Garmin morris biography of martin luther

May God help me. Luther was condemned as an outlaw and thereafter he feared for his life. However, he managed to remain hidden for several months, before returning to Wittenberg to preach more of his anti-clerical speeches and doctrines. In this period he also translated the Bible from Greek to German. Martin Luther also married an ex-nun thereby giving the seal of approval for clerical marriages in the Protestant tradition.

With his wife, Katharina von Bora they had five children. During —there was a widespread peasants revolt in Germany and Central Europe. The revolt, which had a mixture of economic, social and religious causes was often supported by Protestant clergy who emphasised the equality of all people. However, Martin Luther vigorously opposed the Revolt, writing a pamphlet Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasantswhich made his opposition clear.

In these final years, he spent more time writing anti-Semitic tracts. At first, he wished to see the Jewish people converted to Christianity.

Garmin morris biography of martin luther

But, when they seemed uninterested in conversion, he called for the force-able removal of Jews from Germany. Melissa Kruger. Ray Ortlund. Erik Raymond. Scotty Smith. Justin Taylor. Trevin Wax. Learn More. Advertise on TGC. Lewis Justin Taylor. We know that the Reformation involved a tangling of politics and power strugglesecclesiology, technology, and theology.

The English variant is an especially interesting example of that intermingling—and it also shows how these powerful ideas traveled across lands and seas. Plus, Yale University Press does just beautiful books. Ryrie explores how the Bible, as a complex document which only grows in complexity and ambiguity over time and with every new translation, continues to inspire both faith and divisions.

Eire Yale University Press, If you asked me for a single book, just one resource on the Reformation, this would be the one. He also gives positive attention to the diversities within Catholicism and its own internal reformation movements—with a final part dedicated to early extensions of Reformation, through movements like German pietism. And did I mention that Yale University Press does beautiful books?

This book has received a lot of attention, and rightly so. In other words, the Reformation would never have happened without technology. A historian at Notre Dame, Professor Gregory gives us a sober and, depending on your point of viewsomber analysis of the legacy of Martin Luther for Christianity in the modern world. Whether you view this more somber analysis of the legacy of Luther as a ultimately a good or a bad thing, these points need to be taken seriously and honestly.

Nunes Eerdmans, This is a stunning fact—and a powerful way to introduce the significance and timeliness of this book. Marty Paraclete Press, Soldiers in Charles V's army sacked Rome when they had not been paid for their services. Charles was embarrassed by the actions of his men and the overall lack of discipline within his army. Nevertheless, he used the situation to promise protection to the pope, who had been opposed to Charles's efforts to bring Italy into the empire.

In return, the pope had to give Charles control of Rome and the Papal States territories ruled by the pope in central and northern Italy. After the new alliance was formed between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, the second Speyer meeting was held in March Both Charles and Clement were determined to strike a blow against the evangelical movement and its leaders.

By the evangelical movement had been weakened by internal fighting. Philip of Hesse and Duke John of Saxony — were both avid supporters of the Reformation, and they had been using their political positions to bring pressure on the Holy Roman Empire. They announced that they would withdraw support for the empire's campaign against the Ottomans if the Catholic Church did not garmin morris biography of martin luther the religious rights of the evangelicals.

Byhowever, the threat of Ottoman aggression had reached an alarming level. Philip and John of Saxony lost support, and with the evangelical movement splitting into different groups, imperial officials decided to act. On April 30,they repealed the Diet of Speyer compromise of and called for a return to the Catholic faith in all German provinces.

Evangelical worship was no longer supported or allowed within the Holy Roman Empire. A number of evangelicals protested the new policy, but both Ferdinand and Charles V rejected any compromise. It is because of these objections, or protests, that those allied with the evangelical movement became known as "Protestants. Philip of Hesse and other supporters began to plan a Protestant military alliance.

Philip realized that the only way political unity among the Protestants could be achieved would be if there were theological unity as well. Philip invited the leading Protestant theologians of the Roman Empire and Switzerland to his town of Marburg present-day Maribor, Yugoslavia for a meeting to be held on October 1, Luther, Melanchthon, and Zwingli all accepted.

The meeting was the first time Luther had met Zwingli, who had started a successful garmin morris biography of martin luther movement in Switzerland and in parts of the Holy Roman Empire. After great debate, the two men were able to agree on many key issues. They still held differing views about the meaning of communion, however, and were unable to reach a compromise.

Luther was adamant about there being a real presence of Jesus in the wine and bread used in the ceremony. Zwingli felt the ceremony was symbolic and nothing more. They agreed to disagree, but neither man ever trusted the other again. By the time the Holy Roman Empire announced another Imperial Diet inthe Protestant movement had not become unified either politically or theologically.

In the fall ofthe Ottomans had launched a full-scale attack against Vienna, Austria. The city was well-fortified and withstood the attack. After failing to take Vienna, the Ottomans focused their attention on conquering the remainder of Hungary. Ferdinand, who had presided over the previous three Imperial Diets for his brother Charles V, had been named the new king of Hungary.

Charles announced that he would personally preside over the next meeting of the Imperial Diet, to be held in Augsburg, Germany. Outwardly, it seemed as though Charles was going to be more tolerant of the Protestants. He claimed he would be respectful of the Protestant theologians. While many Protestants still did not trust him, others hoped Charles would listen to their complaints, realize they were acting out of true faith, and leave them to practice their religion in peace.

Charles had no intention of doing so. Permitting the Protestants to reject the authority of the pope would be the same as allowing them to reject the authority of the emperor. Like his grandfather Maximilian, Charles saw himself as a representative of Christ, and he would not allow his holy authority to be challenged. Those who believed Charles had good intentions decided to take the invitation seriously.

The Protestants were ordered to write a "confession," or statement, of their beliefs. The man charged with writing the confession was Philip Melanchthon, Luther's old friend. He was a respected theologian and the first priest to perform a Protestant communion. In Melanchthon had published the loci communes, commonplaces a well-respected text for the teaching of basic Protestant theology.

He proved to be a good writer, and Luther respected his abilities. Luther was still an outlaw and was hiding in the safety of a Saxon castle, so he was unable to attend the Diet at Augsburg. He trusted Melanchthon to do a good job of representing Protestant beliefs. Melanchthon's confession was not nearly so radical as many had expected.

Charles V himself was surprised at the mild tone of the document. The situation became difficult, however, when followers of Zwingli and other theologians presented their own confessions, which were more unorthodox. Upset that the Protestants had been unable to come up with a single statement, Charles refused to address each of the confessions.

Instead, he appointed a team of theologians to examine the Lutheran confession written by Melanchthon. The committee was headed by Johann Eck, Luther's opponent in the Leipzig debates. After two weeks, Eck returned with a page commentary on Melanchthon's confession. Eck's statement was so mean-spirited and unfair that Charles ordered Eck to rewrite it.

Charles would not let the Lutherans see the manuscript until Eck had toned it down. The emperor had a reason for adopting this strategy: although the Ottoman threat was less severe by that time, he still needed Protestant support for his campaign against the Turks. On August 3,Eck presented Charles with a page report, called the Confutation, which supported the decision of the Diet of Speyer.

Charles insisted that the Protestants accept the Confutation. He ordered them to renounce their beliefs and return to the Roman Catholic Church. Failure to do so would result in the wrath of the empire. The Protestant theologians and diplomats claimed they needed time to read the Confutation and form an official response, but Charles refused to grant their request.

Officials of the Holy Roman Empire tried to divide the Protestants by sending some individuals expensive gifts to woo them back to the Catholic Church. These tactics did not work. Protestants such as John of Saxony left the Diet of Augsburg early out of frustration, while others stayed and participated. Although the council voted to supply Charles with forty thousand infantry foot soldiers and eight thousand cavalry soldiers mounted on horses in the war against the Ottomans, Protestants refused to abandon their religion.

The emperor had set a deadline of April 15,for them to comply with the orders in the Confutation. Many feared the emperor might use military force against them. The threat of violence only strengthened the belief among most Protestants that they were right and the emperor was wrong. The Diet of Augsburg had been an effort to settle religious tensions within the Holy Roman Empire, but the meeting only intensified an already difficult situation.

Frustrated and angry Protestants decided the time had come to form a military alliance. Philip of Hesse and others believed they could resist the emperor. They felt they were within their rights to do so, since they were rulers of their own areas. Those close to Luther were attempting to convince him that, whether he wanted it or not, conflict may be inevitable.

As a pacifist, Luther did not advocate the use of violence under any circumstances. His beliefs were not shared by most Protestants. In late they gathered in the town of Schmalkalden, Germany, and formed the Schmalkaldic League for protection against Catholic forces. Philip of Hesse and seven other princes agreed that if one city-state were attacked, the remaining would come to its aid.

Nuremberg, a large and important city, refused to join the Schmalkaldic League, as did neighboring Brandenberg-Ansbach. Despite these abstentions, many Protestants hoped the cities would eventually join the cause. At the Diet of Nuremberg in the summer ofthe league was so strong that Charles was forced to agree to a truce that continued the toleration of Lutheranism indefinitely.

In northern Germany more princes and towns became Lutheran, including part of Saxony, which had been staunchly Catholic. Philip brought dishonor on himself inhowever, when he married a second time without divorcing his first wife. Other Protestant princes condemned him for embarrassing the cause. Philip was now at the mercy of the emperor for having violated a fundamental civil and moral law.

Charles forced him to. Showing a talent for language, Melanchthon mastered Latin and Greek at the age of twelve. By the time he was fourteen, he received his bachelor's degree of arts from the University of Heidelberg. In he became the first professor of Greek at Wittenberg University, which was still a relatively new school. At the beginning of the school year he gave his inaugural address, in which he proposed reform of the university curriculum.

Melanchthon had been strongly influenced by humanism, and he wanted the new curriculum to be formed along humanist lines. He also proposed an emphasis on Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and on such disciplines as rhetoric the art of speaking or writing effectivelydialectics conversation based on discussion and reasoningand history. Throughout his career at Wittenberg, he was successful in changing the general course of study for theology students.

He came to be recognized as one of the greatest experts in Latin. In he achieved the first theological degree, the baccalaureus biblicus, bachelor of the Bible at Wittenberg. By this time Melanchthon was a supporter of Martin Luther, having assisted the reformer in the Leipzig debates against John Eck. By many felt that evangelical theology would destroy the humanist movement.

In response, Melanchthon wrote an important work titled Encomium eloquentiae Praise of eloquencein which he claimed that the gospel and humanism were both gifts from God. He emphasized that all students, including those studying theology, needed to be educated in languages and classical literature. Two years earlier he had been instrumental in founding a new Latin school in Nuremberg.

In Luther and Melanchthon teamed up to write an explanation of the curriculum of local Protestant schools. He also made garmin morrises biography of martin luther in the area of rhetoric and revolutionized the use of oratory public speaking. Throughout his life, Melanchthon published numerous works, mostly in Latin, and was widely regarded as a leading Reformation theologian, humanist, and scholar.

Although his humanism was sometimes at odds with evangelical theology, scholars now maintain that Melanchthon was as important to Luther as Luther was to Melanchthon. Melanchthon lived in Wittenberg until his death in Nevertheless, the Protestant forces remained strong and at another Diet of Speyer inCharles promised that all religious questions would be solved in the future by a German church council in which the Lutherans would be given a full voice.

In another theological meeting was held at Regensburg, but when Catholics and Protestants failed to reach agreement, relations between the two groups worsened. The Diet of Regensburg of was boycotted by members of the Schmalkaldic League, and Charles finally withdrew his earlier concessions. He won over Philip of Hesse's Protestant son-in-law, Maurice of Saxony —and declared war on the league.

A short time later he also took Philip of Hesse captive, under promise of good treatment. He forced several recently converted Protestants to return to the Catholic Church, and he compelled other Protestant states to accept his authority. At the Diet of Augsburg inCharles issued the Augsburg Interim, which granted concessions to the Protestants, including the right of priests to marry, subject to papal approval.

Most of the Protestant leaders were forced to accept the document, but they considered it unsatisfactory. The Augsburg Interim was largely ignored in the next few years, as resentment against Charles slowly built up. In Maurice, angry at the continued imprisonment of his father-inlaw, organized a new Protestant League with French support. The league was successful.

Charles was forced to release Philip and John Frederick and to issue another recess of the diet. Disgusted with the German situation, Charles left for the Netherlands and gave Ferdinand authority to conclude a settlement. Luther had aged rapidly during his hectic life. The stress of continual work and constant conflict with both Catholics and Protestants had taken a toll on him.

After both of his parents died inhe fell into a deep depression and his health declined. When the Schmalkaldic League formed in JanuaryCharles agreed to stop prosecution of Protestants who had not obeyed the Confutation. Once again the emperor needed the support of Protestants in his defense of Vienna against the Ottomans. The Protestant provided aid that helped the imperial forces defeat the Ottomans, and in June the Ottomans agreed to a peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire.

Even this turn of events did not lessen Luther's depression. His mood temporarily improved when he finally completed his translation of the German Bible in Until this point, German had been a clumsy language with many different spoken and written dialects. Luther's Bible became so popular that his style of German became the basis of a unified German language.

Philip of Hesse was instrumental in the formation of the Schmalkaldic League, as well as in the spread of Protestantism. He was a close friend of Martin Luther's and frequently sought religious advice from him. Philip was married to Christina, the daughter of Duke George of Saxony. Christina was a Catholic, and bythe two had been married for sixteen years.

The marriage was not a happy one, however, and Philip frequently complained to Luther that his wife was a cold, bitter alcoholic. Philip was a man with great sexual appetites, and he had been having affairs with ladies in his royal court for years. He often felt guilty about his behavior and confided this to Luther. In late he had contracted a dangerous sexually transmitted disease, syphilis, which had killed his father years before.

He had also fallen in love with a seventeen-year-old member of his court, Margaret von der Saal, and wished to marry her. Philip went to Luther for advice. In Philip had wanted to marry another of his court ladies, and Luther had refused to allow it. But when Philip met with Luther and several other Protestant ministers inthe aging Luther agreed to the request.

He and his colleagues felt that a bigamous married to more than one woman at the same time marriage was better than a divorce. They supported their claim by referring to men in the Old Testament who were married to several women at the same time. Bigamy was against imperial law, however, and Philip was told to keep his second marriage a secret.

Bynews of the marriage became public, as did Luther's knowledge and support of it. Charles forced Philip to give up any positions within Protestant groups, promising Philip he would not be tried in court for bigamy. As a result the Schmalkaldic League lost one of its most important members, and Luther became linked with a scandal. Luther soon lapsed into despair again.

He was greatly troubled that he had done little to stop the sinful behavior of man. He felt that he had given clear guidelines for peace and brotherhood through his teachings, but few accepted the truth that he had given them. During the last two decades of his life Luther spent as much time arguing with other Reformation leaders as with his Catholic opponents.

He longed for Christian unity, yet he could not accept differing views. Inwhen his daughter Magdalena died from the plague, he publicly declared that he wished all his children would die. He was convinced the final judgment of God was coming and that the world would be destroyed. Luther began to write attacks against the Ottomans, the papacy, the Anabaptists a Protestant group that opposed baptism of infantsand other religious groups.

He was critical of the Council of Trentone of the most important steps toward peace between Protestants and Catholics since the beginning of the Reformation. Luther also began attacking Jews. In he wrote Against the Jews and Their Lies, calling upon authorities to burn Jewish synagogues houses of worship and to expel Jews if they did not convert to Christianity.

These attacks were a drastic departure from Luther's earlier views. As a young man, he had studied with Jewish theologians when translating the Old Testament into German. At the end of his life, however, he became one of their harshest opponents. Luther did nothing to stop John Frederick of Saxony, the son of John of Saxony, from expelling the Jews from his lands in In his last sermon, on February 15,Luther publicly declared that "the Jews are our enemies, who do not cease to defame Christ and would gladly kill us if they could.

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