Luther's The Pagan Servitude Of The Church

669 Words2 Pages

The Pagan Servitude of the Church – Composed in 1520, this work by Luther is one of his most important contributions to Christian history and theology. In the Pagan Servitude of the Church, Luther addresses critical issues that surround the seven sacraments that the Roman Catholic Church practices, but for this session, only the sacrament of the Eucharist is covered. Luther does not start gently, as he immediately contradicts the norm by advocating for the administration of both elements of the Lord’s Supper to the laity. His argument brings to light opposing comments from other theologians and leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, but Luther overcomes them all with a simple redirection to Scripture. He uses a combination of his interpretation of Scripture from the Gospels and Paul’s epistles along with logic and common sense to declare that the laity should have the right and privilege to partake in both the bread and the wine elements. …show more content…

This means that the church hierarchy and scholarly theologians spend too much of their time in arguing over topics like transubstantiation, when they should recognize that the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is really centered on faith. It does not matter how the “accidents” of the elements of bread and wine come to be the body of Christ. Whether or whenever the physical elements of the Eucharist turn into the literal body and blood of Christ after being consecrated by a priest is not the point of the sacrament, according to Luther. What does matter is the state of the person’s heart when contemplating or actually receiving the

Show More
Related

  • Martin Luther And The Protestant Reformation

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    All of Europe used to be united under one religion, Catholicism. Europe started inching away from Catholicism during the 13th - 15th centuries. The church leaders started to only think about money and the power they held, instead of the real reason they were supposed to be there, God. This caused an uprising of people who no longer wanted to be a part of the Catholic church, nicknamed Protestants because they protested the ways of the catholic church. The Protestant Reformation was caused by corruption in the church, Martin Luther and John Calvin’s ideas, and the clergy and their preachings.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Luther The Reformer

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kittelson, James M. Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther and The German Peasant Revolt of 1525

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    First, before exploring Luther’s rejection of the peasant revolt, one must examine his explanation of Christian freedom. Written in 1520, The Freedom of a Christian proclaimed the new freedom to be found in salvation by faith alone. His doctrine liberated people from works but also from the laws of the Old Testament. Salvation was found in the promise of Go...

    Read More

  • Machinery Of Indulgence Essay

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the article there are essentials between the views of Clement IV and Albert of Mainz on the practice of selling indulgence compared to Luther’s views. All articles speak upon sins and how they should be handled. The Bull of Unigenitus and The Machinery of Indulgence both share similarities on the viewing of practicing indulgence while believing innovation and reformation and having the thought of reconstruction old inherited traditions. Besides, Martin Luther opposes indulgence. He feels as if we should commence sins how the church utters and repent and do it the traditional way. Also,people should benefit social stability and the maintenance of the status quo and inherited traditions which is shown in The Ninety Five Thesis. Analyzing all articles i feel as if they all support different things throughout the biblical text. The objectives are the same, just different meanings.

    Read More

  • The Events Leading Up To and Following Martin Luther and His Ninety-Five Thesis

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    Its hard for most people to imagine it possible that one man, like Martin Luther, could affect the world so profoundly in such a short period of time. However, that is infact exactly what he did and in a period of only sixty-three years. Some of the most spectacular events in religious reform took place during Martin Luther's life. He forced the scholarly to stop and take a good, hard look at the practices of the church and he allowed the layman to do the same. At a time when indulgences and pardons were at there height, and the Catholic church reigned supreme, Martin Luther chose to preach against them and the church's doctrine. With one document, his Ninety-Five Theses, he raddled the halls of the Vatican, broke the strong hold of the Catholic church, and brought Christian reform to all parts of Europe and the world.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther's Influence On Religion

    1699 Words  | 4 Pages

    November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Germany, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, a role model for all Christians worldwide, was born. His name was Martin Luther, and this man changed the course of history forever. The Holy Roman Empire was an era where there was feudalism and a time of institutional growth and also a period of political importance. This empire encompassed the countries we know today as Czech and Slovak Republics, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and also eastern parts of France, Slovenia, northern Italy, and western Poland. The Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962 CE all the way until 1806 CE. That in all, is 844 years of many Popes, wars between countries, and a large number of different rulers.

    Read More

  • A Common Struggle Depicted in Bread Givers and Of Plymouth Plantation 

    2152 Words  | 5 Pages

    In de-emphasizing the role of the Church, it’s rituals, and offices, and supplanting them with a more direct and personal approach to God and spirituality; the Protestant Reformation, through the works of Martin...

    Read More

  • Church Reform In The 16th Century

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    Luther, a pastor and professor at the University of Wittenberg, deplored the entanglement of God’s free gift of grace in a complex system of indulgences and good works. In his Ninety-five Theses, he attacked the indulgence system, insisting that the pope had no authority over purgatory and that the doctrine of the merits of the saints had no foundation in the gospel. Here lay the key to Luther’s concerns for the ethical and theological reform of the church: Scripture alone is authoritative (sola sciptura) and justification is by faith (sola fide), not by works. While he did not intend to break with the Catholic church, a confrontation with the papacy was not long in coming. In 1521 Luther was excommunicated; what began as an internal reform movement had become a fracture in western

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Martin Luther's Letter To The Christian Nobility Of The German Government

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in

    Read More

  • Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an

    Read More

  • Analysis of Martin Luther's 95 Theses

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther was not fond of the practices the Roman Catholic church of indulgences. Indulgences are a practice where worshippers would pay their priest which granted remission for their sins (“Indulgences."). This practice became increasingly corrupt. In the 95 Theses, Luther, became prominent in the Protestant Reformation due to its humble and academic tone (A&E Television Networks, LLC.). For example, in the second theses he states, “The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.” This means that only god can give salvation, not a priest. He is questioning why we must pay to re...

    Read More

  • What Is The Purpose Of Martin Luther's Letter To Pope Leo

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    He goes as far as to completely discredit Luther’s entire movement against the Catholic Church on the basis that Luther contradicts everyone, even himself. In light of the ideas presented in this source, it is evident that King Henry VIII holds the Roman Catholic Church in the highest esteem, and sees the seven sacraments as something worth defending against men such as Luther who seek reform within the Church. Although the title of this work leads readers to believe that the most important matter to the author is protecting the traditions and beliefs of the clergy, the majority of the treatise focuses on demoralising Luther himself; he pleads with the reader to remain loyal to the Holy Catholic Church and to reject the “sacrilegious opinions” of Martin Luther (King Henry

    Read More

  • Martin Luther Thesis Statement

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.

    Read More

  • Sacrifice In The Eucharist

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lutherans today belief in Consubstantiation as was taught by Martin Luther-in which the substances remain the same, and somehow the presence of Christ is included. Majority of Protestant sees the Eucharist only as a symbol or a remembrance and a pledge of salvation as was taught by Zwingli and Calvin respectively. Aquinas’ approach on the Doctrine of real presence is a sign-centred in which the whole Christ is present sacramentally in the species of bread and wine “in the manner of a substance,” both physically in Heaven, and substantially in the sacrament whenever Mass is celebrated. So, the risen Lord is truly present in ‘His body and blood, soul and divinity after the priest pronounced the consecration formula over the host, signifying that the gifts have become the gift of Christ’s body and blood, because the words have an instrumental power to change the gifts insofar as they

    Read More

  • The Existence of Abuses in the Roman Catholic Church

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1517, when reformist Martin Luther wrote an indictment of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church called the 95 Theses, he appealed to many people across Europe. In his indictment he greatly criticized and addressed the selling of indulgences above all. At first, a person would have to do “work of satisfaction” like fasting, prayer, almsgiving, retreats and pilgrimages in return for an indulgence. But when the empire was in need of money to fight off the Ottoman Empire and rebuild St. Peter’s in Rome, the pope allowed indulgences to be sold for money where he would receive half the proceeds and the other half would go to funding. This is when Luther was even more angered by the selling of indulgences since he already believed that salvation could not be obtained by man’s own effort, but more the fact that man would be saved only if God willed it. It was that event that prompted the German monk to post his ideas and beliefs as the 95 Theses and address the abuse of selling indulgences in it.

    Read More

More about Luther's The Pagan Servitude Of The Church

Open Document