An interesting question (that I am sure has been addressed at length in many places) as to why Luther's "Reformation" succeeded while others had failed. The printing press was a factor. Also, I believe Luther benefitted from the protection of the Elector of Saxony, and from a Pope unable or unwilling to enforce his will on Luther.

In any event, Luther wasn't specifically looking to break with the Church, but he apparently wasn't willing to bow to its authority either which probably made the split inevitable.

It's probably also not true that the references to "this world's tyrant" and the "hordes of devils" mentioned in "A Mighty Fortress" refer to the Pope and his supporters.

Maybe you meant this in jest, but no one (least of all Lutherans) think of M.L. as a "prophet."

There is a more general sense of the word prophet than what you may be familiar with:

The great task assigned to the prophets whom God raised up among the people was "to correct moral and religious abuses, to proclaim the great moral and religious truths which are connected with the character of God, and which lie at the
foundation of his government." Any one being a spokesman for God to man might thus be called a prophet.

One could also say that all pastors are prophets, as they (should) use God's Word to remind their parishioners of their sinfulness and salvation.

The Protestant Reformation was a heresy, is a heresy and always will be a heresy. It is contrary to the truth of the faith as witnessed by the Catholic Church (for 1500 years prior) and has been a singular disaster for civilization. It is dying - witness the Anglican implosion - as it is also eminently unreasonable. The number of highly-placed protestants swimming the Tiber is growing at an extraordinary pace. There is no such thing as "Protestant belief". If you want to know what a protestant believes you have to ask otherwise it is simply unknowable as he is his own pope.

> "The number of highly-placed protestants swimming the Tiber is growing at an extraordinary pace..."

Well, Ronald, it's like St Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Hebrews: "If a lot of members of your church start reverting to the old religion, that means you should revert too, because that way at least you have validly ordained priests who can continually offer sacrifices to take away your ongoing sins."

As for "each his own pope": over the last two weeks I've listened in a couple of intra-Catholic debates over whether, when and how non-Catholics can be saved. And I've listened in to other equally bitter debates among Catholics - conservative, believing Catholics, too. The "unity" on your side of the Tiber is achieved simply by declaring the matters on which Catholics agree to be "essentials" while declaring matters on which they disagree to be "non-essentials". If the world's Protestant leaders met and signed and agreement declaring (a) that Franklin Graham is the rightful successor to Billy Graham, and (b) that the Eucharist does not involve a priest causing bread and wine to change into body and blood, then in practice they would have about as much theological unity as conservative Catholics do.

Hey Ronald,

Preaching the truth about what the Bible says, plain as day, is not heresy. The thrust of Luther's message is found in Romans 1:16-17, "The just shall live by faith." Do you think, Ronald, that Johann Tetzel's (A Dominican friar) sale of indulgences to built St Peter's Cathedral was not heresy? Tetzel's slogan went, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs!" Any buyer, said Tetzel, would immediately be released from all punishment from his sins, and any friends in purgatory would be immediately freed to go to Heaven. Thanks to the study of the Bible, Luther was able to see through the false beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic church. It should be noted once again, that Luther's intention was not to split off from the Catholic church- his goal was reform. Luther intended to start discussion among churchmen and scholars like himself. When Pope Leo X received a copy of Luther's 95 theses, he charged Luther with heresy. How dare people not blindly follow the teachings of Catholicism and want to study and read the Bible for themselves? Were it not for Martin Luther and the brave men and women who prepared the way for the Reformation... Who knows? We could all be buying our way out of hell today! That, my friend, is the thing that is heretical and contrary to scripture. Priests and pastors are just people, too, and they need to be held accountable for their actions and teachings.

Luther was able to see through the false beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic church

First of all, you need to distinguish between the false beliefs and practices of Roman Catholics (of which there are many - ironically enough, many they share in common with Protestants) and alleged false beliefs/practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

And Luther was able to see through many of those false beliefs/practices of Catholics (hierarchy included), and went on to create many of his own (beginning with rewriting and editing scripture to fit his pet theories - Luther's "abridged" bible, you might say). If I get to rewrite and edit any law to fit my theory, I would win every case, too.

Tom R brings up a good point. There are disagreements among Catholics on topics that one would think are (or should be) settled. But that does not mean the RCC itself is in disagreement. Such is the nature of fallen humans, Catholic or not. Fallen nature unfortunately lends itself to being biased in favor of its own agenda, consciously or not. Try to find two parties (on the opposite side of the docket, of course) who would agree on what would seem to be perfectly clearly written language in a contract. Eventually, you will get to a judge who will decide for you what the contract means. Catholics have that visible judge (although his docket seems to move excrutiatingly slowly), Protestants simply don't. Thus, there is a unity that Catholics have that Protestans do not.

Were it not for Martin Luther and the brave men and women who prepared the way for the Reformation... Who knows?

Who knows, indeed. We might still have a Christianity that universally dissaproves of artificial contraception, divorce, homosexual acts, abortion, ....

"We might still have a Christianity that universally dissaproves of artificial contraception, divorce, homosexual acts, abortion"

You mean like Catholics do?

You mean like Catholics do?

No, like Catholicism does.

"Dr. Luther's role was analogous to the OT prophets who rebuked Israel when it strayed." Only none of the Old Testament prophets suggested that a bunch of them go off and form a new, improved Israel. Who gave him the authority to create a new church?
How could any religion that allows divorce and re-marriage be true in light of the inerrant word of God?

Luke 16:18: "Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
Mathew 5:32: “But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mathew 19:9: “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery."
Mark 10: 11: And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her;�
1 Corinthian 7: 10-13: To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband) -- and that the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.
Luther and his imitators introduced man made traditions that nullified the word of God.

Isn’t it interesting that Martin Luther acknowledged the Catholic Church as the custodian of sacred Scripture when he wrote, “We concede—as we must—that so much of what they [the Catholic Church] say is true: that the papacy has God’s word and the office of the apostles, and that we have received Holy Scriptures, Baptism, the Sacrament, and the pulpit from them. What would we know of these if it were not for them?” (Sermons on the Gospel of John, Chap. 14-16 (1537), in vol. 24 of Luther’s Works [St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publ. House, 1961], 304).

How could any religion that allows divorce and re-marriage be true in light of the inerrant word of God?

I don’t know, but a religion that says you can buy your way into heaven certainly warrants a split.

Sarah: You need to see what the Catholic Church teaches and has always taught about purgatory and indulgences. You have misconceptions. Indulgences were never meant to buy one's way out of hell. Only people who are saved go to purgatory (or more properly, undergo purgation). Just because you are saved doesn't mean you're perfect: "But nothing unclean shall enter it [heaven] . . ." (Rev. 21:27). Unless you die perfect, you'll need purgation.

Just a quick comment before I have to leave for class:

John,

Prove to me that saved people go to purgatory using scripture from the Bible. Show me.

Only people who are saved go to purgatory (or more properly, undergo purgation). Just because you are saved doesn't mean you're perfect

"...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

And no one answered my question- don't you think that the sale of indulgences is pretty heretical?

> "allows divorce and re-marriage be true in light of the inerrant word of God"

As opposed to, allowing divorce and remarriage after a panel of priests decrees that (eg) a 20-year-long marriage "was never really valid in the first place" because a couple of 25-year-olds "were not really mature enough" at the time to understand what they were getting into.

What's wrong with Jesus' and St Paul's grounds for allowing divorce and remarriage -- if your spouse commits adultery, or a non-Christian spouse abandons you?

cmatt -- Protestants have a judge, too, Who will settle these questions, and His docket too seems to move very slowly; but on the other hand, once He settles these questions, they'll stay settled -- it won't be "extra eccclesiam nullus salvus" in those centuries when the Papacy has a respectable army, but "Ut Unumm Sint" in the centuries when it doesn't.