|
The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519.[6] Eck and other Roman Catholics followed the traditional practice of naming a heresy after its leader, thus labeling all who identified with the theology of Martin Luther as Lutherans.[3] Martin Luther always disliked the term, preferring instead to describe the reform movement with the term "Evangelical", which was derived from euangelion, a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. "Gospel."[6] The followers of John Calvin also began to use that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to call them "Evangelical Lutheran" and "Evangelical Reformed." In time the word "Evangelical" came to be dropped. Eventually Lutherans themselves began to use the term in the middle of the 16th century in order to distinguish themselves from other groups, such as Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title "Lutheran" as referring to the true church.[3] History See also: Protestant Reformation Lutheranism has its roots in the efforts of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation.[7][8][9][10] Spread into northern Europe Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark-Norway (also ruling Iceland and the Faroe Islands) and the monarch of Sweden (also ruling Finland) adopted Lutheranism. Through Baltic-German and Swedish rule Lutheranism also spread into the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular[11] Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen. Under the reign of Frederick I (1523–33), Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, the most significant being Hans Tausen.[12] During Frederick's reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads among the Danish population. At an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted; "We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore".[13] Frederick's son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death. However, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway. Title page of the Swedish Gustav Vasa Bible, translated by the Petri brothers, along with Laurentius Andreae The constitution upon which the Danish Norwegian Church, according to the Church Ordinance should rest was "The pure word of God, which is the Law and the Gospel".[14] It does not even mention the[15] Augsburg Confession. The priests at least had to[16] understand the Holy Script well enough to preach and explain the Gospel and the Epistles for their congregations. The youths were taught[17] from the Small Catechism, available in Danish since 1532. They may in the end expect:[18] "forgiving of their sins", "to be counted as just", and "the eternal life". Instruction is still similar.[19] The first Bible in Danish was Martin Luther's. It was translated by 1550 and made available in 3,000 copies.[20] It was sold out 30 years later. Important differences from today's Roman Catholicism are the Lutherans' refutation of the ideas that tradition is a carrier of the "Word of God", and that only the communion of the Bishop of Rome had been entrusted to interpret the "Word of God".[21][22] The Reformation in Sweden began with Olaus and Laurentius Petri, brothers who took the Reformation to Sweden after studying in Germany. They led Gustav Vasa, elected king in 1523, to Lutheranism. The pope's refusal to allow the replacement of an archbishop that supported the invading forces opposing Gustav Vasa during the Stockholm Bloodbath led to the discontinuance of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy in 1523.[12] Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås, the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church properties such as the church appointments and the clergy. While this effectively granted official sanction to Lutheran ideas,[12] Lutheranism did not become official until 1593, when the Uppsala Synod declared Holy Scripture the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530.[23] Mikael Agricola's translation of the first Finnish New Testament was published in 1548.[24] Schmalkaldic War and the Formula of Concord The University of Jena around 1600. Jena was the center of Gnesio-Lutheran activity during the controversies leading up to the Formula of Concord. After the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a conflict between two German Lutheran rulers in 1547. Soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League, oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim. Religious freedom was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau in 1552, and under the Cuius regio, eius religio and Declaratio Ferdinandei clauses of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.[25] Religious disputes between the Crypto-Calvinists, Philippists, Sacramentarians, Ubiquitarians and Gnesio-Lutherans raged within Lutheranism during the middle of the 16th century. This finally ended with the resolution of the issues in the Formula of Concord. Large numbers of politically and religiously influential leaders met together, debated, and resolved these topics on the basis of Scripture, resulting in the Formula, which over 8,000 leaders signed. The Book of Concord replaced earlier, incomplete collections of doctrine, unifying all German Lutherans with identical doctrine and beginning the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy. Lutheran orthodoxy Main article: Lutheran Orthodoxy The historical period of Lutheran Orthodoxy is divided into three sections: Early Orthodoxy (1580–1600), High Orthodoxy (1600–1685), and Late Orthodoxy (1685–1730). Lutheran scholasticism developed gradually especially for the purpose of arguing with the Jesuits, and it was finally established by Johann Gerhard. Abraham Calovius represents the climax of the scholastic paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include Martin Chemnitz, Aegidius Hunnius, Leonhard Hutter, Nicolaus Hunnius, Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand, Salomo Glassius, Johann Hülsemann, Johann Conrad Dannhauer, Johannes Andreas Quenstedt, Johann Friedrich König and Johann Wilhelm Baier. Near the end of the Thirty Years' War, the compromising spirit seen in Philip Melanchthon rose up again in Helmstedt School and especially in theology of Georgius Calixtus, causing the syncretistic controversy. Another theological issue that arose was the Crypto-Kenotic controversy.[26] Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from rationalism, philosophy based on reason, and Pietism, a revival movement in Lutheranism. After a century of vitality, the Pietist theologians Philipp Jakob Spener and August Hermann Francke warned that orthodoxy had degenerated into meaningless intellectualism and Formalism, while orthodox theologians found the emotional and subjective focuses of Pietism to be vulnerable to Rationalist propaganda.[27] The last famous orthodox Lutheran theologian before the rationalist Aufklärung, or Enlightenment, was David Hollatz. Late orthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher took part in the controversy against Pietism. Medieval mystical traditions continued in works of Martin Moller, Johann Arndt, and Joachim Lütkemann. Pietism became a rival of orthodoxy but adopted some orthodox devotional literature; for example, Arndt's, Scriver's and Prätorius' which were combined Pietistic literature. Rationalism Rationalist philosophers from France and England had an enormous impact during the 18th century, along with the German Rationalists Christian Wolff, Gottfried Leibniz, and Immanuel Kant. Their work led to an increase in rationalist beliefs, "at the expense of faith in God and agreement with the Bible".[27] In 1709, Valentin Ernst Löscher warned that this new Rationalist view of the world fundamentally changed society by drawing into question every aspect of theology. Instead of considering the authority of divine revelation, he explained, Rationalists relied solely on their personal understanding when searching for truth.[28] Johann Melchior Goeze (1717–1786), pastor of St. Catherine's Church, Hamburg, wrote apologetical works against Rationalists, including a theological and historical defence against the historical criticism of the Bible.[29] Dissenting Lutheran pastors were often reprimanded by the government bureaucracy overseeing them, for example, when they tried to correct Rationalist influences in the parish school.[30] As a result of the impact of a local form of rationalism, termed Neology, by the latter half of the 18th century, genuine piety was found almost solely in small Pietist conventicles.[27] However, some of the laity preserved Lutheran orthodoxy from both Pietism and rationalism through reusing old catechisms, hymnbooks, postils, and devotional writings, including those written by Johann Gerhard, Heinrich Müller and Christian Scriver.[31] Revivals A nineteenth-century Haugean conventicle. Representing the continuation of the Finnish Awakening to the present, youth are confirmed at the site of Paavo Ruotsalainen's homestead. A layman, Luther scholar Johann Georg Hamann (1730–88), became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance a revival known as the Erweckung, or Awakening.[32] In 1806, Napoleon's invasion of Germany promoted Rationalism and angered German Lutherans, stirring up a desire among the people to preserve Luther's theology from the Rationalist threat. Those associated with this Awakening held that reason was insufficient and pointed out the importance of emotional religious experience.[33][34] Small groups sprang up, often in universities, which devoted themselves to Bible study, reading devotional writings, and revival meetings. Although the beginning of this Awakening tended heavily toward Romanticism, patriotism, and experience, the emphasis of the Awakening shifted around 1830 to restoring the traditional liturgy, doctrine, and confessions of the Lutheran church in the Neo-Lutheran movement.[33][34] This Awakening swept through all of Scandinavia except for Iceland.[35] It developed from both German Neo-Lutheranism and Pietism. Danish pastor and philosopher N. F. S. Grundtvig reshaped church life throughout Denmark through a reform movement beginning in 1830. He also wrote about 1,500 hymns, including God's Word Is Our Great Heritage.[36] In Norway, Hans Nielsen Hauge, a lay street preacher, emphasized spiritual discipline and sparked the Haugean movement.[37] In Norway, the Awakening drove the growth of foreign missions to non-Christians to a new height, which has never been reached since.[35] In Sweden, Lars Levi Læstadius began the Laestadian movement that emphasized moral reform.[37] In Finland, a farmer, Paavo Ruotsalainen, began the Finnish Awakening when he took to preaching about repentance and prayer.[37] In 1817, Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union. The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of the Old Lutherans. Many Lutherans, called "Old Lutherans", chose to leave the state churches despite imprisonment and military force.[32] Some formed independent church bodies, or "free churches", at home while others left for the United States, Canada and Australia. A similar legislated merger in Silesia prompted thousands to join the Old Lutheran movement. The dispute over ecumenism overshadowed other controversies within German Lutheranism.[38] Despite political meddling in church life, local and national leaders sought to restore and renew Christianity. Neo-Lutheran Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe and Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn[39] both sent young men overseas to serve as pastors to German Americans, while the Inner Mission focused on renewing the situation home.[40] Johann Gottfried Herder, superintendent at Weimar and part of the Inner Mission movement, joined with the Romantic movement with his quest to preserve human emotion and experience from Rationalism.[41] Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg, though raised Reformed, became convinced of the truth of historic Lutheranism as a young man.[42] He led the Neo-Lutheran Repristination School of theology, which advocated a return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship.[43] As editor of the periodical Evangelische Kirchenzeitung, he developed it into a major support of Neo-Lutheran revival and used it to attack all forms of theological liberalism and rationalism. Although he received a large amount of slander and ridicule during his forty years at the head of revival, he never gave up his positions.[42] The theological faculty at the University of Erlangen in Bavaria became another force for reform.[42] There, professor Adolf von Harless, though previously an adherent of rationalism and German idealism, made Erlangen a magnet for revival oriented theologians.[44] Termed the Erlangen School of theology, they developed a new version of the Incarnation,[44] which they felt emphasized the humanity of Jesus better than the ecumenical creeds.[45] As theologians, they used both modern historical critical and Hegelian philosophical methods instead of attempting to revive the orthodoxy of the 17th century.[46] Friedrich Julius Stahl led the High Church Lutherans. Though raised a Jew, he was baptized as a Christian at the age of 19 through the influence of the Lutheran school he attended. As the leader of a neofeudal Prussian political party, he campaigned for the divine right of kings, the power of the nobility, and episcopal polity for the church. Along with Kliefoth and Vilmar, he promoted agreement with Roman Catholicism with regard to the authority of the institutional church, ex opere operato effectiveness of the sacraments, and the divine authority of clergy. Unlike Roman Catholics, however, they also urged complete agreement with the Book of Concord.[45] The Neo-Lutheran movement managed to slow secularism and counter atheistic Marxism, but it did not fully succeed in Europe.[40] It partly succeeded in continuing the Pietist movement's drive to right social wrongs and focus on individual conversion. The Neo-Lutheran call to renewal failed to achieve widespread popular acceptance because it both began and continued with a lofty, idealistic Romanticism that did not connect with an increasingly industrialized and secularized Europe.[47] At best, the work of local leaders resulted in specific areas with vibrant spiritual renewal, but people in Lutheran areas overall continued to become increasingly distant from church life.[40] By 1969, Manfried Kober complained that “unbelief is rampant” even within German Lutheran parishes.[48] Doctrine Bible Luther's translation of the Bible, from 1534 Traditionally, Lutherans hold the Bible of the Old and New Testaments to be the only divinely inspired book, the only source of divinely revealed knowledge, and the only norm for Christian teaching.[49] Scripture alone is the formal principle of the faith, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency.[50] The authority of the Scriptures has been challenged during the history of Lutheranism. Martin Luther taught that the Bible was the written Word of God, and the only reliable guide for faith and practice. He held that every passage of Scripture has one straightforward meaning, the literal sense as interpreted by other Scripture.[51] These teachings were accepted during the orthodox Lutheranism of the 17th century.[52] During the 18th century, Rationalism advocated reason rather than the authority of the Bible as the final source of knowledge, but most of the laity did not accept this Rationalist position.[53] In the 19th century, a confessional revival re-emphasized the authority of the Bible and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the historical-grammatical method of Biblical interpretation, while theological liberals use the higher critical method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center surveyed 1,926 adults in the United States that self-identified as Lutheran. The study found that 30% believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be taken literally word for word. 40% held that the Bible was the Word of God, but was not literally true word for word or were unsure if it was literally true word for word. 23% said the Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions.[54] Inspiration Although many Lutherans today hold less specific views of inspiration, historically, Lutherans affirm that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of plenary, verbal inspiration, the direct, immediate word of God.[55] The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with the Word of God[56] and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible.[57] Because of this, Lutherans confess in the Formula of Concord, "we receive and embrace with our whole heart the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel."[58] The apocryphal books were not written by the prophets, by inspiration; they contain errors[59] never included in the Judean Canon that Jesus used,[60] and therefore are not a part of Holy Scripture.[61] The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures are authentic as written by the prophets and apostles. A correct translation of their writings is God's Word because it has the same meaning as the original Hebrew and Greek.[61] A mistranslation is not God's word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority.[61] Divine authority Historically, Lutherans maintain that Holy Scripture, the Word of God, carries the full authority of God. For confessional Lutherans, every single statement of the Bible calls for instant and unqualified acceptance. For Lutherans who are more aligned with mainline Protestantism, a basic claim is made that the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life. This allows for historical-critical methods for interpretation. Clarity Historically, Lutherans understand the Bible to present all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith clearly.[62] God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education.[63] Of course, one must understand the language God's Word is presented in, and not be so preoccupied by contrary thoughts so as to prevent understanding.[64] As a result of this, no one needs to wait for any clergy, pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible.[65] Efficacy Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates the acceptance of its teaching.[66] This teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a dead letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it.[67] Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather it creates the living agreement of faith.[68] As the Smalcald Articles affirm, "in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with the preceding outward Word."[69] Sufficiency Lutherans are confident that the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live a Christian life.[70] There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled with by tradition, pronouncements of the Pope, new revelations, or present-day development of doctrine.[71] Law and Gospel Title Page from the 1580 Dresden Book of Concord Moses and Elijah point the sinner looking for God's salvation to the cross to find it. Law and Grace, by Lucas Cranach. The left side shows humans' condemnation under God's law, while the right side presents God's grace in Christ. Lutherans understand the Bible as containing two distinct types of content, termed Law and Gospel (or Law and Promises).[72] Properly distinguishing between Law and Gospel prevents the obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone.[73] Lutheran confessions The Book of Concord, published in 1580, contains ten documents which some Lutherans believe are faithful and authoritative explanations of Holy Scripture. Besides the three Ecumenical Creeds, which date to Roman times, the Book of Concord contains seven credal documents articulating Lutheran theology in the Reformation era. The doctrinal positions of Lutheran churches are not uniform because the Book of Concord does not hold the same position in all Lutheran churches. For example, the state churches in Scandinavia consider only the Augsburg Confession as a "summary of the faith" in addition to the three ecumenical Creeds.[74] Lutheran pastors, congregations, and church bodies in Germany and the Americas usually agree to teach in harmony with the entire Lutheran Confessions. Some Lutheran church bodies require this pledge to be unconditional because they believe the confessions correctly state what the Bible teaches. Others allow their congregations to do so "insofar as" the Confessions are in agreement with the Bible. Justification Lutherans believe that whoever has faith in Jesus alone will receive salvation from the grace of God and will enter eternity in heaven instead of eternity in hell after death or at the second coming of Jesus. The key doctrine, or material principle, of Lutheranism is the doctrine of justification. Lutherans believe that humans are saved from their sins by God's grace alone (Sola Gratia), through faith alone (Sola Fide), on the basis of Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura). Orthodox Lutheran theology holds that God made the world, including humanity, perfect, holy and sinless. However, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, trusting in their own strength, knowledge, and wisdom.[75][76] Consequently, people are saddled with original sin, born sinful and unable to avoid committing sinful acts.[77] For Lutherans, original sin is the "chief sin, a root and fountainhead of all actual sins."[78] Lutherans teach that sinners, while capable of doing works that are outwardly "good," are not capable of doing works that satisfy God's justice.[79] Every human thought and deed is infected with sin and sinful motives.[80] Because of this, all humanity deserves eternal damnation in hell.[81] God in eternity has turned His Fatherly heart to this world and planned for its redemption because he loves all people and does not want anyone to be eternally damned.[82] To this end, "God sent his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness, life, and salvation against sin, death, and an evil conscience," as the Large Catechism explains.[83] Because of this, Lutherans teach that salvation is possible only because of the grace of God made manifest in the birth, life, suffering, death, and resurrection, and continuing presence by the power of the Holy Spirit, of Jesus Christ.[84] By God's grace, made known and effective in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a person is forgiven, adopted as a child and heir of God, and given eternal salvation.[85] Christ, because he was entirely obedient to the law with respect to both his human and divine natures, "is a perfect satisfaction and reconciliation of the human race," as the Formula of Concord asserts, and proceeds to summarize:[86] [Christ] submitted to the law for us, bore our sin, and in going to his Father performed complete and perfect obedience for us poor sinners, from his holy birth to his death. Thereby he covered all our disobedience, which is embedded in our nature and in its thoughts, words, and deeds, so that this disobedience is not reckoned to us as condemnation but is pardoned and forgiven by sheer grace, because of Christ alone. Lutherans believe that individuals receive this gift of salvation through faith alone.[87] Saving faith is the knowledge of,[88] acceptance of,[89] and trust[90] in the promise of the Gospel.[91] Even faith itself is seen as a gift of God, created in the hearts of Christians[92] by the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word[93] and Baptism.[94] Faith receives the gift of salvation rather than causes salvation.[95] Thus, Lutherans reject the "decision theology" which is common among modern evangelicals. Trinity Lutherans believe in the Trinity Lutherans are Trinitarian; they confess in the Nicene Creed: the version in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) is the 1988 ecumenical (ELLC) version. But the version in both "Lutheran Service Book" (2006) of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC) is that of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer with modernized spelling of the words "catholic" and "apostolic", with changes in capitalization of these and other words, and with "Holy Spirit" in place of "Holy Ghost". Lutherans reject the idea that the Father and the Son are merely faces of the same person, stating that both the Old Testament and the New Testament show them to be two distinct persons.[96] Lutherans believe the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.[97] "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal." Two natures of Christ Main article: Scholastic Lutheran Christology Lutherans believe Jesus is the Christ, the savior promised in the Old Testament. They believe he is both by nature God and by nature man in one person, as they confess in Luther's Small Catechism that he is "true God begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man born of the Virgin Mary".[98] The Augsburg Confession explains:[99] [T]he Son of God, did assume the human nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, so that there are two natures, the divine and the human, inseparably enjoined in one Person, one Christ, true God and true man, who was born of the Virgin Mary, truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, that He might reconcile the Father unto us, and be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men. Sacraments Main article: Lutheran sacraments Lutherans hold that sacraments are sacred acts of divine institution.[100] Whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God[101] along with the divine words of institution,[102] God is, in a way specific to each sacrament, present with the Word and physical component.[103] He earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament[104] forgiveness of sins[105] and eternal salvation.[106] He also works in the recipients to get them to accept these blessings and to increase the assurance of their possession.[107] A.C. Article IX: Of Confession[108] Lutherans are not dogmatic about the number of the sacraments.[109] In line with Luther's initial statement in his Large Catechism some speak of only two sacraments,[110] Baptism and Holy Communion, although later in the same work he calls Confession and Absolution[111] "the third sacrament."[112] The definition of sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession lists Absolution as one of them.[113] Since Absolution is a return to the forgiveness given in baptism, strictly speaking there are only two sacraments. Private Confession is not practiced among Lutherans as often as in the Roman Church. Rather, it is expected before receiving the Eucharist for the first time.[114] Some churches also allow for individual absolution on Saturdays before the Eucharistic service. A general confession and absolution (known as the Penitential Rite) is proclaimed in the Eucharistic liturgy. Lutherans do not emphasize "penance" as a retribution of sin but rather the proclamation of God's forgiveness by the "called and ordained" minister of the Holy Gospel. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German monk and theologian. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism and Christianity overall, with approximately 80 million adherents, making it the third most common Protestant denomination after historically pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism.[1] Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning with the 95 Theses, first published in 1517, Luther's writings were disseminated internationally, spreading the early ideas of the Reformation beyond the influence and control of the Roman Catholic Curia and the Holy Roman Emperor.[2] The split between the Lutherans and the Roman Catholics was made clear and open with the 1521 Edict of Worms:[3] the edicts of the Diet condemned Luther and officially outlawed citizens of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating his ideas, subjecting advocates of Lutheranism to forfeiture of all property, specifying half of any seized property forfeit to the Imperial government and the remaining half forfeit to the party who brought the accusation. The divide primarily centered over the doctrine of Justification. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone", the doctrine that the Bible is the final authority on all matters of faith, denying the Roman Catholic belief of authority coming from both the Bible and the established Church Magisterium. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first four ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church.[4][5] Unlike the Reformed Churches, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of God's Law, the divine grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints, and predestination. |
About us|Jobs|Help|Disclaimer|Advertising services|Contact us|Sign in|Website map|Search|
GMT+8, 2015-9-11 21:28 , Processed in 0.157663 second(s), 16 queries .
