Bible Translators
130-580: Theologians Lutheran Mariology or Lutheran Marian theology is derived from Martin Luther 's views of Mary , the mother of God and these positions have influenced those taught by the Lutheran Churches . Lutheran Mariology developed out of the deep Christian Marian devotion on which Luther was reared, and it was subsequently clarified as part of his mature Christocentric theology and piety. Lutherans hold Mary in high esteem, universally teaching
260-557: A Dominican friar , was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money in order to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Tetzel's experiences as a preacher of indulgences, especially between 1503 and 1510, led to his appointment as general commissioner by Albrecht von Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz , who, already deeply in debt to pay for a large accumulation of benefices, had to contribute
390-516: A confession of faith of the Lutheran Churches , affirm the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary. As such, this belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary was held by the Lutheran scholastics, including Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe . For this reason Confessional Lutheran scholars, such as Franz Pieper (1852–1931) refused to follow the tendency among non-Lutheran Protestants to insist that Mary and Joseph had marital relations and children after
520-639: A lay group , and Eisenach in 1498. The three schools focused on the so-called " trivium ": grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Luther later compared his education there to purgatory and hell . In 1501, at age 17, Martin entered the University of Erfurt , which he later described as a beerhouse and whorehouse. He was made to awaken at 4 a.m. for "a day of rote learning and often wearying spiritual exercises." He received his master's degree in 1505. In accordance with his father's wishes, Luther enrolled in law but dropped out almost immediately, believing that law
650-761: A "common understanding of justification by God's grace through faith in Christ," the Catholic Church has never lifted the 1521 excommunication. The enforcement of the ban on the Ninety-five Theses fell to the secular authorities. On 17 April 1521, Luther appeared as ordered before the Diet of Worms . This was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that took place in Worms ,
780-595: A Reformed preacher came to Saint Bartholomew's Lutheran Church in 1589 and preached against images, the Lutheran Church Fathers responded by placing a statue of the Virgin Mary on the high altar of the church, causing the preacher to retire to a quieter parish. In general, Calvinist iconoclasm "provoked reactive riots by Lutheran mobs" in Germany and "antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox" in
910-553: A Roman Catholic biographer of Luther, concurs that "Luther always believed in the virginity of Mary, even post partum , as affirmed in the Apostles' Creed, though afterwards he denied her power of intercession, as well as that of the saints in general, resorting to many misinterpretations and combated, as extreme and pagan, the extraordinary veneration which the Catholic Church showed towards Mary." The Smalcald Articles ,
1040-592: A Roman soldier named Pantera or Pandera, whose name is likely a pun on parthenos , virgin. The story was still current in the Middle Ages in satirical parody of the Christian gospels called the Toledot Yeshu . The Toledot Yeshu contains little historical material, and was probably created as a tool for warding off conversions to Christianity. According to Kärkkäinen, the virgin birth in relation to
1170-438: A biological understanding with the idea of "theological truth," and some evangelical theologians hold it to be marginal rather than indispensable to the Christian faith. Today, the traditional doctrine of the virgin birth is still defended by conservative theologians. Some Christians celebrate the conception of Jesus on 25 March and his birth on 25 December. ( These dates are traditional; no one knows for certain when Jesus
1300-528: A child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child.... Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God.... None can say of her nor announce to her greater things, even though he had as many tongues as the earth possesses flowers and blades of grass: the sky, stars; and the sea, grains of sand. It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God. This belief
1430-472: A child despite her lack of sexual experience, and informs the reader that this pregnancy is to be effected through God's Holy Spirit . There is a serious debate as to whether Luke's nativity story is an original part of his gospel. Chapters 1 and 2 are written in a style quite different from the rest of the gospel, and the dependence of the birth narrative on the Greek Septuagint is absent from
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#17327839496691560-496: A clear indication that he maintained a Marian piety. Luther states in his Magnificat that one should pray to Mary, so God would give and do, through her will, what we ask. But, he adds, it is God's work alone. Some interpret his Magnificat as a personal supplication to Mary, but not as a prayerful request for mediation. An important indicator of Luther's views on the veneration of Mary are not only his writings but also approved practices of Lutherans during his lifetime. The singing of
1690-400: A fetus; instead they thought that the male contribution in reproduction consisted of some sort of formative or generative principle, while Mary's bodily fluids would provide all the matter that was needed for Jesus's bodily form, including his male sex. This cultural milieu was conducive to miraculous birth stories – they were common in biblical tradition going back to Abraham and Sarah (and
1820-414: A former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage , allowing Protestant clergy to marry. In two later works, Luther expressed anti-Judaistic views , calling for the expulsion of Jews and the burning of synagogues . These works also targeted Roman Catholics , Anabaptists , and nontrinitarian Christians . Based upon his teachings, despite the fact that Luther did not directly advocate
1950-454: A god himself on his death in AD 14; this remained the pattern for later emperors. Imperial divinity was accompanied by suitable miraculous birth stories, with Augustus being fathered by the god Apollo while his human mother slept, and her human husband being granted a dream in which he saw the sun rise from her womb, and inscriptions even described the news of the divine imperial birth as evangelia ,
2080-437: A longer text more like our own, genealogies and birth narratives are also absent from Mark and John. Matthew 1:18 says that Mary was betrothed to Joseph. She would have been twelve years old or a little less at the time of events described in the gospels, as under Jewish law betrothal was only possible for minors, which for girls meant aged under twelve or prior to the first menses , whichever came first. According to custom
2210-535: A more conciliatory approach. Luther made certain concessions to the Saxon, who was a relative of the Elector and promised to remain silent if his opponents did. The theologian Johann Eck , however, was determined to expose Luther's doctrine in a public forum. In June and July 1519, he staged a disputation with Luther's colleague Andreas Karlstadt at Leipzig and invited Luther to speak. Luther's boldest assertion in
2340-463: A renewed attack on Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, whom he shamed into halting the sale of indulgences in his episcopates, and a Refutation of the Argument of Latomus , in which he expounded the principle of justification to Jacobus Latomus , an orthodox theologian from Louvain . In this work, one of his most emphatic statements on faith, he argued that every good work designed to attract God's favor
2470-600: A righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20: But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21: She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22: All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by
2600-767: A short commentary on Galatians and his Work on the Psalms . This early part of Luther's career was one of his most creative and productive. Three of his best-known works were published in 1520: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation , On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church , and On the Freedom of a Christian . Archbishop Albrecht did not reply to Luther's letter containing
2730-569: A son, and you will name him Jesus. 32: He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33: He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34: Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35: The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
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#17327839496692860-573: A son... ' ", is a reference to Isaiah 7:14 , "...the Lord himself shall give you a sign: the maiden is with child and she will bear a son..." The Book of Isaiah had been translated into Greek , and from this translation, Matthew uses the Greek word παρθένος ( parthenos ), which does mean virgin, for the Hebrew עַלְמָה ( almah ), which scholars agree signifies a girl of childbearing age without reference to virginity. This mistranslation gave
2990-419: A thoroughly modern understanding that male semen and female ovum were both needed to form an embryo ; this cultural milieu was conducive to miraculous birth stories, and tales of virgin birth and the impregnation of mortal women by deities were well known in the 1st-century Greco-Roman world and Second Temple Jewish works. The Quran asserts the virgin birth of Jesus , deriving its narrative from
3120-521: A town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27: to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28: And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29: But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30: The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31: And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear
3250-582: A town on the Rhine . It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding. Prince Frederick III, Elector of Saxony , obtained a safe conduct for Luther to and from the meeting. Johann Eck, speaking on behalf of the empire as assistant of the Archbishop of Trier , presented Luther with copies of his writings laid out on a table and asked him if the books were his and whether he stood by their contents. Luther confirmed he
3380-578: A whore and bath attendant. He had several brothers and sisters and is known to have been close to one of them, Jacob. Hans Luther, Martin's father, was ambitious for himself and his family. He was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. He sent Martin to Latin schools in Mansfeld, then Magdeburg in 1497, where he attended the Brethren of the Common Life , a school operated by
3510-458: Is a mediatrix between God and humanity was driven by his fear of Jesus being the implacable judge of all people. "The Virgin Mary remains in the middle between Christ and humankind. For in the very moment he was conceived and lived, he was full of grace. All other human beings are without grace, both in the first and second conception. But the Virgin Mary, though without grace in the first conception,
3640-402: Is a holy pure fruit, at once God and truly man, in one person. In his earlier years, Luther referred to Mary as the " Queen of Heaven ", but he warned against people using the term too much. Luther later rejected this title due to its lack of scriptural evidence and the fact that he felt that Mary's accomplishments should be ultimately attributed to Christ. Before 1516, Luther's belief that Mary
3770-402: Is a sin. All humans are sinners by nature, he explained, and God's grace alone (which cannot be earned) can make them just. On 1 August 1521, Luther wrote to Melanchthon on the same theme: "Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life
3900-530: Is a standard plot from the Jewish scriptures, as for example in the annunciation scenes for Isaac and for Samson , in which an angel appears and causes apprehension, the angel gives reassurance and announces the coming birth, the mother raises an objection, and the angel gives a sign. Nevertheless, "plausible sources that tell of virgin birth in areas convincingly close to the gospels' own probable origins have proven extremely hard to demonstrate". Similarly, while it
4030-407: Is almost certain that neither was the work of an eyewitness. In view of the many inconsistencies between them neither is likely to derive from the other, nor did they share a common source. Raymond E. Brown suggested in 1973 that Joseph was the source of Matthew's account and Mary of Luke's, but modern scholars consider this "highly unlikely" given that the stories emerged so late. It follows that
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4160-424: Is also significant in the context of Roman Catholic claims that modern Protestants deserted Luther's Mariology. Roman Catholics and Protestants may have held some similar views on Mary in the 16th century, but for Luther it was a "passive" Mariology, while for Roman Catholics it was "active" in suggesting devout veneration (" hyperdulia ") and constant prayers for intercession . Questions have been raised as to whether
4290-477: Is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen. At the end of this speech, Luther raised his arm "in the traditional salute of a knight winning a bout." Michael Mullett considers this speech as a "world classic of epoch-making oratory." Eck informed Luther that he was acting like a heretic, saying, Martin, there
4420-452: Is nevertheless an undercurrent of challenge in several of the theses, particularly in Thesis 86, which asks: "Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus , build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?" Luther objected to a saying attributed to Tetzel that, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings,
4550-542: 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 the Scripture. The Bible itself is the arsenal whence each innovator has drawn his deceptive arguments. It was with Biblical texts that Pelagius and Arius maintained their doctrines. Arius, for instance, found the negation of the eternity of the Word—an eternity which you admit, in this verse of
4680-553: Is not a place where justice resides." In the summer of 1521, Luther widened his target from individual pieties like indulgences and pilgrimages to doctrines at the heart of Church practice. In On the Abrogation of the Private Mass , he condemned as idolatry the idea that the mass is a sacrifice, asserting instead that it is a gift, to be received with thanksgiving by the whole congregation. His essay On Confession, Whether
4810-539: Is one of the most frequently depicted scenes in Western art. Annunciation scenes also amount to the most frequent appearances of Gabriel in medieval art. The depiction of Joseph turning away in some Nativity scenes is a discreet reference to the fatherhood of the Holy Spirit and the virgin birth. The Quran follows the apocryphal gospels , and especially in the Protoevangelium of James , in its accounts of
4940-519: Is proper." Over the next three years he deployed a series of papal theologians and envoys against Luther, which served only to harden the reformer's anti-papal theology. First, the Dominican theologian Sylvester Mazzolini drafted a heresy case against Luther, whom Leo then summoned to Rome. The Elector Frederick persuaded the pope to have Luther examined at Augsburg, where the Imperial Diet
5070-579: Is the Christian and Islamic teaching that Jesus was conceived by his mother, Mary , through the power of the Holy Spirit and without sexual intercourse . Christians regard the doctrine as an explanation of the mixture of the human and divine natures of Jesus . The Eastern Orthodox Churches accept the doctrine as authoritative by reason of its inclusion in the Nicene Creed , and
5200-625: Is widely accepted that there is a connection with Zoroastrian sources underlying Matthew's story of the Magi (the wise men from the East) and the Star of Bethlehem , a wider claim that Zoroastrianism formed the background to the infancy narratives has not achieved acceptance. The modern scholarly consensus is that the doctrine of the virgin birth rests on very slender historical foundations. Both Matthew and Luke are late and anonymous compositions dating from
5330-516: Is without precedent either in Jewish or pagan literature. Matthew and Luke use the virgin birth (or more accurately the divine conception that precedes it) to mark the moment when Jesus becomes the Son of God . This was a notable development over Mark, for whom the Sonship dates from Jesus's baptism , Mark 1:9–13 and the earlier Christianity of Paul and the pre-Pauline Christians for whom Jesus becomes
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5460-462: The Diet of Worms . When Luther died in 1546, Pope Leo X's excommunication was still in effect. Luther taught that salvation and, consequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds; rather, they are received only as the free gift of God's grace through the believer's faith in Jesus Christ , who is the sole redeemer from sin. Luther's theology challenged the authority and office of
5590-505: The Ephesians 2:8–10 . Against the teaching of his day that the righteous acts of believers are performed in cooperation with God, Luther wrote that Christians receive such righteousness entirely from outside themselves; that righteousness not only comes from Christ but actually is the righteousness of Christ, imputed to Christians (rather than infused into them) through faith. "That is why faith alone makes someone just and fulfills
5720-694: The Messiah . "This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification", he writes, "is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine, which comprehends the understanding of all godliness." Luther came to understand justification as entirely the work of God. This teaching by Luther was clearly expressed in his 1525 publication On the Bondage of the Will , which was written in response to On Free Will by Desiderius Erasmus (1524). Luther based his position on predestination on St. Paul's epistle to
5850-521: The Ninety-five Theses . He had the theses checked for heresy and in December 1517 forwarded them to Rome. He needed the revenue from the indulgences to pay off a papal dispensation for his tenure of more than one bishopric . As Luther later notes, "the pope had a finger in the pie as well, because one half was to go to the building of St. Peter's Church in Rome". Pope Leo X was used to reformers and heretics, and he responded slowly, "with great care as
5980-695: The Roman Catholic Church ; in particular, he disputed the view on indulgences . Luther attempted to resolve these differences amicably, first proposing an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in Ninety-five Theses , which he authored in 1517. In 1520, Pope Leo X demanded that Luther renounce all of his writings, and when Luther refused to do so, excommunicated him in January 1521. Later that year, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V condemned Luther as an outlaw at
6110-536: The Smalcald Articles : The first and chief article is this: Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification (Romans 3:24–25). He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world ( John 1:29), and God has laid on Him the iniquity of us all ( Isaiah 53:6). All have sinned and are justified freely, without their own works and merits, by His grace, through
6240-464: The University of Wittenberg . He received two bachelor's degrees, one in biblical studies on 9 March 1508, and another in the Sentences by Peter Lombard in 1509. On 19 October 1512, he was awarded his Doctor of Theology . On 21 October 1512, Luther was received into the senate of the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg , succeeding von Staupitz as chair of theology. He spent
6370-516: The papal bull (edict) Exsurge Domine that he risked excommunication unless he recanted 41 sentences drawn from his writings, including the Ninety-five Theses , within 60 days. That autumn, Eck proclaimed the bull in Meissen and other towns. Von Miltitz attempted to broker a solution, but Luther, who had sent the pope a copy of On the Freedom of a Christian in October, publicly set fire to
6500-564: The "Invocavit Sermons". In these sermons, he hammered home the primacy of core Christian values such as love, patience, charity, and freedom, and reminded the citizens to trust God's word rather than violence to bring about necessary change. Do you know what the Devil thinks when he sees men use violence to propagate the gospel? He sits with folded arms behind the fire of hell and says with malignant looks and frightful grin: "Ah, how wise these madmen are to play my game! Let them go on; I shall reap
6630-536: The 2nd-century AD Protoevangelium of James , but rejects the Trinitarian interpretation of the Christian account, emphasising that Jesus was a human messenger of God rather than divine. 18: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19: Her husband Joseph, being
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#17327839496696760-724: The Baltic region. At Saint Marien Church in Danzig, Lutheran clergy retained sacred artwork depicting the Coronation of the Virgin Mary and lit candles beside it during the period of Calvinist dominance in the region. Martin Luther Bible Translators Theologians Martin Luther OSA ( / ˈ l uː θ ər / LOO -thər ; German: [ˈmaʁtiːn ˈlʊtɐ] ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546)
6890-703: The Bible into German from Latin made the Bible vastly more accessible to the laity, which had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language , added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation, the Tyndale Bible . His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora ,
7020-696: The Catholic Church holds it authoritative for faith through the Apostles' Creed as well as the Nicene. Nevertheless, there are many contemporary churches in which it is considered orthodox to accept the virgin birth but not heretical to deny it . In the New Testament , the narrative appears only in Matthew 1:18–25 and Luke 1:26–38 , and the modern scholarly consensus is that it rests on slender historical foundations. The ancient world did not possess
7150-489: The Catholic Church in new ways. He became convinced that the church was corrupt in its ways and had lost sight of what he saw as several of the central truths of Christianity. The most important for Luther was the doctrine of justification —God's act of declaring a sinner righteous—by faith alone through God's grace. He began to teach that salvation or redemption is a gift of God's grace , attainable only through faith in Jesus as
7280-632: The Churches. He also advocated the use of the pre-Trent version of the Hail Mary (that is, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.") as a sign of reverence for and devotion to the Blessed Virgin. The 1522 Betbüchlein (Prayer Book) retained the Ave Maria. Luther came to criticize Roman Catholics for blurring
7410-421: The Immaculate Conception, which at that time was undefined in the Church; however, he maintained belief in Mary's lifelong sinlessness . Regarding the Assumption of Mary , he stated that the Bible did not say anything about it. Important to him was the belief that Mary and the saints do live on after death. The centerpiece of Luther's Marian views was his 1521 Commentary on the Magnificat in which he extolled
7540-422: The Lord Jesus.' When concentrating specifically on Mary herself as the Mother of God, Luther acknowledges God's singular action in bringing her into the world, but in making general comments about the universality of human sinfulness, he includes her among all the rest of humanity. Mother Mary, like us, was born in sin of sinful parents, but the Holy Spirit covered her, sanctified and purified her so that this child
7670-415: The Lord through the prophet: 23: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24: When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25: but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. 26: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to
7800-411: The Magnificat in Latin was maintained in many German Lutheran communities. The Church Order (Kirchenordnung) of Brandenburg, Bugenhagen Braunschweig and other cities and districts decreed by the royal heads of the Lutheran Church maintained three Marian feast days to be observed as public holidays. It is known that Martin Luther approved of this. He also approved of keeping Marian paintings and statues in
7930-504: The Marian views of Martin Luther could bring separated Christians closer together. There seems to be scepticism on both sides. The eighth "Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue" addressed these issues. Throughout Luther's life, he called Mary by the title Theotokos, Mother of God,. Martin Luther as well as Martin Chemnitz , "the other Martin" of early Lutheranism, are said to have prayed the pre-Trent Hail Mary, and very likely other suddenly-ex-Catholic Lutheran priests who were contemporaries of
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#17327839496698060-416: The New Testament— Joseph knew not his wife till she had brought forth her first-born son ; and he said, in the same way that you say, that this passage enchained him. When the fathers of the Council of Constance condemned this proposition of Jan Hus— The church of Jesus Christ is only the community of the elect , they condemned an error; for the church, like a good mother, embraces within her arms all who bear
8190-432: The Pope has the Power to Require It rejected compulsory confession and encouraged private confession and absolution , since "every Christian is a confessor." In November, Luther wrote The Judgement of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows . He assured monks and nuns that they could break their vows without sin, because vows were an illegitimate and vain attempt to win salvation. Luther made his pronouncements from Wartburg in
8320-420: The Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul." Johann von Staupitz , his superior, concluded that Luther needed more work to distract him from excessive introspection and ordered him to pursue an academic career. On 3 April 1507, Jerome Schultz, the Bishop of Brandenburg , ordained Luther in Erfurt Cathedral . The following year, in 1508, Luther began teaching theology at
8450-474: The Son at the Resurrection or even the Second Coming . The Ebionites , a Jewish Christian sect, saw Jesus as fully human, rejected the virgin birth, and preferred to translate almah as "young woman". The 2nd century gnostic theologian Marcion likewise rejected the virgin birth, but regarded Jesus as descended fully formed from heaven and having only the appearance of humanity. By about AD 180 Jews were telling how Jesus had been illegitimately conceived by
8580-407: The Son only at the Resurrection or even the Second Coming . Tales of virgin birth and the impregnation of mortal women by deities were well known in the 1st-century Greco-Roman world, and Second Temple Jewish works were also capable of producing accounts of the appearances of angels and miraculous births for ancient heroes such as Melchizedek , Noah , and Moses . Luke's virgin birth story
8710-463: The angel departed from her. In the entire Christian corpus, the virgin birth is found only in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke . The two agree that Mary's husband was named Joseph, that he was of the Davidic line , and that he played no role in Jesus's divine conception, but beyond this they are very different. Matthew has no census , shepherds, or presentation in the temple , and implies that Joseph and Mary are living in Bethlehem at
8840-452: The author of Matthew the opportunity to interpret Jesus as the prophesied Immanuel , "God is with us", the divine representative on earth. According to R. T. France , the inclusion of Isaiah 7:14 was an explanatory addition to Matthew's birth narrative, albeit not the inspiration for it. According to Mark Goodacre , the Gospel of Matthew did not base the virgin birth on a mistranslation of Isaiah. Conservative scholars argue that despite
8970-417: The benefit. I delight in it." But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the battle-field, then he shudders and shakes for fear. The effect of Luther's intervention was immediate. After the sixth sermon, the Wittenberg jurist Jerome Schurf wrote to the elector: "Oh, what joy has Dr. Martin's return spread among us! His words, through divine mercy, are bringing back every day misguided people into
9100-422: The birth of Jesus. It is implicit in his Christian Dogmatics that belief in Mary's perpetual virginity is the older and traditional view among Lutherans. Some American Lutheran groups such as the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod , however, later "found no difficulty with the view that Mary and Joseph themselves together had other children". Another American Lutheran denomination, the Evangelical Catholic Church , on
9230-453: The bull and decretals in Wittenberg on 10 December 1520, an act he defended in Why the Pope and his Recent Book are Burned and Assertions Concerning All Articles . Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X on 3 January 1521, in the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem . And although the Lutheran World Federation , Methodists and the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity agreed (in 1999 and 2006, respectively) on
9360-458: The conception of Isaac ). Such stories are less frequent in Judaism, but there too was a widespread belief in angels and divine intervention in births. Theologically, the two accounts mark the moment when Jesus becomes the Son of God , i.e., at his birth, in distinction to Mark, for whom the Sonship dates from Jesus's baptism , and Paul and the pre-Pauline Christians for whom Jesus becomes
9490-421: The considerable sum of ten thousand ducats toward the rebuilding of the basilica. Albrecht obtained permission from Pope Leo X to conduct the sale of a special plenary indulgence (i.e., remission of the temporal punishment of sin), half of the proceeds of which Albrecht was to claim to pay the fees of his benefices. On 31 October 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albrecht von Brandenburg, protesting against
9620-539: The context of rapid developments at Wittenberg, of which he was kept fully informed. Andreas Karlstadt, supported by the ex-Augustinian Gabriel Zwilling , embarked on a radical programme of reform there in June 1521, exceeding anything envisaged by Luther. The reforms provoked disturbances, including a revolt by the Augustinian friars against their prior, the smashing of statues and images in churches, and denunciations of
9750-506: The debate was that Matthew 16:18 does not confer on popes the exclusive right to interpret scripture, and that therefore neither popes nor church councils were infallible. For this, Eck branded Luther a new Jan Hus , referring to the Czech reformer and heretic burned at the stake in 1415. From that moment, he devoted himself to Luther's defeat. On 15 June 1520, the Pope warned Luther with
9880-710: The decision on Luther's sadness over the deaths of two friends. Luther himself seemed saddened by the move. Those who attended a farewell supper walked him to the door of the Black Cloister. "This day you see me, and then, not ever again," he said. His father was furious over what he saw as a waste of Luther's education. Luther dedicated himself to the Augustinian order , devoting himself to fasting , long hours in prayer , pilgrimage , and frequent confession . Luther described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. He said, "I lost touch with Christ
10010-527: The distinction between high admiration of the grace of God wherever it is manifested in human beings and religious service offered to them and other mere creatures. In some instances he considered the Roman Catholic practice of making intercessory requests addressed especially to Mary and other departed saints to be idolatry . Furthermore, how will you endure [the Romanists'] terrible idolatries? It
10140-589: The dogmas of the Theotokos and the Virgin Birth . Luther dogmatically asserted what he considered firmly established biblical doctrines such as the divine motherhood of Mary while adhering to pious opinions of the Immaculate Conception and the perpetual virginity of Mary , along with the caveat that all doctrine and piety should exalt and not diminish the person and work of Jesus Christ. By
10270-537: The door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg on 31 October 1517. Scholars Walter Krämer, Götz Trenkler, Gerhard Ritter, and Gerhard Prause contend that the story of the posting on the door, although it has become one of the pillars of history, has little foundation in truth. The story is based on comments made by Luther's collaborator Philip Melanchthon , though it is thought that he was not in Wittenberg at
10400-639: The end of Luther's theological development, his emphasis was always placed on Mary as merely a receiver of God's love and favour. His opposition to regarding Mary as a mediatrix of intercession or redemption was part of his greater and more extensive opposition to the belief that the merits of the saints could be added to those of Jesus Christ to save humanity. Lutheran denominations may differ in their teaching with respect to various Marian doctrines and have contributed to producing ecumenical meetings and documents on Mary . Despite Luther's harsh polemics against his Roman Catholic opponents over issues concerning Mary and
10530-487: The evidence for Mary's powers as a mediatrix was a result of improper translation of the Annunciation. Instead, Luther believed that Mary's lack of power to intercede is seen in her praising God and his blessings, not in taking credit for herself. The term "Mariology", although used by some Lutherans across liberal-conservative lines, was not originally a term coined by Lutherans. Today, some Lutherans prefer not to use
10660-494: The gospel. The virgin birth of Jesus was thus a direct challenge to a central claim of Roman imperial theology, namely the divine conception and descent of the emperors. Matthew's genealogy, tracing Jesus's Davidic descent, was intended for Jews, while his virgin birth story was intended for a Greco-Roman audience familiar with virgin birth stories and stories of women impregnated by gods. The ancient world had no understanding that male semen and female ovum were both needed to form
10790-542: The incarnation of God through a virgin: The virgin body was pregnant, but she remained pure Here comes the saviour of the gentiles Divine grace from heaven came over the virgin and others. The Lutheran views on the veneration of Mary were interpreted differently by different theologians over time. Key is his interpretation of the Magnificat of Mary, which to some is a relic of the Catholic past, but to others
10920-472: The incarnation was seen as proof of the divinity of Christ but that the Age of Enlightenment offered a full-scale rebuttal of the doctrine, and that the only way for classical liberals to continue believing the virgin birth was to resort to the notion of myth, though this elicited a vigorous reaction from conservatives. This division remains in place, although some national synods of the Catholic Church have replaced
11050-499: The law," he writes. "Faith is that which brings the Holy Spirit through the merits of Christ." Faith, for Luther, was a gift from God; the experience of being justified by faith was "as though I had been born again." His entry into Paradise, no less, was a discovery about "the righteousness of God"—a discovery that "the just person" of whom the Bible speaks (as in Romans 1:17) lives by faith. He explains his concept of "justification" in
11180-438: The magistracy. After secretly visiting Wittenberg in early December 1521, Luther wrote A Sincere Admonition by Martin Luther to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion . Wittenberg became even more volatile after Christmas when a band of visionary zealots, the so-called Zwickau prophets , arrived, preaching revolutionary doctrines such as the equality of man, adult baptism , and Christ's imminent return. When
11310-510: The magnitude of God's grace toward Mary and her own legacy of Christian instruction and example demonstrated in her canticle of praise. This canticle continues to have an important place in Lutheran liturgy . Lutherans believe that the person Jesus is God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity , who was incarnated in the womb of his mother Mary as a human being, and since, as a person, he
11440-679: The miraculous births of both Mary and her son Jesus, but while it affirms the virgin birth of Jesus it denies the Trinitarian implications of the gospel story (Jesus is a messenger of God but also a human being and not the second person of the Christian Trinity). Surah Al Imran 3:35-36 , for example, follows the Protoevangelium closely when describing how the pregnant "wife of Imran" (that is, Mary's mother) dedicates her unborn child to God, Mary's secluded upbringing within
11570-595: The more dramatic form of words." Over the next five days, private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. The emperor presented the final draft of the Edict of Worms on 25 May 1521, declaring Luther an outlaw , banning his literature, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic." It also made it a crime for anyone in Germany to give Luther food or shelter. It permitted anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence. Luther's disappearance during his return to Wittenberg
11700-579: The murdering of Jews, some historians contend that his rhetoric contributed to the development of antisemitism in Germany and the emergence, centuries later, of the Nazi Party . Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 to Hans Luder (or Ludher, later Luther) and his wife Margarethe (née Lindemann) in Eisleben , County of Mansfeld , in the Holy Roman Empire . Luther was baptized
11830-512: The name of Christian, all who are called to enjoy the celestial beatitude. Luther refused to recant his writings. He is sometimes also quoted as saying: "Here I stand. I can do no other". Recent scholars consider the evidence for these words to be unreliable since they were inserted before "May God help me" only in later versions of the speech and not recorded in witness accounts of the proceedings. However, Mullett suggests that given his nature, "we are free to believe that Luther would tend to select
11960-512: The next morning on the feast day of Martin of Tours . In 1484, his family moved to Mansfeld , where his father was a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters and served as one of four citizen representatives on the local council; in 1492, he was elected as a town councilor. The religious scholar Martin Marty describes Luther's mother as a hard-working woman of "trading-class stock and middling means", contrary to Luther's enemies, who labeled her
12090-522: The other hand, considered " Saint Mary Ever Virgin , a title affirmed in The Smalcald Articles ( Part One , IV [Latin]), and She recognizes her as that Most Praiseworthy Virgin ( Augsburg Confession III, 1 [German]; Formula of Concord VIII; Solid Declaration 100 [Latin])." In 1532, Luther said: 'God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins, for she has conceived and borne
12220-712: The period AD 80–100. Marcus Borg stated plainly, "I (and most mainline scholars) do not see these stories as historically factual." The earliest Christian writings, the Pauline epistles , do not contain any mention of a virgin birth and assume Jesus's full humanity, stating that he was "born of a woman" like any other human being and "born under the law" like any Jew. In the Gospel of Mark , dating from around AD 70, we read of Jesus saying that "prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house" – Mark 6:4 , which suggests that Mark
12350-460: The pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge, and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood . Those who identify Luther's wider teachings are called Lutherans, though Luther opposed the name, believing that those who professed faith in Christ should be called "Christian" or "Evangelic". Luther's translation of
12480-547: The pope: "His Holiness abuses Scripture", retorted Luther. "I deny that he is above Scripture". Cajetan's original instructions had been to arrest Luther if he failed to recant, but the legate desisted from doing so. With help from the Carmelite friar Christoph Langenmantel , Luther slipped out of the city at night, unbeknownst to Cajetan. In January 1519, at Altenburg in Saxony, the papal nuncio Karl von Miltitz adopted
12610-420: The power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36: And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37: For nothing will be impossible with God." 38: Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then
12740-517: The redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood (Romans 3:23–25). This is necessary to believe. This cannot be otherwise acquired or grasped by any work, law, or merit. Therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us ... Nothing of this article can be yielded or surrendered, even though heaven and earth and everything else falls ( Mark 13:31). In 1516, Johann Tetzel ,
12870-467: The remainder. There are strong Lukan motifs in Luke 1–2, but differences are equally striking—Jesus's identity as "son of David", for example, is a prominent theme of the birth narrative, but not in the rest of the gospel. In the early part of the 2nd century, the gnostic theologian Marcion produced a version of Luke lacking these two chapters, and although he is generally accused of having cut them out of
13000-500: The rest of his career in this position at the University of Wittenberg. In 1515, he was made provincial vicar of Saxony and Thuringia , which required him to visit and oversee eleven monasteries in his province. From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, and on the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to view the use of terms such as penance and righteousness by
13130-601: The saints, theologians appear to agree that Luther adhered to the Marian decrees of the ecumenical councils and dogmas of the church. He held fast to the belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin and the Theotokos , the Mother of God. Special attention is given to the assertion that Luther, some 300 years before the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854, was a firm adherent of that view. Others maintain that Luther in later years changed his position on
13260-488: The sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", which came to be known as the Ninety-five Theses . Hans Hillerbrand writes that Luther had no intention of confronting the church but saw his disputation as a scholarly objection to church practices, and the tone of the writing is accordingly "searching, rather than doctrinaire." Hillerbrand writes that there
13390-483: The second from the unbelieving Jews ("Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose mother and father we know?" – John 6:42 ). These quotations, incidentally, are in direct opposition to the suggestion that Jesus was, or was believed to be, illegitimate: Philip and the Jews knew that Jesus had a human father, and that father was Joseph. This raises the question of where the authors of Matthew and Luke found their stories. It
13520-412: The soul from purgatory (also attested as 'into heaven') springs." He insisted that, since forgiveness was God's alone to grant, those who claimed that indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error. Christians, he said, must not slacken in following Christ on account of such false assurances. According to one account, Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to
13650-501: The term "Mariology" to describe their own Marian doctrine because they are concerned the term implies an acceptance of the concept of development of doctrine . Additionally, some Lutherans only use the term in an external sense, such as describing Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Anglican teachings concerning Mary. Luther composed a number of venerational poems, which focus on Mary's virginity. He also translated old devotional Latin hymns on Mary into German. They express in various ways
13780-515: The time of the birth, while Luke has no magi , flight into Egypt or massacre of the infants , and states that Joseph lives in Nazareth. Matthew underlines the virginity of Mary by references to the Book of Isaiah and by his narrative statement that Joseph had no sexual relations with her until after the birth. Luke introduces Mary as a virgin, describes her puzzlement at being told she will bear
13910-529: The time. According to Roland Bainton , on the other hand, it is true. The Latin Theses were printed in several locations in Germany in 1517. In January 1518 friends of Luther translated the Ninety-five Theses from Latin into German. Within two weeks, copies of the theses had spread throughout Germany. Luther's writings circulated widely, reaching France , England , and Italy as early as 1519. Students thronged to Wittenberg to hear Luther speak. He published
14040-598: The title "Ever Virgin Mary" as a key element of its Marian veneration, and as part of the Akathists hymns to Mary which are an integral part of its liturgy. The doctrine is often represented in Christian art in terms of the annunciation to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God, and in Nativity scenes that include the figure of Salome . The Annunciation
14170-545: The town council asked Luther to return, he decided it was his duty to act. Luther secretly returned to Wittenberg on 6 March 1522. He wrote to the Elector: "During my absence, Satan has entered my sheepfold, and committed ravages which I cannot repair by writing, but only by my personal presence and living word." For eight days in Lent , beginning on Invocavit Sunday, 9 March, Luther preached eight sermons, which became known as
14300-474: The two Martins likewise did. Modern Lutheran synods usually reject or at least do not actively recommend the practice of directly addressing Mary and other saints in prayers of admiration or petition as part of their religious worship of God. Lutherans defended various Marian doctrines, such as the perpetual virginity of Mary , in order to distinguish and distance themselves from the Reformed (Calvinists). When
14430-428: The two narratives were created by the two writers, drawing on ideas in circulation at least a decade before the gospels were composed, to perhaps 65-75 or even earlier. Matthew presents the ministry of Jesus as largely the fulfilment of prophecies from the Book of Isaiah , and Matthew 1:22-23, "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear
14560-496: The uncertainty of the details, the gospel birth narratives trace back to historical, or at least much earlier pre-gospel traditions. For instance, according to Ben Witherington : What we find in Matthew and Luke is not the story of… a [god] descending to earth and, in the guise of a man, mating with a human woman, but rather the story of a miraculous conception without the aid of any man, divine or otherwise. As such, this story
14690-496: The use of reason but none about loving God , which Luther believed was more important. Reason could not lead men to God, Luther felt, and he thereafter developed a love-hate relationship with Aristotle over Aristotle's emphasis on reason. For Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine revelation , he believed, leading him to view scripture as increasingly important. On 2 July 1505, while Luther
14820-602: The way of the truth." Luther next set about reversing or modifying the new church practices. By working alongside the authorities to restore public order, he signaled his reinvention as a conservative force within the Reformation. After banishing the Zwickau prophets, he faced a battle against both the established Church and the radical reformers who threatened the new order by fomenting social unrest and violence. Virgin birth of Jesus The virgin birth of Jesus
14950-424: The wedding would take place twelve months later, after which the groom would take his bride from her father's house to his own. A betrothed girl who had sex with a man other than her husband-to-be was considered an adulteress. If tried before a tribunal, both she and the young man would be stoned to death, but it was possible for her betrothed husband to issue a document of repudiation, and this, according to Matthew,
15080-524: Was "born of the Virgin Mary". Lutherans have always believed that Mary is the Theotokos, the God-bearer. Martin Luther said: [S]he became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man's understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had
15210-551: Was a German priest, theologian , author, hymnwriter , professor, and Augustinian friar . Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation , and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism . He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western and Christian history . Luther was ordained to the priesthood in 1507. He came to reject several teachings and practices of
15340-543: Was an uncertain profession. Luther instead sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing interest in Aristotle , William of Ockham , and Gabriel Biel . He was deeply influenced by two tutors, Bartholomaeus Arnoldi von Usingen and Jodocus Trutfetter, who taught him to be suspicious of even the greatest thinkers and to test everything himself by experience. Philosophy proved to be unsatisfying to Luther because it offered assurance about
15470-571: Was born of a virgin without violating her virginity. Therefore she is truly the mother of God and yet remained a virgin. The Lutheran Churches teach the doctrine of the virgin birth , as summarized in the Formula of Concord in the Solid Declaration, Article VIII.24. Luther accepted the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary . Jaroslav Pelikan noted that the perpetual virginity of Mary was Luther's lifelong belief, and Hartmann Grisar,
15600-410: Was born of flesh and blood, but not with sinful flesh and blood. The Holy Spirit permitted the Virgin Mary to remain a true, natural human being of flesh and blood, just as we. However, he warded off sin from her flesh and blood so that she became the mother of a pure child, not poisoned by sin as we are. For in that moment when she conceived, she was a holy mother filled with the Holy Spirit and her fruit
15730-772: Was born.) The Magnificat , based on Luke 1:46-55 is one of four well known Gospel canticles : the Benedictus and the Magnificat in the first chapter, and the Gloria in Excelsis and the Nunc dimittis in the second chapter of Luke, which are now an integral part of the Christian liturgical tradition. The Annunciation became an element of Marian devotions in medieval times, and by the 13th century direct references to it were widespread in French lyrics. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses
15860-452: Was full of grace in the second ... whereas other human beings are conceived in sin, in soul as well as in body, and Christ was conceived without sin in soul as well as in body, the Virgin Mary was conceived in body without grace but in soul full of grace." Luther later rejected the stance of Mary as a mediator between Christ and humanity. Luther claimed that though Mary possessed many virtues, she could not intercede for sinners. He claimed that
15990-405: Was held. Over a three-day period in October 1518 where he stayed at St. Anne's Priory , Luther defended himself under questioning by papal legate Cardinal Cajetan . The pope's right to issue indulgences was at the centre of the dispute between the two men. The hearings degenerated into a shouting match. More than writing his theses, Luther's confrontation with the church cast him as an enemy of
16120-470: Was not aware of any tradition of special circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth, and while the author of the Gospel of John is confident that Jesus is more than human he makes no reference to a virgin birth to prove his point. John in fact refers twice to Jesus as the "son of Joseph," the first time from the lips of the disciple Philip ("We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus, son of Joseph from Nazareth" – John 1:45 ),
16250-524: Was not enough that they venerated the saints and praised God in them, but they actually made them into gods. They put that noble child, the mother Mary, right into the place of Christ. They fashioned Christ into a judge and thus devised a tyrant for anguished consciences, so that all comfort and confidence was transferred from Christ to Mary, and then everyone turned from Christ to his particular saint. Can anyone deny this? Is it not true? This distinction separates Lutheran views from Roman Catholic Mariology . It
16380-410: Was officially confessed by Lutherans in their Formula of Concord , Solid Declaration, article VIII.24: On account of this personal union and communion of the natures, Mary, the most blessed virgin, did not conceive a mere, ordinary human being, but a human being who is truly the Son of the most high God, as the angel testifies. He demonstrated his divine majesty even in his mother's womb in that he
16510-480: Was planned. Frederick III had him intercepted on his way home in the forest near Wittenberg by masked horsemen impersonating highway robbers. They escorted Luther to the security of the Wartburg Castle at Eisenach . During his stay at Wartburg, which he referred to as "my Patmos ", Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German and poured out doctrinal and polemical writings. These included
16640-520: Was returning to university on horseback following a trip home, a lightning bolt struck near him during a thunderstorm. He later told his father that he was terrified of death and divine judgment, and he cried out, "Help! Saint Anna , I will become a monk!" He came to view his cry for help as a vow that he could never break. He withdrew from the university, sold his books, and entered St. Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt on 17 July 1505. One friend blamed
16770-465: Was the course Joseph wished to take prior to the visitation by the angel. The most likely cultural context for both Matthew and Luke is Jewish Christian or mixed Gentile /Jewish-Christian circles rooted in Jewish tradition. These readers would have known that the Roman Senate had declared Julius Caesar a god and his successor Augustus to be divi filius , the Son of God before he became
16900-491: Was their author but requested time to think about the answer to the second question. He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his response the next day: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience
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