Posted on 02/05/2015 9:29:51 AM PST by RnMomof7
What caused the Reformation?
Many people might answer that question by pointing to Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.
But if you were to ask Luther himself, he would not point to himself or his own writings. Instead, he would give all the credit to God and His Word.
Near the end of his life, Luther declared: “All I have done is put forth, preach and write the Word of God, and apart from this I have done nothing. . . . It is the Word that has done great things. . . . I have done nothing; the Word has done and achieved everything.”
Elsewhere, he exclaimed: “By the Word the earth has been subdued; by the Word the Church has been saved; and by the Word also it shall be reestablished.”
Noting Scripture’s foundational place in his own heart, Luther wrote: “No matter what happens, you should say: There is God’s Word. This is my rock and anchor. On it I rely, and it remains. Where it remains, I, too, remain; where it goes, I, too, go.”
Luther understood what caused the Reformation. He recognized that it was the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God preached by men of God in a language that the common people of Europe could understand and when their ears were exposed to the truth of God’s Word it pierced their hearts and they were radically changed.
It was that very power that had transformed Luther’s own heart, a power that is summarized in the familiar words of Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
During the late middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church had imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language, a language the common people of Europe did not speak. The Reformers unlocked the Scriptures by translating them. And once the people had the Word of God, the Reformation became inevitable.
We see this commitment to the Scriptures even in the centuries prior to Martin Luther, beginning with the Forerunners to the Reformation:
In the 12th century, the Waldensians translated the New Testament from the Latin Vulgate into their regional French dialects. According to tradition, they were so committed to the Scriptures that different Waldensian families would memorize large sections of the Bible. That way, if Roman Catholic authorities found them and confiscated their printed copies of Scripture, they would later be able to reproduce the entire Bible from memory.
In the 14th century, John Wycliffe and his associates at Oxford translated the Bible from Latin into English. Wycliffe’s followers, known as the Lollards, went throughout the countryside preaching and singing passages of Scripture in English.
In the 15th century, Jan Huss preached in the language of the people, and not in Latin, making him the most popular preacher in Prague at the time. Yet, because Huss insisted that Christ alone was the head of the church, not the pope, the Catholic Council of Constance condemned him for heresy and burned him at the stake (in 1415).
In the 16th century, as the study of Greek and Hebrew were recovered, Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, with the New Testament being completed in 1522.
In 1526, William Tyndale completed a translation of the Greek New Testament into English. A few years later he also translated the Pentateuch from Hebrew. Shortly thereafter he was arrested and executed as a heretic—being strangled and then burned at the stake. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Tyndale’s last words were “Lord, Open the King of England’s Eyes.” And it was just a couple years after his death that King Henry VIII authorized the Great Bible in England—a Bible that was largely based on Tyndale’s translation work. The Great Bible laid the foundation for the later King James version (which was completed in 1611).
The common thread, from Reformer to Reformer, was an undying commitment to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, such that they were willing to sacrifice everything, including their own lives, to get the Word of God into the hands of the people.
They did this because they understood that the power for spiritual reformation and revival was not in them, but in the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:16–17). And they used the Latin phrase Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) to emphasize the truth that God’s Word was the true power and ultimate authority behind all they said and did.
It was ignorance of Scripture that made the Reformation necessary. It was the recovery of the Scripture that made the Reformation possible. And it was the power of the Scripture that gave the Reformation its enduring impact, as the Holy Spirit brought the truth of His Word to bear on the hearts and minds of individual sinners, transforming them, regenerating them, and giving them eternal life.
Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.Peace,
I am afraid I do not know why you addressed this to me.
Your comment on King Henry in post #59 was what got my attention. The original statement wasn’t that Henry was some great guy, but that through him Tyndale’s prayer was answered.
Peace,
SR
Your comment on King Henry in post #59 was what got my attention. The original statement wasn’t that Henry was some great guy, but that through him Tyndale’s prayer was answered.
Peace,
SR
It appears to me to be an out-of-context garbled quote from Tyndale, which after some careful editing was put into Luther's mouth...although if memory serves there was possibly some frustration expressed by Luther in some other manner in regards to some of the 'biblical' arguments which arose, after the great many had more direct access to the Scriptures, themselves.
“You should never believe everything you read on the Internet.”
Abraham Lincoln
Sounds plausible. Thanks. :)
“Imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language.” I suppose dishonesty doesn’t really matter when your attacking Rome.”
Now that’s rich since very few common folks of the time read Latin. Oh yeah Latin was mostly for the rich folks such as rich money donors. Then you have the loss of translation accuracy when you go from Greek to Latin to Native language. It’s bad enough going from Greek to Native language, but add a third language for no reason and it gets all jacked up. Oh I love how you put catholic saint preaching in their native language, but how dare they be able to read the Scripture for themselves. Your denomination doesn’t teach IAW Scripture anyways, so what does it matter. It’s all about the catechism and tradition right? Funny how the COT made some salvation changing tradition changes, but you still claim that it came from the Apostles. Read your own history and you will realize that you have been boondoggled.
Nor should you believe everything that the Catholic Church teaches, but believe everything that the Holy Scripture teaches.
Oh yes, “Saint” Luther. Such a wonderful person. lol. Here are some charming Luther quotes:”Their synagogues ... should be set on fire.”
“Their homes should be broken down and destroyed. They ought to be put under one roof or in a stable, like Gypsies, in order that they may realize that they ... are ... but miserable captives.”
“They should be deprived of their prayerbooks and Talmuds.”
“Their rabbis must be forbidden under threat of death to teach any more.”
“What shall we Christians do now with this depraved and damned people of the Jews? ... I will give my faithful advice: First, that one should set fire to their synagogues. . . . Then that one should also break down and destroy their houses. . . . That one should drive them out the country.”
Here are some of his charming views on women:
“Even though they grow weary and wear themselves out with child- bearing, it does not matter; let them go on bearing children till they die, that is what they are there for.
“The word and works of God is quite clear, that women were made either to be wives or prostitutes.”
And, those quotes are just the tip of the iceberg. Luther was a bigoted , misogynistic, horrible little man. He was no Christian.
He lived in an anti-Semitic society and you’re judging him by the standards of today. I could easily find another 20 very prominent people in history that were deeply flawed. That does little or nothing to their contributions to society. And surprisingly, you don’t get to judge who is and who isn’t a Christian. Nice try, though.
That is why I use the Bible as my guide, not sinful men. It is offensive to hear of people glorifying Luther, Calvin & other wicked men. They were no saints, not even close.
~James 4:11
That’s ironic, considering how the Protestants on FR take every opportunity to judge Catholics & tell them how they are going to Hell. Yes, I realize that in those days that people were ignorant about women & Jews. Those comments prove, though, that Luther was very flawed & wasn’t as holy as people today make him out to be. BTW, I wasn’t slandering, those quotes came straight from Luther. There are also “Church Fathers” who have pretty offensive, sinful views.
Point out to me where I have ever “judged” Catholics (which would be ironic since my wife is one) anywhere here going back to the day I joined in 2006. I’ll wait. And where, exactly, did I say that Martin Luther was “holy?”
Men had replaced God in the church with political maneuvering. It was no longer the church of Christ, it was the church of man.
Why bring RabbitGate into this?
Oh, wait. You didn't. That portion was quoted from someone's (I don't know who's) now-deleted comment.
So, my mistake. Carry on, as you were...
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