One of the most controversial figures of the last thousand years is Martin Luther. In a time when the Church was nearly completely united, he introduced chaos and schism. Martin Luther single-handedly destroyed fifteen centuries of Christian unity. I doubt there would be the several thousand Christian denominations we have today without Luther's betrayal.
And yet we seem to have forgotten those simple facts. The popular history of Martin Luther, the one taught in public schools, is a puree of truth and myth. Martin Luther is lauded, yes, even by Catholics, for his "spirit of renewal."
Martin Luther was not a hero. He was an arrogant man who broke with Rome. He was a heretic.
The late middle ages were a glorious time for the Catholic Church. Education continued to improve with the support of monasteries. New monastic orders like the Franciscans, Trappists, and Dominicans emerged, each dedicated to serving a particular need within Christendom. St. Thomas Aquinas successfully adapted Aristotelian philosophy to Christian theology, a monumental triumph. Clerical celibacy was reinforced, ensuring that priests remained models of chastity for their flock. Thirty years before Luther's act of disobedience, Pope Sixtus IV restored the Sistine Chapel, adorning God's house with the works of Renaissance masters. Hospitals, schools, and institutions that cared for the poor were all run by the Church. The idea that the Catholic Church was corrupt and decayed in the time of Luther is a lie of Protestant revisionism.
That is not to say that there were no challenges for the Church. Anticlericalism encouraged dissent. This was most fully expressed in the teachings of the heretic, John Huss, who claimed among other falsities that sacraments were only valid if the priest was sufficiently "holy." Catharism promoted a primitive dualistic theology where Satan was nearly equal to God in power. While not widespread, there were cases of corruption. The sale of indulgences did occur. What began as a way of rewarding the noble sacrifices of Crusaders was occasionally twisted into a source of funds without concern for the salvation of souls.
Into this fray stepped an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther. The facts of his early life are obscured by Protestant hero-worship. What we do know about Martin Luther is that he was of a temperament wholly unsuited to the monastic lifestyle. He alternated between neglecting the Breviary and engaging in extreme ascetical practices our of guilt. This instability suggests a possible explanation for his "faith alone" doctrine.
We've all heard the next part of this story. Luther learns about Tetzel's abuse of indulgences. He drafts a condemnation of this practice and dramatically nails it to the doors of the Wittenberg cathedral. Well, not quite so dramatically. In those days, cathedral doors were bulletin boards of sorts.
Even in this early work, Luther's heresy is evident. Catholics should note that in this document of "renewal," he suggests the inefficacy of Confession writing, "When our Lord and Master Jesus said, 'Repent' (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance..." (95 Theses, 1-2). I hope that our Protestant brothers and sisters likewise notice his belief in purgatory even while rejecting the authority of the pope, "The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them" (26).
When his theological errors came to the attention of the Vatican, Luther was summoned to Rome. Despite his monastic requirement of obedience, he refused on the grounds that he worried for his safety. Since he would not go to Rome, Rome went to him. Johann Eck, an esteemed theologian, who had identified 18 heretical statements in the Theses, invited Luther to join the Leipzig Debate. Luther was woefully outmatched; Eck was the greatest debater of his day. He maneuvered Luther into admitting his heretical views which ranged from denying the legitimacy of the pope to sola scriptura. Conveniently, Luther denied the authority of ecumenical councils to interpret Scripture while affirming his own. Eck answered his vain appeals to his personal interpretation by observing, "Martin, there is no one of the heresies which have torn the bosom of the church which has not derived its origin from the various interpretation of Scripture."
Luther's statements during the Leipzig Debate led Pope Leo X to censor his teachings and threaten him with excommunication. Luther responded by becoming even more radical. About a year after the Leipzig Debate, Luther published his Address to the German Nobility. If the lies of his Theses were often subtle, the errors of the Address are blatant and inflammatory.
He rejects the priesthood in the strongest terms: "Therefore a priest should be nothing in Christendom but a functionary," "Thus we are all consecrated as priests by baptism." He also encourages priests to break their vows of chastity, "It is not every priest who can do without a woman." Of course, Luther subsequently took a wife of his own. What he should have said is that not every man (especially not Luther) can be a priest! Perhaps appealing to the German princes, Luther denounces the political power of the Church, "Let it be decreed that no temporal matter shall be submitted to Rome, but all shall be left to the jurisdiction of temporal authorities." The Address to the German Nobility is the raving of an anarchist; Luther wanted to overthrow the authority of the Church and the very foundations of Christendom.
Luther went on to found his own church, and thus Protestantism was born. He reduced the number of sacraments to two, encouraged the neglect of ascetical practices, and promoted personal interpretation of Scripture instead of relying on the authority of ecumenical councils.
No man, not Arius, Huss, or Erasmus, did as much damage to the Church as the heretic, Martin Luther. He lead millions into separation from Christ's Church. He put their souls at risk by preaching falsity. Truly it is he whom Christ condemns when He says, "It is impossible that scandals should not come. But woe to him through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones" (Luke 17:1-2).
Martin Luther was not a reformer. He was an obstinate heretic who refused to reconsider his own personal interpretations of Scripture when faced with centuries of tradition. Every one of the several thousand Christian denominations has some link to his lies. The almost universal Protestant hatred of the pope can be traced back to Luther's personal squabbles.
Martin Luther is not someone to be lionized. He is not a saint of orthodoxy but of the "dictatorship of relativism" as Pope Benedict XVI called it. He championed personal interpretation of the Bible, a mere step away from personal interpretations of objective moral realities.
Brothers and sisters, we cannot allow historical revisionism to make us forget what Luther did. The Church should never, not even in an ecumenical spirit, honor him. Rather, we must remain steadfast in our rejection of his heretical doctrines, even if it doesn't make us any Protestant friends.
Deus Vult!
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