Religion and Theology

Martin Luther and the 95 theses,. Why it was a good thing he did not recant.
Luther famously said when asked to recant on his statements known as the 95 theses  On this I take my stand. I can do no other. My thesis is that, given the conditions at the time, and Luthers personal beliefs, based upon scripture, he had no choice but to act as he did. There are a number of reasons why it is a good thing Luther did not recant. Good for him and good for the Church. These center around the idea that certain things needed examining. Bad habits and practices had entered the church over a long period of time.  In his own town people were buying indulgences in order to avoid confession. Then Johann Tetzel, licensed by the papacy, in league with the local archbishop, to raise funds began selling indulgences which he claimed could redeem the sins of those already dead.

When Luther nailed his theses to the church door in 1517 the church was long overdue for reform. The archbishop was shamed, but had already promised the money according to the Solent Communications article Johann Tetzel( 2010) . so it seems the matter was more to do with greed than faith.

Yes Luthers action did cause people to rethink their faith. They also caused division, but the church was already divided into East and West and despite his subsequent fame Luther was not the first Protestant.  Stupperich ( 977)  in his short biography tells how not only did he question the teaching behind the sale of indulgences , but  he also reminded the church  that its real treasure lay not in earthly things , but in the gospel. His actions were to cause a great spring cleaning of the church.

C.D. Merriman (2005)  has described his actions as a catalyst inspiring reform as when for instance he translated the Bible into German and wrote books such as The Freedom of the Christian Man. Merriman also describes how the town of Wittenburg, even when Luther was in exile  became a great center for the reformers. He was not just decrying the abuses he had observed within Catholicism, but was trying to call upon the Pope to return the church to sound Biblical values.

When, in December 1517 the Archbishop of Mainz sent a complaint about him to the Vatican Luther dug his heels in, denying the supremacy of the pope and his councils. As described by Stupperich.
He was not just a fanatic though.  When called upon to recant before the Diet of Worms he was willing to do so if they could refute his ideas on scriptural grounds  which was impossible.

Excommunication followed. There were extremists among his followers, but he sought to control these. He did not  seek to destroy the church , merely to put it back on the right track, his argument being that salvation was entirely in Gods hands, nothing to do with the works of men. He stressed preaching, the sharing of the communion and singing by the congregation. Unlike many other Protestants who followed he interpreted the communion meal as the real presence of Christ, as the Roman Catholic church taught  rather than just a symbolic remembrance. His actions were always dictated by scripture which then led to personal convictions. He had found for himself that keeping  the rules of his monastery with its regime of prayer , fasting and manual labor ( He was an Augustinian monk) bought him no nearer to God  He perceived that monastic mysticism was seen as a way of climbing to heaven  a way which did not work. Man by his own efforts could not succeed. Mans sin was what kept him away from God, only through Christ was the gap closed. In 1507 Luther was ordained as a priest. This began a period of intense study for the young man, culminating in his study of Romans. It was reading verse such as Romans 1 v 17-
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is
written , the just shall live by faith.
that led him to fully realize that it is not good works, but Gods grace alone, that leads to justification.
Luther did not bring about changes in creeds or doctrines. What he did do was to understand such doctrines in the light of Christ alone.

This led to the three main principles behind the Reformation as described by Stupperich .
1st Gods word was the ultimate authority. Luther believed that God spoke through scripture, and continued to speak to men in love  and men could respond to that in faith.

2nd Salvation was by grace alone. Gods riches at Christs expense. Such grace was free and undeserved calling man from sin to life in Christ. This became known as justification by faith. From this new beginning would proceed fruit in the form of good actions. The Catholic Church also believed in salvation through Christ but had developed a system of merit according to good works alongside it. Protestants did not deny the value of any good works , but denied their value as a condition of salvation.

3rd. The priesthood of all believers. This idea is based in the main upon 2nd Peter 2 v 5-9. as described in detail by Richardson. While the Protestant church does have ministers they are not seen as necessary intermediaries between God and man. When Christ died the curtain in the temple was torn in two  the curtain that supposedly separated the place where God dwelt from the world of men. The reformers justifiably claimed that in the early church there was no precedent for a priest a mediator. Hebrews 8 v 6 claims that Christ is the only mediator and this is put very plainly by Paul in Ist Timothy 1 v 5 -

There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
 This meant huge changes in the church if every man was responsible to be able to read the Bible for himself and to take part in church government. This idea of a Christian democracy would eventually affect countries such as America and other democratic states.

The Council of Trent has been described as the Catholic Church fighting back against Protestantism, but it is perhaps better described as the Catholic churches response to the reforms called for. The commission of reform, which had been appointed by the Pope in 1536, first of all drew up a report to be used as the basis for corrections needed because of   abuses in church life and in 1542 a great council met at Trent, despite much opposition. It took many weeks just to decide upon an order of business. So complicated and so important   were matters that the council dragged on until 1564 The Catholic Encyclopedia entry by Johann Kirsh ( 1912) says No council has ever had to accomplish its task under more serious difficulties, none has had so many questions of the greatest importance to decide. The Council issued condemnations on what it saw as certain Protestant heresies and , more positively  defined the  Church teachings about the  scriptures and  church tradition. Subjects such as  original sin, justification and the sacrements and numerous decrees regrading reform were issued by its members. The rsults included a new Cathecism., a new Breviary and a new Missal.

The Reformation caused huge social and political change, both within and without the Catholic Church, but was primarily about a rediscovery of Salvation through Christ alone. This idea was freed up from the accumulation of theological debate and church practices which had accumulated over the many centuries and which could obscure the basic Gospel. It also freed it from corrupt practices such as the sale of indulgences. It put Christ at the center where he truly belonged and the relationship God wanted with his creation could be restored.  Luther knew that this could be proved from scriptures such as Romans 5 v 11, 2nd Corinthians 5 v 18 and Colossians 1 v 20, therefore he could  do no other than  make the stand he did.