a terrible Pope, and a terrible theologian.
Which of the canons of Trent on justification were wrong, Holiness? Which of those infallibly taught canons would you like to "repeal"?
That is not to say that Luther was wrong on everything he said, nor that all of his Catholic contemporaries were right all of the time. And many modern Protestants have backed away from Luther actually said, or never believed it in the first place.
Luther's doctrine of extrinsic grace is not compatible with Catholicism at all, nor is his idea that saving faith is identical to the conviction that God has saved me personally, nor is his idea that loss of faith is the only real mortal sin.
“Ganss suggested that Luther was given to “uncontrolled rage.” That he exhibited “psychopathic” tendencies. That he suffered “satanic delusion.” That his observations were “highly exaggerated, frequently contradictory, and commonly misleading.” That he “hated God.” And that he “blasphemed God.””
1) The idea that “the view of Luther among many if not most of today’s Catholics is informed by a polemic written by the not entirely objective Catholic clergyman Henry George Ganss” IS RIDICULOUS.
After all Ganss view was, in fact, well borne out by historical events, Luther’s own comments, earlier works before Ganss and so on. How would the author of this ridiculously ill-informed piece explain how Grisar was writing at the same time - actually years earlier too - and came to the same conclusions as Ganss??? http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48995
Grisar was writing in German and might not have even known English. His work was finished YEARS BEFORE Ganss’ article and yet they come to very similar conclusions.
2) What about Herbert David Rix? His book clearly shows Luther to have had the same tendencies supposedly falsely ascribed to him by Ganss.
The author of this article seems to have no clue about the development of literature about Luther.
Did Luther live to a ripe, Old Age?
BAWWWWWWWWWWW.
Yes, I believe he did, married, children, not burned at the sake like so many other reformers...
First half false, second half true.
Even a stopped clock can be right twice a day.
Foxes Book ....
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.