Will the Real Martin Luther Please Stand Up

FAIRLDS ^ | by John A. Tvedtnes

[Old Mountain man]

Looks like your boy Luther is sort of low down himself so you might want to revise your opinion. History sometimes reveals feet of clay to your mainstream heroes, doesn’t it?

[TheDon]

In recent years, a number of scholarly papers have discussed Martin Luther's belief in theosis, the concept that humans are destined to become gods through Christ.28 Lutheran Bishop Michael McDaniel, in a paper read at a dialogue with eastern Orthodox clergy, wrote that "Luther can write that 'the one who has faith is a completely divine man, a son of God, the inheritor of the universe. He is the victor over the world, sin, death, and the devil'; and, in a clear and unqualified affirmation of theosis: 'Faith makes a man God.'"29

Franz Posset quotes Luther that "'to be born of God is to acquire the nature of God;' 'God's grace makes man deiform and deifies him;' '/Christ/ becomes totally man and we become totally deified;' 'The person who is in the Father becomes deified. We are made 'gods.'" He concludes: "Deification was for Luther the synonym for justification and sanctification."30

Thanks for the post. The above was some of the more fascinating quotes for me! I'll have to look up the references.