Martin luther - contribution Flashcards
BACKGROUND – MARTIN LUTHER
o Born In the holy roman empire in saxony (modern day Germany) in 1483-1546
o Augustinian monk – followed the rule of St. Augustine – Augustine roots are really important in informing his contributions
o Ascetic - took a vow of poverty and practiced severe self-discipline
o very contemplative spiritual life - like St Augustine, intense focus on salvation through grace
o Doctor of theology, being the study of the nature of god and the divine and a lecturer at university of Wittenberg
o Predominantly known for being a key figure in influencing a series of events which led to the protestant reformation and the schism of Christianity
o All aspects of Luther’s contribution focus on re-establishing the relationship between the individual and god and bringing the focus of Christian faith back to its roots in the scripture
CONTRIBUTION: THEOLOGY
o Living in the 16th century, attitude people had towards god was pretty different to what Luther had in mind - people saw god as someone to fear and really didn’t have much of a connection to him.
o Luther challenged this - made big deal about how Christianity should be establishing a personal relationship with god without hierarchy or church authority
o came out of detailed biblical study - inspired his writings and theological contributions
o 5 Solas that emphasised his convictions about what Christianity should be
- Sola scriptura or “scripture alone” which proclaims that the bible alone is the highest authority
- Sola fide or “faith alone” saying that Christians are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ
- Sola Gratia or “grace alone” outlining that Christians are saved by the grace of god alone
- Solus Christus or “Christ alone “establishing Jesus Christ alone as Christians’ lord, saviour and kind
- Soli Deo Gloria or “to the glory of god alone” proclaiming that Christians live for the glory of god alone
o ‘The church does not make the Word, but it comes into being from the Word’ Martin Luther
o Challenged traditional church teachings such as devotion to Mary, the intercession of the saints, those sacraments derived of church tradition, the authority of the pope and principle of purgatory
o Denotes the priority of scripture over church tradition as a source of doctrine
Sola Faith:
o Denotes that salvation is granted solely by faith and not faith and good works
o Resulted in a re-evaluation of the nature of God
o Challenged traditional church teachings such as indulgences, pilgrimages, sacraments, the role and authority of clergy as mediators between God and the individual
Rejected transubstantiation introduced consubstantiation: the bread and wine coexist with the body and blood of Christ
Doctrine of Faith: belief not action, emphasised Luther’s beliefs about what Christianity should be. Through his theology, Luther contributed to a conception of Christianity which focused on bringing the tradition back to its foundations in the Bible, Jesus, and God. Therefore, Luther’s’ theological reforms contributed to a closer relationship with God
CONTRIBUTION: INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
Luther used his 95 theses to put pressure on the Church to overhaul their malpractices such as selling indulgences. Although this led to his condemnation, the development of the printing press and his support from the German nobility allowed his ideas to gain significant following
o Luther states “The Pope may speak the truth, but it isn’t the truth because the Pope speaks it”.
o “The declaration of the Pope are not the words of God therefore cannot agree to the heresy.
Establishment of the principle of the Priesthood of all Believers
o Denotes the precedent of the ordinary Christian as a priest on behalf of others
o Emphasises the absolute authority of the individual conscience; ‘Here I stand, I can do no other’ Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms
o Suggested that all Christians have the capacity to maintain their own relationship w God and thus their own fate
o ‘Those who are no called ‘spiritual’, that is, priests, bishops or popes, are neither different from other Christians nor superior to them… a cobbler, a smith, a peasant – each has the work and office of his trade, yet they are all “consecrated priests and bishops”. Further, everyone must benefit and serve every other by mean of his own work or office’ Martin Luther in an open letter to the Christian nobility
o Challenged traditional church teachings such as the authority of the clergy
Establishment of the principle of consubstantiation
o Denotes the conviction that Christ is truly present within the Eucharist but the bread and wine do not miraculously convert to the body and blood of Christ
o Challenged traditional church teaching of transubstantiation, by which Christ is truly present within the Eucharist and the bread and wine miraculously convert to the body and blood of Christ
o Signifies a shift in focus from doctrine based on traditional scholastic philosophy to a biblical based philosophy
Re-evaluation of the sacramental structure of the church
o Proposes that there are only two sacraments denoted by scripture
o Eg Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
o Confirmation, reconciliation, marriage, Holy Orders and the Anointing of the Sick are therefore invalid
o As outlined in The Babylonian Captivity of the Church
o Protestant Churches thereby consider Baptism and Communion as the only sacraments or practices directly instituted by Christ
o Confirmation, reconciliation, marriage, Holy Orders and/or the Anointing of the Sick, or the equivalent, form religious rituals practiced by the church
CONTRIBUTION: LITURGICAL REFORMS
In Luther’s context, the church service was somewhat superficial and did not focus on the word of God
Luther wanted to take the mass back to what it was intended to be: a celebration of the word of God
o “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” – Romans 10:17
o This teaching inspired Luther to translate the Bible in the local language, German, in 1522, so it could be accessed by the common people
In accordance with his theology of ‘sola scriptura’ Luther established that Christians should worship the Bible alone
o Also rejected 5 of the 7 sacraments, keeping Baptism and the Eucharist as they are the only ones mentioned in the Scriptures
o Luther established that the church could provide worship in the language of the people
o This enabled those who were less educated or had less theological experience to access their faith
- Reinforces the focus of his contribution = bringing the individual closer to God
- Through stripping back the mass to focus on the relationship between adherents and the word of God, Luther significantly reformed the Christian faith by allowing adherents to have more capacity to express their faith, as they were better able to understand the message being preached
CONTRIBUTION: LITURGICAL REFORMS Translation of the Bible into the vernacular
o An extension of the belief of the Priesthood of all Believers and Sola Scriptura
o Luther is recorded to have wanted ordinary people to ‘feel’ the words of the Scripture ‘in the heart’
o Eg Luther’s translation of the Bible into German at Wartburg Castle in 1521
CONTRIBUTION: LITURGICAL REFORMS Translation of the liturgy into the vernacular
o An extension of the belief of the Priesthood of all Believers
o Luther wanted to the service to be all-inclusive, rather than an exclusive membership of Latin-speakers; offer an intimate and engaging connection w Christ; offer a better understanding of the scriptures
CONTRIBUTION: LITURGICAL REFORMS o Introduction of the practice of clerical marriage
o An extension of the belief of Sola Scriptura
o This contended traditional church teachings such as clerical celibacy and the nature of monasticism
o Supported by Luther’s marriage to former nun Katharina von Bora June 13, 1525s
