Luther's Writings Of 1520 example essay topic

Between 1517 and 1521, Martin Luther was driven further and further away from reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church. In 1521, the climactic Diet of Worms revealed Luther's now extreme views with which he totally rejected the Catholic Church and its doctrine and refused to recant his teachings. But how and why did Luther adopt these views? It can be said with some certainty that Luther's Catholic opponents contributed to his adoption of these extreme views.

Luther's first opponent, John Tetzel - who had first provoked Luther with his preaching on indulgence- was demanded to give a counter attack to Luther's 'The sermon on Indulgences and Grace'. In 1518, Tetzel wrote '158 Propositions in Defence'. This was burnt by students of Luther. Luther began to question papal authority, believing it to be the basis of indulgences. He began to look for alternative sources of authority and was to ultimately put his trust in scripture. At this time, Luther was still supported by the Augustinian order, but not from the powerful Dominican order.

One Dominican, Silvestri Mazzolini of Prier o ('Prieras'), was commissioned to write against Luther's 'The 95 Thesis'. He wrote against Luther in his 'Dialogus'. He wrote that Luther was wrong because Luther disagreed with St. Thomas Aquinas and was a heretic because he disagreed with the papacy. Luther, however, rejected Prieras - saying that Prieras' ideas were solely his own, and that they were. ".. laid down without Scripture". Although the Pope was unsuccessful in getting Luther to Rome, due to the refusal of his handing over by Frederick of Saxony, Luther was still to have a disciplinary hearing - albeit on German ground. The meeting took place in Augsburg in October 1518.

The great Thomism scholar Cardinal Cajetan, also a Dominican, was attending as the Pope's representative. Cajetan understood his duty to be to obtain a retraction from Luther or arranging his arrest and departure for Rome where he would face a charge of heresy. However, Luther believed that the Cajetan's role was to give him a fair hearing. When the meeting took place, it was completely mishandled by the Catholic Church. Cajetan was too confrontational. He pushed Luther into a corner, forcing him to admit that papal decree was not a sufficient authority.

In a subsequent meeting, Luther proclaimed that the Pope was fallible, and even went as far as calling him an Antichrist. In 1519, a debate was held at Leipzig between Luther and Johann ECK. This debate lasted several weeks and developed into an investigation of authority within the Church. By this stage, Luther was becoming extremely anti-papal.

Eck was an impressive and skilled debater. He was able to liken Luther to John Huss, a heretic who had been condemned to death in 1415. Luther did not strongly deny this, boldly proclaiming that Huss had been right, suggesting the infallibility of Church councils. This was an extremely bold statement for Luther to make, and one which not only widened Luther's breach with Rome, but one he would probably not made had he not been led to by Eck's skilful debating. Indeed, had Cajetan not forced Luther into admitting that the papal decree was not a sufficient authority, Luther would most probably have refrained from accusing the Pope of being an Antichrist. The debate with Eck continued over into 1520, as Eck took his case against Luther directly to Rome.

However, Luther finally alienated himself from the papacy through his writings. Throughout 1520, Luther published three books. The first was called 'To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation. ' in which he appealed to the political authorities of Germany to take part in the reformation, not only of religion and society. He attacked the Catholic Church's pomp, the idea of priestly celibacy and introduced the idea of the 'priesthood of all believers'. His second book, 'The Babylonian Captivity of the Church' contained his denial of the idea of transubstantiation and his introduction of the idea of consubstantiation. 'The liberty of a Christian' his third and final book of 1520 introduced Luther's idea that mankind was not to be bound by earthly and material things such as indulgences.

These writings removed Luther even further from Rome. When Luther's second book was published, Erasmus said "the division is now beyond repair". Eventually, Pope Leo X prepared the bull 'Ex surge Domine', an excommunication order giving Luther 60 days to recant. On the 19 December, Luther publicly burned the bull in Wittenburg. But what of self motivation? After all, Luther was not pressured or forced by anyone to write up the '95 Thesis' and nail them onto the door of Wittenburg.

However, the '95 Thesis' were no more than a call for reform. A stark contrast to the schism suggested by Luther in 1520. It is probable that Luther would not have developed his ideas, nor broken away from the church had he not been opposed so heavily. For example; the fact that Prieras discussed the infallibility of the church to such an extent in 1518, led Luther into considering whether the Church might, adversely, be fallible. Luther's writings of 1520, consisted predominantly of his ideas, many of them new - uninfluenced or 'inspired' by any of his opposition. However, it is again probable that these books may not have been produced, had it not been for skilled debaters such as Eck, influencing Luther's ideas into being 'violently' anti-papal.

So it can be said that Luther's extreme position of 1521 was originally self motivated, but undoubtedly - he would not have developed his more drastic views had it not been for the intervention of his Catholic opponents.