Short biography of martin luther
A more recent short biography is that by the distinguished Lutheran historian, Martin Marty, in the Penguin Brief Lives series. You can read the whole thing here , which also includes recommended reading from Luther himself and by others on his theology. Justin Taylor is executive vice president for book publishing and publisher for books at Crossway.
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But Luther's standpoint certainly had consequences for the philosophy of religion, and more particularly for the problem of a natural theology. For Luther there could be no question of treating the truths of reason as a kind of foundation for the truths of revelation. The continuity between nature and grace, as presented in the classical scholastic scheme, is broken.
There is no rational preamble to faith, because reason is not a neutral instrument for the discovery of objective truths; it is misled by its own bias and even corrupted by sin — that is, by the egocentricity of the unredeemed man. For man in sin actually prefers a God of law, upon whom he can establish a claim. Revelation does not confirm or supplement reason: It stands in contradiction to reason, until the natural man is "born anew.
Luther does not deny that a limited knowledge of God is available to reason; but the egocentricity of man in sin is a fatal defect, productive of idolatry and superstition. Reason makes God as it wills Him to be, and turns this natural knowledge into idolatry. The god of reason is a false God. In general, Luther's direct statements about philosophy closely parallel his judgment on reason.
As early as the Lectures on Romans — he had come to see his mission as a protest against philosophy, and his writings are interspersed with abusive descriptions of Aristotle "the stinking philosopher," "the clown of the High Schools," "the blind pagan," etc. Thomas Aquinas, who symbolized the attempt to synthesize Aristotle and the Christian faith, is treated with similar disrespect.
Nevertheless, Luther could on occasion speak deferentially of philosophy and even of Aristotle. He approved of much that the Greek philosopher had written on social ethics and ranked Cicero's ethics even higher. He freely acknowledged that the Christian had much to learn from philosophy in this area. The key to Luther's ambivalence lies, as with his concept of reason, in the distinction between the two realms.
The boundaries are carefully drawn. Philosophy is an excellent thing in its own place, but if philosophical categories are transferred into theology, the result can only be confusion.
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Luther saw philosophy as tied to the empirical world the Earthly Kingdom , whereas theology is concerned with things unseen the Heavenly Kingdom. He was not, strictly speaking, hostile to Aristotle, but to the theological application of Aristotelianism by the Schoolmen. Of course, some of the Greek philosopher's doctrines already had a theological bearing for example, on the immortality of the soul and on divine Providence.
These Luther dismissed. But he approved Aristotle's treatises on the sermonic arts logic and rhetoric and, with qualifications, those on moral philosophy. Perhaps the most important illustration of Luther's attitude toward Aristotle is afforded by his discussions of moral "habit" Latin, habitus ; Greek, hexis. In the Nicomachean Ethics , Aristotle taught that "we become just by performing just acts.
In assailing the concept of habit, Luther is not offering a philosophical critique of Aristotle, but rejecting the theological application of Aristotelian doctrines. A philosophical theory belongs within the Earthly Kingdom. The Schoolmen mix the kingdoms. Luther's distinction between two spheres of knowledge philosophy and theology and between two organs of knowing reason and faith certainly invites comparison with late medieval Scholasticism.
There is perhaps a prima facie probability that Luther's views on reason and philosophy were under the influence of the nominalists. His main instructors at Erfurt were nominalists, and it is noteworthy that Luther could speak of William of Ockham with apparent respect, even calling him "my dear master. Other possible debts have been argued with more or less plausibility, although it can hardly be denied that Luther left nothing unchanged that he borrowed from others.
At least the possibility is open that at the outset the sharp distinction between faith and reason may have been suggested to him by his familiarity with the Ockhamist school. It may be that the separation of theology and philosophy in Luther is to be explained partly by his acceptance, along with the nominalists, of a strict Aristotelian concept of science.
Against Thomas, Luther agreed with the nominalists that since theology rests upon assertions of faith, it cannot be classed as a science. Philosophy which is the sum total of rational knowledge and embraces the various sciences deals with the visible world, which is accessible to reason. Theology deals with an invisible world, accessible only to faith.
Such points of agreement between Luther and the Ockhamists cannot, however, conceal the sharp differences between them. Quite apart from the fact that Luther developed a divergent concept of faith, his standpoint represents a different basic concern. The interest of the Ockhamists in the problem of faith and reason was primarily epistemological.
Hence they devoted considerable thought to relating the cognition of reason to the cognition of faith, and sought in various ways to bridge the gap that they had apparently cut between the two. Nominalist theologians tried to comprehend both faith and reason within a single epistemological scheme. They regarded theological propositions once established as subject to rational scrutiny, believed that merely probable arguments could lead to faith when the will cooperates, and argued that revelation was given precisely to those who made maximum use of their rational capacities.
Luther, on the other hand, was not interested in narrowing the epistemological gap.
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On the contrary, the problem for him was graver, because he allowed for the corruption of reason by human sinfulness. Hence his restrictions on reason, even if they were built on a nominalist view of science, go beyond it in what is primarily a theological, rather than philosophical, concern. The nominalist distinction between the spheres of faith and of reason has commonly been interpreted as though there were a disharmony, or even a contradiction, between them.
Indeed, the doctrine of a "double truth" — that is, that a proposition may be true in theology, but false in philosophy — has been attributed to the nominalist theologian Robert Holkot. Properly speaking, double truth seems never to have been a consciously adopted "doctrine" in the Middle Ages , but rather an accusation leveled against theological opponents.
There does not seem to be adequate reason to attribute it to any of the nominalists.
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True, they admitted some apparent conflicts, for instance, that the Christian belief in the Trinity , when formulated according to the rules of Aristotelian logic, contained real contradictions. But this simply prompted the quest for a higher logic, which could embrace both the traditional Aristotelian rules and also the rules appropriate to the peculiarities of theological truth.
A doctrine of double truth could, however, be attributed to Luther with some plausibility, since he explicitly said that "the same thing is not true in different disciplines" Disputation on the Proposition, "The Word became flesh," But Luther himself did not use the expression "double truth," and a close inspection of his argument suggests that, despite appearances, he really had a rather different thesis in mind.
What he was trying to defend might better be called a "theory of multiple meaning. If we may paraphrase the drift of Luther's argument, he seems to be saying that homo loquens reflects and communicates, not by means of a single, universally valid language, but by means of several languages, which are relative to particular disciplines or areas of experience.
Hence the meaning of a term or proposition is determined by the area of discourse: If transferred from one area of discourse to another, a term may acquire a different meaning, or have no meaning at all. To use Luther's own examples, it makes no sense to ask the weight of a line or the length of a pound. Whether correct or not, this argument bears a close resemblance to ideas that played an important role in twentieth-century linguistic philosophy, and is therefore not likely to be dismissed as obscurantism or anti-intellectualism.
Unfortunately, Luther's argument is not developed with adequate precision, either in this Disputation or elsewhere. But it is not an isolated argument. The basic thesis — that the same form of words may have different meanings in different disciplines — underlies many of his remarks about the relation of ethics and theology. For example, the proposition that fallen man can do no good is fundamental to Luther's teaching on justification.
But Luther admits that this is true only in a theological, not in an ethical, context, for in each context the word good means something different. This is, perhaps, a statement of double truth, but only because it rests on a theory of multiple meaning. Thus interpreted, "double truth" does not imply contradiction, but excludes it, since real contradiction is possible only within a single realm of discourse.
As Luther put it in the first thesis of the Disputation : "Although we must hold to the saying, 'One truth agrees with another,' nevertheless the same thing is not true in different disciplines. Martin Luthers Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe Weimar, —. Lehmann St. Louis: Concordia, — , 55 vols. I, 1st ed. II, 3rd and 4th eds. The literature dealing with the general question of Luther's relation to nominalism is sketched in Leif Grane, Contra Gabrielem.
Luthers Auseinandersetzung mit Gabriel Biel in der Disputatio contra scholasticam theologiam Copenhagen: Gyldendal, For the wider aspects of Luther's thought, see the articles and bibliographies under "Luther" in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart , 3rd ed. IV, pp. Gerrish, B. Luther was born in Eisleben on November 10, the son of Hans Luder, who was engaged in copper mining.
After moving to nearby Mansfeld, the family increasingly acquired modest prosperity. Because Hans Luder appears prominently in Luther's later recollections as a stern and oppressive presence, the question has arisen whether the son's development was significantly affected by intense conflict with his father. No satisfactory answer to this question has been given.
After initial schooling in Mansfeld, Martin Luther attended the cathedral school in Magdeburg from to , where he came into contact with the Brethren of the Common Life, one of the most spiritual of late medieval religious movements. Between and he attended school in Eisenach, and, in , he matriculated at the University of Erfurt to pursue the customary study of the seven liberal arts.
Luther was declared ineligible for financial aid, an indirect testimonial to the economic successes of his father. The philosophical climate at the university was that of Ockhamism, which undoubtedly exerted its influence upon the young student. Upon receiving the master's degree in , Luther began the study of law in the summer of that year, in accordance with the wishes of his father.
Less than two months later, however, the experience of a terrifying thunderstorm near Stotterheim prompted his vow to Saint Anne to become a monk, resulting in the abandonment of his legal studies. Undoubtedly, spiritual anxiety and uncertainty about his vocational choice combined to precipitate the determination to carry out the vow.
His choice of this monastic order is explained not only by its strictness but also by its philosophical and theological orientation, to which Luther had been exposed during his earlier studies. Two years later, on February 27, , Luther was ordained to the priesthood. In his later recollections his first celebration of the Mass stood out as an awesome experience.
Afterward, at the behest of his monastic superior, Johann von Staupitz, Luther began graduate studies in theology, first at Erfurt and then, in the fall of , at the recently founded university at Wittenberg, because of his transfer to the Augustinian monastery there. In accordance with custom, he served as philosophical lecturer in the liberal arts curriculum.
In he received his first theological degree, the baccalaureus biblicus. In the fall of Luther was transferred back to Erfurt, where he continued his theological studies. Sometime thereafter the exact date is uncertain he was sent to Rome on monastic business. In his reflections of later years, he attributed great significance to that trip: the Rome that he had presumed to be the epitome of spiritual splendor had turned out to be terribly worldly.
Soon after his return from Rome, Luther transferred a second time to Wittenberg, completing his doctorate in theology there in October He then assumed the lectura in Biblia , the professorship in Bible endowed by the Augustinian order. The first academic courses that Luther taught were on Psalms — , Romans — , Galatians — , Hebrews — , and another on Psalms His lecture notes, which have been analyzed intensively, chronicle his theological development: his shift from the traditional exegetical method, his increasing concentration on questions of sin, grace, and righteousness, his preoccupation with Augustine of Hippo, and — last but by no means least — his alienation from scholastic theology.
At the same time Luther acquired increasing responsibilities in his monastic order. In he became preacher at the parish church in Wittenberg and was appointed district vicar of his order. The latter position entailed the administrative oversight of the Augustinian monasteries in Saxony. In his later years Luther spoke of having had a profound spiritual experience or insight dubbed by scholars his "evangelical discovery" , and intensive scholarly preoccupation has sought to identify its exact date and nature.
Two basic views regarding the time have emerged. One dates the experience, which Luther himself related to the proper understanding of the concept of the "righteousness of God" Rom. The matter remains inconclusive, partly because nowhere do Luther's writings of the time echo the dramatic notions that the reformer in later years associated with his experience.
The import of the issue lies both in the precise understanding of what it was that alienated Luther from the Catholic church, and in understanding the theological frame of mind with which Luther entered the indulgences controversy of The dating of the experience before or after is thus important. Placing the experience in seems to be the most viable interpretation.
The Ninety-five Theses of October 31, the traditional notion that Luther nailed them to the door of the Wittenberg castle church has recently been questioned catapulted Luther into the limelight. These theses pertained to the ecclesiastical practice of indulgences that had not as yet been dogmatically defined by the church.
Biography of martin luther king: Martin Luther, a 16th-century monk and theologian, was one of the most significant figures in Christian history. His beliefs helped birth the Reformation —which would give rise to Protestantism as the third major force within Christendom, alongside Eastern Orthodoxy.
Luther's exploration of the practice was therefore a probing inquiry. Almost immediately after the appearance of the Ninety-five Theses, a controversy ensued. Undoubtedly it was fanned by the fact that Luther had focused not merely on a theological topic but had also cited a number of the popular grievances against Rome, thus touching upon a political issue.
In addition to sending copies of the theses to several friends, Luther sent a copy to Archbishop Albert of Hohenzollern, whom he held responsible for a vulgar sale of indulgences in the vicinity of Wittenberg, together with a fervent plea to stop the sale. Luther was unaware that the sale was part and parcel of a large fiscal scheme by which Albert hoped to finance his recent elevation to the politically important post of archbishop of Mainz.
Albert's response was to ask the University of Mainz to assess the theses and, soon thereafter, to request the Curia Romana to commence the processus inhibitorius , the proceedings by which Luther's orthodoxy would be ascertained. Thus the theses and Luther became an official matter for the church. The commencement of official proceedings against Luther added far-reaching notoriety to the affair, as did the related accusation of heresy by several theological opponents.
The ensuing debate therefore became a public one, eventually allowing for the formation of a popular movement. In April Luther presented a summary of his theological thought, which he called the "theology of the cross," at a meeting of the Augustinian order in Heidelberg. In presenting a caricature of scholastic theology, Luther appropriately emphasized its one-sidednesses.
Soon afterward he was ordered to appear in Rome in conjunction with the proceedings against him, but the intervention of his territorial ruler, Elector Frederick, caused the interrogation to take place in Augsburg, Germany. With Cardinal Legate Cajetan representing the Curia, the meeting proved unsuccessful, since Luther refused to recant. Luther fled from Augsburg and, upon his return to Wittenberg, issued an appeal to a general council.
Overwhelmed by the unexpected notoriety of the affair, Luther agreed to refrain from further participation in the controversy. All the same, he was inadvertently drawn into a disputation held in Leipzig in July In the context of a wide-ranging, if tedious, discussion of the fundamental issues in the controversy, Luther's opponent, Johann Eck, professor of theology at Ingolstadt, was intent on branding him a heretic and succeeded in eliciting Luther's acknowledgment that the church's general councils had erred.
Luther posited a difference between the authority of the church and that of scripture, a notion that late medieval thinkers had never seen as problematic. After the election of Charles V as the new emperor, which had preoccupied the Curia for some time, official proceedings against Luther were resumed. In June the papal bull Exsurge Domine Arise, O Lord condemned forty-one sentences from Luther's writings as "heretical, offensive, erroneous, scandalous for pious ears, corrupting for simple minds and contradictory to Catholic teaching.
His response was to burn the bull in a public spectacle on 10 December It was now incumbent upon the political authorities to execute the ecclesiastical condemnation, but Luther was given the opportunity to appear before the German diet at Worms in April Several factors converged to bring about the unusual citation.
Luther had begun to precipitate a popular movement, in part playing on prevailing anti-Roman and anticlerical sentiment. There was apprehension about popular restlessness. Moreover, Luther claimed persistently that he had not received a fair hearing. To invite Luther to appear at Worms, and, indeed, give him an opportunity to recant, seemed to be to everyone's advantage.
When he appeared before the diet, Luther acknowledged that he had been too strident in tone, but he refused to recant anything of theological substance. After several weeks of deliberation, and despite some reluctance, a rump diet promulgated an edict that declared Luther and all of his followers political outlaws and called for the suppression of his teachings.
By that time, however, Luther had disappeared from the public scene. At the instigation of his ruler Elector Frederick, he had been taken on his return to Wittenberg to a secluded castle, the Wartburg, where he was to spend almost a full year in hiding. A period of self-doubt, it was also an exceedingly creative time, part of which he spent in translating the New Testament from Greek into German.
He returned to Wittenberg in March to calm the restlessness that had surfaced there over the nature of the reform movement. In a series of sermons he enunciated a conservative notion of ecclesiastical reform, and his stance left its imprint on the subsequent course of the Reformation. Luther resumed his professorial responsibilities and continued his prolific literary activities, clarifying theological themes and offering guidelines for undertaking ecclesiastical reform.
His own theological formation was essentially complete by ; his theological work thereafter consisted in amplification and clarification. On June 13 of that same year he married Katharina von Bora, a former nun who had left her convent the previous year. Even though the marriage — coming as it did on the heels of the German Peasants' War — was a subject of notoriety among Luther's enemies, it set the tone for a Protestant definition of Christian marriage for which the term "school for character" was aptly coined.
The next several years were overshadowed by Luther's growing controversy with Huldrych Zwingli over Communion. The controversy reached its culmination in October with a colloquy held at Marburg at the instigation of Landgrave Philipp of Hesse, who viewed the split of the Reformation movement over this issue as a major political liability.
Luther was a reluctant participant in the colloquy, for he saw the theological differences between Zwingli and himself to be so fundamental as to make conciliation impossible. The major issue debated at Marburg was the bodily presence of Christ in the Communion elements. It is unclear whether for Luther the politically more prudent course of action would have been theological conciliation which would have presented a unified Reformation movement or intransigence which by its separation from Zwingli would have underscored the proximity of the Lutheran and the Catholic positions.
No agreement was reached at Marburg; as a result, at the diet at Augsburg the following year, the Protestants appeared divided.
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As a political outlaw, Luther was unable to be present at Augsburg. He stayed at Coburg as far south as he was able to travel on Saxon territory , and his close associate Philipp Melanchthon functioned as spokesman for the Lutherans. Several of Luther's most insightful publications appeared during that summer — a tract on translating, an exposition of Psalm , and Exhortation That Children Should Be Sent to School.
The unsuccessful outcome of the discussions at Augsburg and the subsequent formation of the League of Smalcald were accompanied by Luther's reconsideration of his views on the right of resistance to the emperor, which he had previously rejected. The s brought Luther's extensive involvement in the reorganization of the University of Wittenberg — His extensive participation in the academic disputations that were now resumed were evidence of the richness and fullness of his thought.
Luther's final years were overshadowed by his growing antagonism toward the papal church, and the consequences of his well-meant but misunderstood counsel to Landgrave Philipp of Hesse that bigamy was permissible under certain circumstances. In addition, the Lutheran movement was torn by several internal conflicts, and Luther was concerned about the increasing role of the political authorities in ecclesiastical affairs.
Luther's recognition that his norm of authority — scripture — did not preclude disagreement in interpretation and that the papal church was unwilling to accept the primacy of the word of God undoubtedly serve to explain — along with his increasing physical ailments — the vehemence of his last publications, especially those against the papacy and the Jews.
He was plagued by insomnia and, from onward, by kidney stones, which in almost led to his demise. In February Luther traveled, together with two of his sons and Philipp Melanchthon, to Luther's birthplace, Eisleben, to mediate in a feud among the counts of Mansfeld. There, having succeeded in that assignment, he died on 16 February. Not surprisingly, Martin Luther has received considerable scholarly and theological attention throughout the centuries.
Assessments of Luther have always been staunchly partisan, with a clear demarcation between Protestant and Catholic evaluations. The former, while uniformly positive, have tended to follow the intellectual or theological currents of their particular time, such as the eighteenth-century Enlightenment or nineteenth-century German nationalism.
In the twentieth century, particularly in the latter part, the biographical and theological evaluation of Martin Luther focused on a number of specific aspects. There was a preoccupation with the "young" Luther, that is, Luther between and , and particularly with Luther's "evangelical discovery," his formulation of a new understanding of the Christian faith.
This new understanding has generated much speculation about Luther's relationship to the late Middle Ages , the medieval exegetical tradition, the significance of Augustine, Ockham, and mysticism. The "older" or "mature" Luther, generally defined as Luther after , is only beginning to receive widespread attention; this part of his life has not attracted much scholarly interest because it lacks the excitement of Luther's earlier years.
The general question is whether the "older" Luther should be seen in continuity or in discontinuity with the young Luther. A key theme in Luther's theology is that of the sole authority of scripture, formulated as the notion of sola scriptura; this notion, because it implied the possibility of a divergence of tradition from scripture, raised a startling new question.
Late medieval theology had formulated the issue of authority in terms of the possible divergency of pope and council. A related theme in Luther's theology was the relationship of law and gospel, which provided the key to the understanding of scripture. God reveals himself as both a demanding and a giving God, two qualities that Luther loosely assigned to the Old and New Testaments respectively; but in truth, so Luther asserted, grace is found in the Old Testament even as law is found in the New.
The notion of justification by faith is traditionally cited as the heart of Luther's thought. It is, in fact, his major legacy to the Protestant tradition. In contradistinction to the medieval notion of a cooperative effort between man and God, between works and grace, Luther only stressed grace and God. Such grace is appropriated by faith, which affirms the reality of the grace of forgiveness, despite the reality of sin.
Luther's "theology of the cross" affirmed that God always works contrary to experience. These themes must be considered in the context of Luther's general affirmation of traditional dogma. His sacramental teaching repudiated the medieval notion of transubstantiation and affirmed a "real presence" of Christ in the bread and wine of Communion.
Besides the sacrament of Communion, only that of baptism was affirmed. At least in his early years, Luther advocated a congregationally oriented concept of the church, with the "priesthood of all believers," another key motif, as an important corollary. Luther's teaching of the "two kingdoms" sought to differentiate the Christian principles applicable in society.
The definitive Weimar edition of Luther's works, D. Knaake and others Weimar, — , in more than a hundred volumes, continues to be the basic tool for Luther research. An exhaustive sampling of Luther in English can be found in his Works , 55 vols. Of the numerous Luther biographies, the following deserve to be mentioned: Roland H. Haile, Luther Garden City, N.
Two useful collections of sources are Martin Luther , edited by E. She continued to provide her cherished critiques on his current scripts between treatments. She never stopped pushing me to do my best work. As cancer spread and Nancy grew sicker in early , she stopped treatments and transitioned to home hospice. John hardly left her side at their North Shore home those last months.
Though in immense pain, Nancy stayed chipper and engaged — discussing movies, politics, art and life with John until the end. Her spirit amazed me. On the morning of July 29, , Nancy passed away at home, surrounded by loved ones in her final moments. He was only 59, never having recovered from losing his soulmate. Yours forever, John". You are the music in my heart.
The children have welcomed you as their father. Our family is whole because of you. Counting the moments until we are reunited. Your embrace keeps me sane. My heart is yours eternally — John". As John said in Classics like The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Pretty in Pink address relationship struggles touching youth and adults universally.
This would serve to rejuvenate him, and venerating the relics would give him an opportunity to earn indulgences. A partial indulgence would reduce time in purgatory; a plenary indulgence would eliminate it altogether. However, as excited as Luther was when he began his journey, he was quickly disillusioned by the gaudy wealth and sinful lifestyles of the priests in Rome.
Visiting the relics and sacred sites did not help either. He returned to Erfurt more despondent than ever. Even so, he was transferred to the University in Wittenberg to become a professor. Here he began to truly study Scripture, and he began to search diligently for how sinful man could be made right before God.
From he studied and taught through the books of Psalms, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. Meanwhile, the question of indulgences continued to bother Luther. For Luther, this was just too much. From this, you could release us with a few alms. We have created you, fed you, cared for you and left you our temporal goods. Why do you treat us so cruelly and leave us to suffer in the flames, when it takes only a little to save us?
The illegitimacy of indulgences on behalf of the dead is why Luther decided to post the 95 Theses. This single act, though not particularly unusual or defiant, would reverberate across countries, across continents, and across centuries. This was the act which sparked the Protestant Reformation, and it was the Protestant Reformation that brought light into darkness and recovered the core truths of the gospel obscured by medieval religion.
Luther wanted to have an earnest theological discussion about whether issuing indulglences on behalf of the dead was was Biblical or approved by the Pope. At this point he did not question indulgences altogether, or purgatory, or the primacy of the Pope. In fact, he defended the Pope, and assumed the Pope would put a stop to this shady sale of indulgences.
Luther was not trying to cause trouble. This was an academic and theological issue, and his 95 Theses were written in Latin, not the language of the people. Without his knowledge or permission, these Theses were translated by some of his students from Latin to German and distributed. Thanks to the new technology of the printing press, within 2 weeks nearly every village in Germany had a copy.
The ideas soon took hold, and storm clouds began to loom on the horizon. All at once, as if reading it for the first time, Luther came to understand the full meaning of Romans , which says. Salvation is by grace through faith — not by prayers or fasting or pilgrimages or sacraments. Righteousness before God was not earned by our works, but was a gift from God to us received by faith!
Luther was overjoyed — But this Gospel truth of salvation by grace alone through faith alone and not of works immediately brought Luther into even greater contention with Catholic doctrine. What was he to do? Should he ignore Scripture to obey the church, or should he challenge the church to obey Scripture? Rather than being subject to both sacred Scripture and sacred tradition, as the church taught, Luther believed that we are to be subject to Scripture alone — and that Scripture has the authority to correct the traditions when they are in error.