Martin Luther was a German theologian, an Augustinian monk, a religious reformer, a Bible translator, and a hymn writer. The near miss of a lightening bolt persuaded him to make a career change: his father wanted him to become a lawyer, God wanted him to become a priest. His father never forgave him; his God eventually did.
The severity of his father’s discipline confused him. The apathy of the State-run Church appalled him. The immorality of the clergy sickened him. The sale of Indulgences enraged him. The study of Romans liberated him—and changed western civilization forever.
For Luther, God was little more than a cosmic projection of his own father: fierce, stern, disapproving, and filled with wrath. Young Luther lived in constant terror that this terrible, demanding, uncompromising God had rejected him. He feared that God had spurned his prayers, rejected his repentance, and abandoned him to suffer the pains of hell. Still, young Martin tried, tried, and tried again to appease this God—and his conscience—through arduous self-discipline and tortuous self-flagellation.
The fundamental question of Luther’s life was, “How can I find God’s mercy and grace?” After failing to find it through good works and righteous living, Luther found it in what was then a most unlikely place—the text of the New Testament. Specifically, it was Romans 1:16-17 that caused Luther to wrestle with God over the “Good News.”
How could “trying as hard as you can, failing to meet the standard of perfection, and being cast into Hell after all that hard work” be good news to anyone? Luther wondered. Then he read the verses again, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Luther was thunderstruck: the righteous shall live, not by works but by faith; not by monastic austerity but by faith; not by going to church or doing religion properly but by faith!
Luther was set free. Of course, his new view of Grace irritated the religious establishment of his day but in the end Martin Luther, the tormented man, found what his soul needed most: God’s grace.
Life in a New Millennium 
December 29, 2010 at 2:29 pm
The best source for anyone wishing to understand Luther and the “reformation” are his own writings which are publicly available. Any protestant serious about their salvation will realise immediately that the so-called “reformation” was but the work of Lucifer. Contemporary history books have carefully concealed the truth about Luther knowing that should well-meaning protestants discover the truth, protestantism would be no more.
Luther’s rebellion has astounding similarities with the revolt in heaven by the fallen angels. One could even say that they are identical. The protestant revolt is to the material world, what transpired in the spirital realms when Lucifer and the apostate angels said non serviam – I will not seerve. For that matter, protestantism cannot lead to salvation.
December 30, 2010 at 12:31 am
I don’t understand your point because of the run on sentences in your statement.
It was not Luther who rebelled against God’s word. It was; in fact, the leaders of the Catholic Church who led the flock astray with their ultra religious traditions. Praying to the saints rather than God Most High is just one of a many flawed doctrines. Martin Luther did not say “I will not serve”. He knew by faith that religious works was not the road to salvation. This, I believe is the point Bob was making.
December 30, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Keith,
EVEN though Luther is the central figure in the history of protestantism, his followers do not seem to know much about him, or about how he stumbled upon his beliefs.
Protestantism originated with Martin Luther, an apostate catholic priest and though Protestants would contend that they follow “true biblical Christianity,” and not a man, they are inclined to defend Martin Luther. This is because Martin Luther was the first identifiable spokesman for their version of “Christianity.” Prior to his separation from the Catholic Church, there was no public defender of Protestantism, the core doctrines of which are justification by faith alone and Scripture alone. As a young Catholic priest, Protestantism was unknown to Martin Luther and indeed to the rest of the Christian world.
Luther denied authority, Tradition, Church Magisterium, and the organic, visible and hierarchical Church. It can be safely stated, therefore, that protestantism is a religion founded on DENIAL.
On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther tacked his famous 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. The formal title for his Theses is The Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. Most contemporary protestants cite this date as the beginning of the “reformation.” They think this represented Luther’s public stand for the Protestant faith, the so-called “true and biblical Christianity.”
The point here is that even on Oct. 31, 1517, the Protestant “faith” was still unknown to Martin Luther and indeed to the rest of the Christian world. There was no statement about justification by faith alone or Sola Scriptura. There was as yet no repudiation of the papal office or many other Catholic dogmas which Protestants today reject. What you have, at this point, is a confused and convoluted priest who, while claiming to be Catholic, was clearly falling from the traditional Catholic faith into his own wild version of it (especially with regard to Indulgences). Yet, he was no Protestant. Even at this point, the so-called biblical “faith” was unknown to its eventual founder.
At the beginning of July 1518, Luther was officially summoned to appear in Rome and explain his new doctrines. While maintaining his new (and heretical) views on Indulgences and Penance, Luther claimed that:
This means that, even after having been summoned to Rome to answer for his new ideas, Luther professes that the Roman Church has the true faith. At this point, Luther is undoubtedly drifting into his own personalized view of “Christianity”; but he is still no Protestant, as his statement about the Roman Church demonstrates. The so-called pure, simple and “biblical faith” was still unknown to its eventual founder in July of 1518.
As Luther’s influence spread, and his commitment to new ideas hardened, the actions against him increased. Pope Leo X dispatched the learned Cardinal Cajetan to handle the case. Cajetan was to examine the situation and, if possible, get through to Luther. However, Luther remained obstinate. Despite his commitment to his new ideas, Luther declared the following at one of these interviews:
Once again, we see that Luther claims fidelity to papal teaching and to all of Catholic doctrine. He also appeals specifically to the pope, and expresses his willingness to retract if the pope decided against him (Ibid., pp. 375, 377). So-called “biblical faith” (Protestantism) was still unknown to its eventual founder.
Not long after his meetings with Cardinal Cajetan in November of 1518, Luther’s views underwent another significant development. He came to the conclusion that the Pope, to whose decrees he had just claimed submission, is the antichrist. He writes:
Yet, at this very time that he was calling the pope “the Antichrist,” Luther appealed to a general council from the pope (Luther’s works, Weimar ed., II., 36 seq.). In other words, Luther considered the decisions of general councils to be definitive and authoritative. This of course contradicts one of the pillars of Protestantism: Scripture alone.
Therefore, even at the point that Luther had firmly set his face against the Papacy as “the Antichrist,” he still hadn’t discovered Protestantism. The so-called “biblical faith” was still unknown to its eventual founder. One should consider this fact deeply; for it demonstrates that whenever Luther did come up with Protestantism, it was nothing more than the creation of a confused mind.
These facts clearly demonstrate that all protestants, regardless of sect, have embraced a purely MAN-MADE religion, which Luther invented and re-invented by the day.
The true faith of Jesus Christ is a deposit. It does not just drop out of the sky to a man who lived fifteen centuries after Christ. This faith was revealed by Jesus Christ to His Apostles 2000 years ago, and it was passed on by the Apostles to the Church.
And there is still more that Luther said that clearly points to a diabolical influence. Even Luther himself admitted to this much, in one of his works.
Could such a man really have had a divine mission to reform the Church established by Christ, even supposing that that it had been corrupted?
December 31, 2010 at 12:05 am
I didn’t respond to your response to get into a pissing match with you. You are entitled to believe what you want. My defense is of Bob’s statement, not catholic or protestant dogmas.
This is how I see the big picture…..
Faith in Christ Jesus = obedience to God the Father
nothing more ..nothing less..in other words
Faith in Jesus IS Righteousness
Faith in Jesus IS good works
The point is let God be God and you trust in Him.
The point is not.. gimme 10 hail Mary’s, a tenth of your income, and go spend some time down at the homeless shelter to receive forgiveness for your sin.
Thats all
December 31, 2010 at 8:41 am
Keith, in defense of Bob’s statement you say:
And a few lines down you say:
Pray tell, by affirming that which Bob repudiates, how are you defending him? Besides, you cannot claim to defend Bob’s statements, without implicitily defending protestant dogma.
On my part, the intention of responding to Bob’s statements was to correct him, in a spirit of fraternal charity. Protestants, regardless of denomination, are blissfuly unaware of the origin of their often jarring and contradictory doctrines. The majority are well-meaning but have been misled by falsified history, anti-catholic literature and upbringing, and, above all, the secular media. This is why I begun by referring Bob (and anyone who cares) to Luther’s own writings and statements. It is only then that one can get a true picture of Luther the man. And after reading a few lines (it is not necessary to read everything) the reader is compelled by shear force of reason and common sense to agree that the notion of Luther as a “reformer” CANNOT be true. And if it is not true, then it is false. So is the religion that he founded.
It is not how we see the “big picture”, but whether we see and comprehend the great Truths which everyone must know and believe in order to be saved.
we must remember that he who fears God, will also believe ALL the truths that God has revealed, as Cornelius did in Acts 10 He believes Jesus Christ when He speaks to us through the pastors of His Church. But he who does not believe all the truths that God has revealed, but instead believes and rejects whatever he chooses, does not fear God, and cannot work justice. “He that believeth not the Son of God maketh Him a liar,” (1 John 5:10). And will, on this account, be condemned to eternal damnation. Such a person’s works are useless and not availing unto salvation.
Moreover, once the truth is known then there is nothing left but to assent our wills to this truth, or else eternally perish.
True! The Father sends the Son that we may know His Will. Indeed, in Matt. 7:21, Christ has solemnly declared that only those will be saved who have done God’s will on earth:
“Not everyone, who saith to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven, he shall enter the kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)
But what is the Will of the heavenly Father? From the gospel of Luke 9:35, God’s Will is that all men hear and believe His Son, Jesus Christ. “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him.” (Luke 9:35)
And what does Jesus Christ say? Jesus Christ says to His Apostles (and to all their lawful successors): “He that heareth you heareth Me, and he that despiseth you despiseth Me and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him, the heavenly Father, that sent Me.”
And “He who will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican.” (Matt. 18:17)
This is not an idle threat but a definitive and irrevocable sentence of exclusion from ETERNAL SALVATION of all those who rejects the doctrines and teachings of that Church which Christ refers to in Matt. 18;17. It thus follows that ONLY those will be saved who have done God’s will on earth as explained, not by private interpretation or personal opinions, but by the infallible teaching of the Church. Now, that Church is Roman Catholic because both reason and common sense tell us that it cannot be a church (or any one of its sects) that appeared sixten hiundred years later. Truth be said, outside of this Church there is no salvation
Hence all those who do not listen to Jesus Christ speaking to them through St. Peter and the Apostles in their lawful successors, despise God the Father. They do not do His will, and therefore Heaven will NEVER be theirs.
Is this sufficient to attain eternal life? Certainly not.
Then in vain was it written of the Blessed Virgin in the gospels that: Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.(Luke 1:48)
These words are a prediction of that honour which the Church in all ages would, and should, pay to the Blessed Virgin. All they who reject the Blessed Virgin’s role in the salvation of mankind should examine whether they are any way concerned in this prophecy.
The Creator, under no obligation whatsoever to honor a mere creature, in choosing Her to be the Mother of His Son, Lord and Creator of all, honored this humble and most chaste Virgin. The creature becomes the mother of its Creator; the finite becomes mother to the Infinte. The Blessed Virgin’s womb enclosed He whom the Heavens could not contain. Do you comprehend that? If so, how is it, then, that part of mankind refuses to emulate God the Teacher of mankind, He who teaches us by example. Whose infinite dignity prevents Him from doing so, yet went ahead and honored a humble maid, in order to communicate to us His Will that we, too, should honor the Mother of His Son.