What factors contributed to Martin Luther’s eventual rebellion against the Church?

by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI

(Fall, 2017)

As Protestants around the world (and modernist heretics in the Vatican) celebrate this year the 500th anniversary of the Protestant revolt against the Catholic Church, it behooves us Catholics to re-examine the life and teachings of the apostate monk who began the so-called “Reformation.” Just who was Martin Luther, and what led him to abandon his vocation and the Catholic Faith?

What effect did Luther’s abusive father have on his personality?

Martin Luther was born in the Ger­man town of Eisleben on November 10, 1483. Not long after his birth, the family moved to Mansfeld, some 10 miles to the northwest of Eisleben, where his father had part ownership of a copper mine. Hans, Luther’s father, was of a most stern, irascible character, and had even been accused of homicide, causing him to flee from his family home in Mohra. Luther’s mother Margaret, on the other hand, was known for her modesty and piety, although she too was stern.

The normal joys of childhood were absent from Martin’s life, as his father often beat him mercilessly. Even his mother, on one occasion, beat him so severely over a trifle that, as Luther later wrote, “the blood flowed, and it was this harshness and sever­ity of the life I led with them that forced me subsequently to run away to a monastery and become a monk.” Likewise, in his early school days, he was severely punished — on one occasion, no less than 15 times in one morning. This severity of his parents and early teachers may have been typical of the times, but there is no doubt that it led to the development of Luther’s anxiety and his view of God as an excessively stern judge.

Luther’s education, on the other hand, was of the finest. After early education in Latin grammar and religion, he entered, at the age of 14, a school in Madgeburg, fol­lowed by education at Eisenach. Luther’s father was ambitious for the education of his oldest son, urging him toward a career in law. And so, at the age of 18, he entered the University of Erfurt. After receiving the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1502, he entered the Master’s program, from which he graduated in January, 1505. Then, in May of that year Luther entered Law School at Erfurt. It was at this point, however, that an incident occurred which changed the course of his life.

On one occasion in July, 1505, returning to Erfurt from his home in Mansfeld, he encountered a storm so severe that a light­ning bolt struck close to him. According to some biographers, the lightning struck and killed his companion. (According to others, a friend of his was killed on a different occa­sion.) At any rate, Martin was so frightened, that he cried out to St. Anne for help, vowing then and there to become a monk.

On July 17, 1505, Luther shocked his friends and family by entering the Augus­tinian monastery at Erfurt. He would later recount, as the causes that led him to this step, the brutality of his home life and the terror that overwhelmed him during the storm above-mentioned. As he wrote to his father: “When I was terror-stricken and overwhelmed by the fear of impend­ing death, I made an involuntary and forced vow.” According to many of his biographers, Luther’s entrance into the monastery was also driven by his exces­sive fear of hell and of the wrath of God, for he thought that in the monastery he would find peace.

What was Luther’s Life like in the Monastery?

It is difficult to form an accurate assess­ment of Luther’s early monastic life. According to some biographers, he failed to find in religion the peace he sought. Filled with anxiety, he devoted himself to fasting, penance, and frequent confes­sion. It seemed, however, that the more he sought to do to please God, the more he became aware of his sinfulness. His superior John Staupitz advised Martin to study the mystics in order to achieve an interior surrender to God and His holy will. Luther, however, felt not love for God, but hatred. This is the common opinion, at least among the majority of Protestant biographers. Others, on the contrary, insist that his early monastic life was a normal, peaceful religious life.

Why is it so difficult to form a correct notion of Luther’s life in the monastery? Much of the information we have is based on his own later statements, which even his Protestant biographers admit are highly exaggerated and contradictory. For instance, Luther later alleged that he found “by accident” a Bible in the Erfurt monastery library, a book which “he had never seen in his life.” This statement, so wholeheartedly accepted by most of his Protestant biographers, is patently false. For the Augustinian rule states that the novice shall “read the Scripture assiduously, hear it devoutly, and learn it fervently.” Further, Biblical studies were in a flourishing con­dition at that time in the university, which held a great number of Biblical commentar­ies in its collection.

Again, Luther’s statements about his life in the monastery, as well as many other incidents in his life, are highly suspect. Here it would be helpful to point out that Luther had no qualm in distorting the truth when it suited his purpose, and even in telling outright lies, as we shall see further on.

At any rate, Luther’s superior gave him more and more responsibility. He ordered him to study for a doctorate in theology and to begin preaching. In 1507 (only two years after entering the monastery), Luther was ordained to the priesthood. The fol­lowing year he was sent to the University of Wittenberg. He began teaching theology; he also was assigned to preach within the cloister and, in 1514, in the parish church at Witten­berg. In addition, he was given various responsibilities in the Augustinian community, and it was perhaps these responsibilities that took him to Rome in 1510.

There is much disagreement among his biographers as to the effects of his one-month sojourn in the eternal city. Some (Protestant) biographers insist that he was there scandalized by corruption among the clergy and greatly disillusioned. Others, however, insist that he returned from the pilgrimage as strong in faith as ever, and that his stay in Rome even strengthened his religious convictions. Luther himself later wrote that his journey to Rome was a pilgrimage in fulfillment of a vow and in order to make a general con­fession. Whatever the facts are, it is certain that he rarely ever mentioned this incident in his later life. If his visit to Rome truly was the turning point at which he lost faith in the Roman Catholic Church, as Protestant writers have argued, he certainly would have so stated in his various disputations with Cardinal Cajetan and others.

Luther returned to Wittenberg in 1512 and was appointed sub-prior. Various other promotions followed in quick succession, including his reception of a doctorate in sacred theology later that year. In 1513 he was assigned to give lectures on Biblical studies and in the same year was made district vicar of the Order. Unquestionably, Martin Luther was a busy man at this point in his life, but tragically, he used these many occupations as a justification for abandon­ing many of the spiritual obligations of his state.

Did Luther’s psychological issues contribute to his becoming a heretic?

A fall from grace and from orthodoxy is never instantaneous but always takes place over time, by subtle, imperceptible degrees. In Luther’s case, there is no doubt that his depressing childhood had at least some influence on his later thinking. Also, today’s medical and psychological advances would likely point to certain defects in his mental and emotional state, which led him to the violent mood swings that affected him at this juncture. But the primary cause of his fall, in my opinion, was the abandonment of his spiritual obligations.

His morbid condition led Luther into a state of scrupulosity and to serious breaches of religious discipline. For example, he would entirely abandon the grave obligation of reciting the Divine Office, sometimes for weeks, and then would be assailed with ter­rible remorse of conscience. Consequently, he would lock himself in his cell and strive to make amends. Abstaining from all food and drink, he would practice severe morti­fications to palliate his accusing conscience. These alterations between laxity and severe penance drove him almost to despair. Disregarding the counsels of his confessor, Luther devised his own practices, always seeking to pacify his guilty conscience.

Scrupulosity nearly drove him mad, as Luther saw in himself nothing but wick­edness. He looked upon God as an angry judge, full of vengeance and wrath. His sor­row, like that of Judas, was without a child­like trust in God’s mercy and forgiveness. This led him to the point that he “hated God and was angry at Him.” As he blasphemed God, he also wished that he had never been born. This state of brooding melancholy led him, by a strange process of reasoning, to accuse the Church of causing his terror by its teaching concerning the necessity of good works.

His morbid mental state led him at one point to envision himself as “the most brutal murderer,” ready to “kill all who even by a syllable refused submission to the pope.” His reaction to this neurotic condition, however, went in the opposite extreme. Now he completely rejected the importance he had previously placed in his own strength to achieve justification. He convinced himself that man is totally depraved, and so he had to find another means of achieving forgiveness and salvation. One day, upon reading St. Paul and reflecting on his words to the Romans regarding the necessity of faith, Luther concluded that salvation can be obtained by faith alone. He would later write: “Be a sinner and sin on bravely, but have stronger faith and rejoice in Christ… Sin cannot tear you away from Him, even though you commit adultery a hundred times a day and commit as many murders.”

Luther was now, in his heart, a complete heretic, but it would require an accumulation of vari­ous circumstances for his heresy to gain a foothold.

Why was Luther excommunicated?

At that time (1517), a Dominican friar by name of John Tetzel was promoting in Germany a papal bull of indulgences. Originally issued by Pope Julius II, the indulgence was renewed by Pope Leo X, the current pope. This indulgence was granted for donations toward the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Tetzel, a soundly trained theologian and faithful religious was promoting the indulgence in nearby towns when Luther heard the report of his sermons. This event gave Luther the occa­sion he sought.

On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his Disputation about Indulgences (the so-called “Ninety-five Theses”) to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. In this writ­ing, Luther challenged the papal indulgence and stated his objections to various Church teachings. There can be no doubt that some misunderstandings among the laity existed regarding indulgences, and perhaps some of those preaching the indulgences exagger­ated or misrepresented them. But the fact remains that Luther challenged the very concept of indulgences, which he rejected, along with ecclesiastical authority.

The Church authorities were not slow to react. The local bishop convened his councilors, who unanimously stated that the writing was heretical, and a copy of the Theses, along with this report, was sent to the pope. Meanwhile, in Germany, various disputations were tak­ing place among the theologians. Johann Eck, one of the foremost scholars of his day, distinguished 18 particularly heretical tenets in Luther’s Disputation. His docu­ment explaining this was sent to his bishop, but someone sent an unauthorized copy to Luther, which aroused his anger. Likewise, other theologians weighed in, and in response, Luther wrote several defenses, resorting to flippant and vulgar wording.

At this juncture, a papal docu­ment reached Luther, ordering him to appear in Rome within 60 days to respond to the concerns of the Church authorities. Luther excused himself, saying that, due to the ferment in Germany at the time, he could not travel to Rome without fearing for his personal safety. Instead, he had recourse to civil authorities to have the matter settled in Germany. He made all kinds of excuses, pleading ill health and pledging his com­plete submission to the Holy See. Despite the apparent insincerity of these arguments, the Church, always the loving spiritual mother of her children, made every con­cession to bring the wayward monk to his senses — to a repentance and conversion.

A meeting (called a Diet) was scheduled to take place in Augsburg in October, 1518, and Cardinal Cajetan, the papal legate, was authorized to resolve the dispute. Cajetan was a remarkable figure, who united rare intellectual gifts with an impeccably blame­less life. A historian of the Reformation period refers to him as “the most renowned and easily the first theologian of his age.” Sadly, however, his conciliatory efforts were utterly rebuffed by the heretic Luther, for the latter did not come to Augsburg to be taught but to defend his heresy. Luther resorted to rude language, leaving the pious cardinal frustrated with his pertinacity.

From Augsburg Luther returned to Wit­tenberg on the very anniversary of the nail­ing of his Theses to the door of the church (October 31, 1518). Luther now appealed to the pope and even an ecumenical council. Later, he rejected the authority of both and appealed “to the Bible.” Over the following year, Luther allied himself with the basest of princes, who saw in him an ally. At the time, a dissatisfaction was brewing among the peasants, and Luther took advantage of the coming rebellion to secure friends. Luther the reformer had become Luther the revolutionary.

Upon receiving a letter from Pope Leo X threatening him with excommunication, Luther defiantly burned it in public.

Meanwhile, various efforts having been made in vain to bring him to a change of mind and heart, Luther was threatened with excommunication by Pope Leo X, in a letter of June 15, 1520, but Luther defiantly burned the letter in public. Finally, Martin Luther was officially excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church in January, 1521. This did not seem to bother him in the least, as he declared, “As for me, the die is cast: I despise alike the favor and fury of Rome; I do not wish to be reconciled with her, or ever to hold any communion with her. Let her condemn and burn my books; I, in turn, unless I can find no fire, will condemn and publicly burn the whole pontifical law, that swamp of heresies.”

In March of that year, Luther was sum­moned before the Diet of Worms, a general assembly of secular authorities. On May 8, the council released the Edict of Worms, banning Luther’s writings and declaring him a convicted heretic. Defiantly, he stated: “I neither can nor will recant anything, for it is neither safe nor right to act against one’s conscience,” adding in German, “God help me. Amen.” Luther then retreated to Wartburg Castle, again shielded by secular allies, and remained there for nearly a year (April, 1521 to March, 1522.)

During this sojourn in Wartburg, Martin Luther was left to the seclusion of his own thoughts and became the victim of an inte­rior struggle, racked with anxiety and the reproaches of his conscience. He was now troubled with doubts, but instead of seeking God’s help though prayer and the sacra­ments, Luther gave himself over to the gratification of his appetite for eating and drinking. Further, he was confronted by temptations of sensuality, which assaulted him with unbridled fury. He even later wrote of experiencing satanic manifestations during this period.

Luther’s gratification of the appetite racked his body in par­oxysms of pain, which affected his writings during this period (in their acerbic tone). His friends became accustomed to diatribes against the Church authorities: “I will curse and scold the scoundrels until I go to my grave, and never shall they hear a civil word from me… I am unable to pray without at the same time cursing. If I am prompted to say ‘hallowed be Thy name,’ I must add ‘cursed, damned, outraged be the name of the papists.’ If I am prompted to say ‘Thy Kingdom come,’ I must perforce add ‘cursed, damned, destroyed must be the papacy.’ Indeed I pray thus orally every day and in my heart without intermission.”

It was also during this year that Luther completed his translation of the New Tes­tament into the German language, which was immediately circulated throughout Germany. Luther sought in his translation to support his theological views. When he added the word “alone” to St. Paul’s words “For we reckon that a man is justified by faith” (Romans, 3:28), one of his friends was shocked. When he asked Luther how he could dare to add a word of his own to the inspired Word of God, Luther merely replied that it better conveyed the meaning.

Luther’s most significant work (Opinion on the Monastic Orders) had its origin at Wartburg. In this work he proclaimed that concupiscence is invincible, that sensual instincts cannot be overcome, and that the gratification of sexual appetites is a neces­sity of our being. It was an invitation to priests, monks and nuns to abandon their life of consecration, which was the result. Luther stated that vows were made to Satan, and not to God. In short, he despised the life of religious consecration.

While Luther sojourned at Wartburg, his fellow Protestants Philip Melanchthon, Andreas Carlstadt and Gabriel Zwilling took over the reins of leadership in Witten­berg. Carlstadt, in particular, inaugurated a wholesale attack on everything Catholic. In October, 39 of the 40 Augustinian friars declared their refusal to say private Mass any longer. In November, 13 monks removed their habits and left the mon­astery, followed shortly by 15 others. In December a mob of some 40 students entered the Franciscan monastery (at Wit­tenberg), smashed the altars and broke the windows. In Jan­uary the Augustinians removed all the altars but one from their church, and burned the sacred pictures and holy oils. Later that month, Carlstadt, a man of 41 years, married a young girl of 15 — an act that received a hearty endorsement from Luther. Other priests followed his example. Liturgical changes were notable, including the Mass in the vernacular, the elimination of vestments, the communicants taking the host in their hands and drinking from the chalice.

Luther betrays the peasants, approves bigamy, and marries a nun

In the spring of 1522, Luther returned to the Wittenberg Castle Church and, resum­ing the reins of authority, began to organize his reform. When a peasant revolt broke out in 1524, he suddenly changed his previous support for the peasants, telling the rulers to “crush, stab, smite, slay all you can; you will win heaven more easily by bloodshed than prayer.” As a result, thousands of peasants were slaughtered.

The most notable event of this next period of his life was the double marriage of Landgrave Philip of Hesse. Having tired of his wife Christina, Philip (like Henry VIII in the following decade) desired to marry Margaret von der Saal, a young woman of the court. To pacify his conscience, Philip sought the approval of Luther and other reformers. Luther gave his approval, but requested that the matter be kept secret. He even told Philip that if anyone should inquire if he had Luther’s approval, that he should make up a “nice lie.”

Luther himself married an ex-nun by name of Katherine von Bora in 1525, who bore him six children. From 1533 until his death in 1546 Luther served as dean of the­ology at the University of Wittenberg. He continued writing, publishing works that included most blasphemous statements — too scandalous to even be mentioned. His chronic ailments, which increased as he aged, led him to a terrible temper which alienated even most of his devoted friends. One of them would later write, “Hardly one of us can escape Luther’s anger and his public scourging.” Luther, who taught that anyone could interpret the Bible, would brook no opposition to his opinions.

Gradually, Martin Luther’s former band of devoted followers dwindled to an insignifi­cant few. He eventually died during a visit to his hometown of Eisleben on February 18, 1546.

What Exactly Did Luther Teach?

The common opinion among Protestants is that Martin Luther was merely trying to correct abuses. In reality, he was guilty of a myriad of heresies. Luther rejected the Mass, most of the sacraments, a sacrificing priesthood, purgatory, a visible Church, etc. He promoted the “priesthood of the believers” and downplayed ceremonies and external worship, which he considered unnecessary. He also rejected pilgrimages, mortification, monastic vows, liturgical vestments, prayers for the dead, and inter­cession of the saints. In short, he espoused numerous errors and heresies.

But instead of going into detail in this short article on these various heresies, we will concentrate on the fundamental pillars of his new doctrine. We find that Lutheran­ism can be reduced to three fundamental teachings, which serve as the underpinnings to the various doctrines of all Protestant sects, namely: 1) Faith alone saves you, 2) the Bible is the sole rule of faith, and 3) God imputes holiness to the believing sinner. We will briefly conclude this article with a discussion of these Lutheran concepts.

Martin Luther taught that through faith alone, without good works, the sinner will achieve salvation. He entirely rejected the necessity of keep­ing God’s commandments, which he considered impossi­ble. For this reason, he detested the Epistle of Saint James, who teaches, “Faith without works is dead.” Luther considered that man is totally depraved and thus, incapable of living a good life. Merely by faith in Christ, the sinner achieves his salvation.

Second, Luther looked upon the Bible as the only source of faith. He thereby totally rejected the authority of the Church (and thus rejected Christ’s words, “He who hears you hears Me.”) and of Tradi­tion. Ironically, without Tradition and the authority of the Church, there would be no Bible. After all, who determined which New Testament books were divinely inspired and put them together under one cover? The Church. Without the Church there would be no Bible.

But not only did Luther teach the Bible alone (sola scriptura) as the source of faith, he also taught that the Bible may be privately interpreted. In other words, he said that the individual Christian can read the Bible and the Holy Ghost will inspire him as to its meaning. One only has to realize that there are literally thousands of different Protes­tant denominations to see the foolishness of such a concept. Truth comes from God Who is one; there can be only one truth. Yet, every Protestant is free to interpret the Bible according to his own caprice.

Finally, Luther rejected the idea that we can become holy. He taught that human nature was utterly corrupted by original sin, and so man cannot keep God’s command­ments. But this is contrary to the words of Jesus: “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” No matter; Luther taught that it is impossible to keep God’s laws. Instead, he believed that the faith of the believer covers one’s iniquity. So in other words, there is really no gaining of sanctifying grace by the sinner. Grace is not imparted to the penitent, but rather justification and holiness are imputed to the sinner, who remains utterly depraved. It is as though the iniquitous sinner is cov­ered with a clean garment because of his faith, but he remains utterly filthy within. In effect, these ideas destroy the concept of free will.

It is likely that many Protestants are not fully aware of who Luther really was and all that he actually taught. We must pray for their conversion. But what is truly shocking is that Luther has been praised as a “great reformer” by the false popes of the Conciliar Church! Their bogus claim to the papacy is perhaps nowhere more evident than in this. For in their praise of the heretic Mar­tin Luther they have rejected Jesus, whose teachings he defied. For our part, let us thank God daily for the gift of the true Faith, and seek to live it conscientiously.

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Sources:

Cozens, M. L., A Handbook of Heresies, Sheed and Ward Publishers, 1928.
Krull, Rev. Vigilius H., Christian Denominations, Winterich Publications, 1925.
https://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-9389283
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09438b.htm
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Martin_Luther