Section 3: Enforcing Lutheranism Flashcards
arguments for Luther being conservative
- rejection of radicalism
- Followed St Augstine
- Influenced by St Paul
arguments for luther being revolutionary
- manipulated and nitpicked scripture (e.g. added phrase ‘alone’
- way of translating the bible was creative, and wordy
- obviously had a radical attack on the church
why was there a need for lutheranism to develop in the 1520s?
- the extremist crisis of the early 1520s called for emergency measures
- people needed to be put right on Luther’s key teachings
how did lutheranism develop on the 1520s?
- reforms were introduced in a rather haphazard way, not very well thought through meaning they often failed
- no central coordination from Wittenberg, secular rules in other states and cities used their own initiative
- there was therefore a lot of diversity in the lutheran churches
What does luthers contribution continue to mainly be in the 1520s?
Mainly writing:
- primary message was getting is message across accruarley
- provided a german bible and the Great Catechism for those who could read
- For the illiterate he wrote hams, commissioned didactic woodcuts, produced a Short Catechism that could be preached
- For both wrote a ew liturgy - the german mass - putting the sermon at the heart of the service
the doctrine of the real presence
- luther took the Gosepel literally and believed there was a ‘real presence’ in the bread and wine at the Eucharist
- This was disputed by more radical reformers like Zwingli and Calvin who believed it was symbolic
- Luther found this aspect of belief quite hard to explain and to some extent his teaching on this was not very clear
the doctrine of real presence: Marburg controversy
- By 1529, the catholic threat to the movement looked serious - it made sense for Luther to ally with the Zwingli based in Zurich. Reform would then have strength in numbers
- Philip of Hesse arranged a discussion meeting of Zwinglian and Lutheran theologians at his castle in Marburg, with both leading their teams
- The two sides agreed on 14/15 points of discussion. On the Eucharist however, no agreement could be found
Luthers translation of the bible - new testament
1522
- Complted the new testament whilst hidden in Wartburg castle.
- This was smuggled out + illustrated by Lucas Cranach and printed as the september testament
- 200,000 copies were sold over the next 12 years
Luthers translation of the bible - old testament
- Completed in 1534
- once of the most important texts of the day - the Wittenberg press alone printed 100,000 copies between 1534-1600
- he went to huge lengths to get it right. Spending days sometimes on one phrase.
- He wanted to make it accessible to everyone and written in simple, accessible lang.
Quote showing how Luther translated the bible
’ i aimed to make Moses so German that no one would suspect he was a Jew’
- came with controversy, he didn’t want a dull, literal translation
Justification by faith alone and the translation of the Bible
- Had particular difficulty with two contradictory phrases in the New testament, resolving them was crucial if his key doctrine (sola fide) was to have scriptural authority
- He manipulated the first text, by adding the word ‘alone’ to St Pauls words
- He publicly condemned the St James letter which read ‘faith if it hath not works, is dead’ as Jewish in character
How did people react to his manipulation of scripture to prove justification of faith alone?
- It was spotted by catholic opponents, yet Luther did not care
- However, he wrote a lengthly defence of his addition in 1530 for he sake of the concerned protestants, saying he felt the variation needed it
Luther and Hymns
- published his first collection of hymns in 1524
- his love for music came from his mother. he saw it as an opportunity to communicate with the illiterate
- He took folk songs he heard peasants singing in the fields and replaced the lyrics with christian teachings
The German mass
- Took a conservative approach:
- He issued broad guidelines in 1523 ‘concerning the order of public worship’ but only wrote the definitive German liturgy in 1526
- His Deutsche Mase set the semon at the heart of the service, rather than the Eucharist
- ## Other than this, a Lutheran mass would have been v similar to a catholic one.-He even allowed churches to retain unimportant catholic details if their congregation was conserbative. This meant there was considerable diversity in Lutheran churches
> e.g. in 1536 a visting pastor from Augsburg was shocked to see singing in latin and the elevation of bread in the Lutehranservice in Eisenach Saxony
Why did Luthers views on the eucharist cause beef
- caused controversy. he believed in consubstantiation
- his views seemed too catholic by many ‘left- wing’ reformers who thought it was purely symbolic/ memorable
- division weakened the reformers movement. I.e. Zwinglianism
The catechisms
- Following the death of Frederick the Wise (1525) his bro (a quiet Lutheran) John the Steadfast became elector of saxony
- Concerned about rising extremism, he immediately ordered a full inspection of saxons churches, effectively re-establishing the catholic practice of visitations
- Luther and colleagues devised and published detailed insturctions for the inspectors
Luthers inspection of a lutheran town
- he did an inspection himself
- was shocked by what he found in his own area
- ignorance prevailed even among the clergy
- the reformation may as well not have happened, traditional (almost pagan) beliefs still held sway in Saxony
(however could j be aftermath of peasants revolt)
Two Cathecisms
- Wrote in response to the failings revealed by the 1528-9 inspections
- instruction books in the form of Q and A
- ‘The great Catechism’: short manual for ministers and those who wanted a ‘deeper and fuller explanation’
- ‘the small Catechism’: short, dressing only key points of Faith (lords prayer, 10 commands, 2 sacraments)
> Written in simple lang, intended for a minster and his congregation or the master of his house and his household
catholic view on the bible
- the bible, popes, councils and the church fathers were of equal importance.
- The bible should remain in Latin in order to avoid misinterpretation by the ignorant.
- The pope was the ultimate arbiter on interpretation
catholic view on salvation
could be achieved through faith and good works with total obedience to the teachings of the catholic church
catholic view on the mass
- during mass, the miracle of transubstantiation occurs
- as they are ‘elevated’ by the priest, a bell is rung and the bread and wine are literally transformed into the body and blood of christ
- only those ordanied are allowed to take communion of both kinds
catholic view on the priesthood of all believers
- priests hold special and privileged position between man and god
- they alone have the right to administer the sacraments
- their unique status is reinforced by celibacy, special clothing and legal privileges
- since they are ordained their entry to heaven is gaureetned
catholic view on the sacraments
there are 7: baptism, confirmation, marriage, Eucharist, penance, last rites, ordination.
- they are all a means to salvation
catholic view on images
- images and statues of saints play a crucial role in educating the illiterate masses and in generating an emotional response
- donating images is a good work
catholic view on authority in the church
- The papacy has a scriptural basis
- The pope is a direct descendent of St Peter as as such is head of Christendom
catholic view on free will
belief is not free will - you will be saved by faith alone
lutheran view on the bible
- Believe in ‘sola scriptura’ - the truth concerning all spiritual l matters is in the scripture alone
- They must be translated into the vernacular to make the word of god accessible to all
- Interpretation however, must be reserved for state-approved preachers
lutheran view on salvation
‘sola fide’ - faith alone
faith is given freely to some by God, who unconditioanly washes away the sins of the faithful
lutheran view on the mass
no miracle occurs during communion, however the bread and wine contain the real presence of christ (consubstantiation)
the laity is allowed to take communion in both kinds
lutheran view on the preisthood of all believers
- there is no scriptural basis for a privileged priesthood,
- celibacy and monasticism etca are useless
- rather, a ‘priesthood of all believers’ exists: all men are equal spiritually in the eyes of god
- priests can marry
lutheran view on the sacraments
- only two: baptism and the Eucharist are criptural
- they are occasions for the recipient to be reminded of Gods saving power
lutheran view on images
certain images are idolatrous and detract attention from the word being preached. However those that have scriptal basis have educational value
lutheran view on authority of the church
the papacy is a non scriptural, man-made institution, the anti-christ sent by satan
lutheran view on free will
man has free will and can choose to do good or evil
