Thesis statement: Martin Luther’s theology started the reformation in Germany through his famous 95 Theses and, in doing so, helped model the contemporary society and Protestant Church.
Introduction
The European Reformation, driven by Lutheran Theology, is one of the most ambiguous periods. This phenomenon always remains in the center of attention of those who are interested in the history of the Christian Church and its theological ideas. The reformation affected various areas of life, contributing not only to the revision of the Christian doctrine itself and the renewal of Christian spirituality but also to the changing of the structures of the Church and the moral criteria of society. The Reformation movement was based on a number of consistently formulated ideas that underpinned the strategies set by its believers and, to one degree or another, implemented reform programs.
The reformation, as an internal church phenomenon, was a natural consequence of the degeneration of Catholicism and its inability to implement the main idea of the Medieval culture: to organize the earthly life of true Christians as a preparation for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. It was suggested necessary to return to the immediate primary source of truth – the Holy Scriptures and discard all the later layers that are the institution of Holy Tradition.1
The main principles of the Protestant doctrine, which were formulated during the reformation, are as follows: salvation by faith alone – sola Fide, faith only according to Scripture – sola Scriptura, salvation is given by Divine grace – sola Gratia.2 3 The attitude to the Holy Tradition is stated with definiteness, claiming that all human decrees and traditions are contrary to the Gospel and the doctrine of faith in Christ, and it is impossible to determine the dogmas of faith on the basis of the acts and words of the Holy Fathers.
The sola Scriptura principle proceeded from the general idea of the reformation about the legitimacy of a personal, non-mediated appeal to God. The power of salvation belongs only to God, but every Christian must turn to Him himself, without any mediation, earthly or heavenly. Previously, the mediator in salvation was the Catholic Church since it imparted to the faithful the saving power of the sacraments. Between human and Revelation in Holy Scripture, it affirmed the mediation of Holy Tradition. In an effort to destroy any mediation between God and humans, the reformation left only the Holy Scriptures, the opening which everyone could directly know about God from His words. In the cult of Holy Scripture, personal doctrinal experience supplanted the doctrinal experience of the Church.
Luther believed that a sinful person who truly believed in an almighty and perfect God already thereby becomes righteous in the eyes of the Almighty; that is, he does not need any indulgences. “Justification” or “forgiveness of sins” is, according to Luther, exclusively God’s grace, and it does not depend on the actions of a person, righteous deeds, or money.4 According to Luther’s unshakable conviction, this and nothing else are the foundations of the Christian faith.5
Thus, a person can and should address the Creator directly through prayers, and for this, there is no need for the Church, priests, and the holy intermediaries. Luther’s conclusions, in the beginning, only theoretically undermined the foundation on which the spiritual power was built in Catholicism, or rather – threatened to completely destroy this foundation.6 These thoughts persuaded and attracted many people to Luther’s side – those striving for freedom, liberation from fear of death and hellish torment, from indulgences and other extortions, and from the oppression of power, having a decisive influence on the further development of the Christian Church and European society.
Research Questions
The research is aimed to identify several critical questions that connect to the formation of Lutheran Theology and Its Implications for Contemporary Church and Society. Such objectives require the formation of research questions that will set a clear framework for the paper structure. The key objectives of the following paper are: how Lutheran formed his ideas and their background? How Lutheran ideas influenced the contemporary Church and its society?
Core Ideas
Faith is understood by Luther as a gift from God, sent down through Revelation and entirely dependent on the mercy of the Highest. On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his 95 Theses against indulgence to the door of the Wittenberg Church.7 He believed that the purchase of indulgences supplanted the moment of sincere repentance. For spiritual cleansing, conscience turned out to be an excess. This could not but lead to a moral discrediting of atonement in the minds of people-oriented toward a conscientious life in this world, toward honest acquisition, hard work, and frugality. Such people were in dire need of social and normative values that would really define their way of life, everyday deeds pleasing to God, and favorable for personal salvation.8 Luther defended the idea of a person who is aware of their sinfulness, capable of internal repentance, overcoming sinfulness before God.
Closely related to the doctrine of justification by faith, Martin Luther’s teaching on conscience is central to the entire Protestant tradition. From the perspective of Christian anthropology, it was characterized by a decisive break with the Thomistic concept of synderesis and, more broadly, with any variants of synergism. Therefore, the scholastic distinction between conscience and synderesis, being rather carefully studied by Luther in his early works, ceased to play any role in the strengthened Reformation doctrine.910
At the same time, the significance of the topic of conscience itself can hardly be overestimated. An appeal to it is found on almost every page of any of Luther’s works, and such an abundance of reasoning, examples, teachings, and comparisons related to conscience gives researchers of Luther’s legacy rich material for work. At the same time, in Luther’s teaching, conscience appears, on the one hand, passively, as an inherent possibility in humans, a certain substantial factor of human nature. On the other hand, conscience is functioning in a person as a kind of external phenomenon, a conductor of the Law or the good news of the Gospel.11 In place of sophistic, as Luther said, fabrications, in particular about the separation of conscience and synderesis, in the framework of the Protestant doctrine, the concept of conscience emerged as a kind of phenomenon related both to a deep moral sense and the intellectual knowledge of grace and sin.
In his theses, Luther criticized the Catholic Church and proposed to reform it, questioned the infallibility of the Pope, and attacked the indulgences traded by the Holy See. The news of this courageous step spread throughout the country, and Germany split into supporters and opponents of Luther’s ideas. Luther’s doctrine in 1521 was considered by the congress of the German political elite ‑ , the Worms Reichstag.12
It revealed that Luther enjoys the support of influential princes who are ready to help him. Although the Edict of Worms, which condemned the theologian, was passed at the Reichstag, Luther was not arrested but took refuge in the residence of one of the princes. This is how the political confrontation between Catholicism and Lutheranism began. The invitation to a religious dispute ended with an era of fratricidal wars that lasted for several decades in Germany and then broke out in other European countries.
The reformation was not an isolated event but a large process, and its main task was to change the community of believers. In fact, both Catholics and Protestants followed a parallel course. Their main efforts were aimed precisely at educating people – subjects of their sovereigns and good Christians, who conscientiously related to their faith. This upbringing required massive preaching campaigns and the creation of a new system of European education.
The split of the once-common Christian community into competing confessions brought with it conflicts. There were bloody wars, persecution of religious minorities, a stream of polemical literature, the authors of which recorded their opponents as the servants of Satan. Nevertheless, the main Christian virtue ‑ love for one’s neighbor ‑ was by no means forgotten, although this neighbor could now belong to a different confession.13 Catholics and Protestants from many countries ‑ , England and Scotland, France, Germanic principalities, the Commonwealth, the Habsburg lands and others ‑ had to learn to live next to each other.
The story of the reformation is not just one endless confrontation but an alternation of outbursts of hostility with periods of peaceful coexistence. Namely, the reformation shaped the face of modern Europe. The confessional differences brought by the reformation affected European culture – the appearance of churches, painting, music, literature. The confessional division has had a great impact on society and political culture. Nation-states that emerged in the early modern era took on distinct confessional outlines.14 Thus, for example, Britain was thought of as a Protestant state, while Spain, France. or Bavaria – as Catholic. In fact, the reformation outlined the familiar political boundaries of European countries today.
Contradictions and Challenges
The reformation as a socio-political phenomenon and the work of Martin Luther, which largely determined the further course of development of European culture, was always perceived far from unambiguously. It collided from a variety of points of view, sometimes completely opposite. The reformation is associated with both the positive aspects of the development of political history, which today almost no one dares to dispute, as well as its darkest manifestations that led to severe social cataclysms. Yet, many researchers agree that today there is no true understanding of the reformation.15
Such a radical conclusion is due to the fact that the event of the reformation is interpreted in a variety of theoretical layers. Sometimes they are not at all overlapping with each other, using different methodology and various, sometimes rather arbitrary premises.16 17The reformation to this day remains a phenomenon, the degree of study of which is far from proportional to the degree of its holistic and adequate understanding. Any significant event in religious and political life makes people remember it again and again.
In Catholicism, Holy Scripture can only be correctly understood in the context of Holy Tradition. In this regard, it becomes clear what strength this solution gave to the papacy. To deprive the papacy of the power of this position, Protestantism needed to take away its monopoly on Bible interpretation. To this end, Martin Luther proclaimed the right of every believer not only to read independently but also to interpret the Bible.
Admitting philosophical thinking as a supplement to faith, Protestantism considered the latter to be the only criterion for the truthfulness of the perception of biblical Revelation. This thesis denies the conciliar authority and affirms the authority of each individual person in the presence of equality of conditions for all individuals in society. Many researchers of Luther’s work say that the he was a man of extremes who did not recognize the middle way.18
From a passionate and ardent admirer of the Pope, Luther became an equally ardent persecutor of papas. Luther’s hatred of the Pope, in whom he saw the antichrist and the Devil, only intensified over the years, taking on the character of a real idee fixe.19 Luther’s last work, Against the Papacy Founded by the Devil, published in 1545, is the apogee of the reformer’s hatred of the Pope. Luther completely renounced the personal authority of the high priest of the Roman Church, opposing him with public and non-hierarchical authority – his own interpretation of the Word of God.
The right to freely interpret Scripture led to religious arbitrariness among the population. Accordingly, the need to limit it led to the emergence of the so-called symbolic books of Protestantism – the second main source of Protestant doctrine, which formed St. Tradition of Protestantism. Each Protestant movement has its own symbolic books, although the fact of their existence contradicts the original principle of the reformation – sola Scriptura.
This contradiction is reflected in the early symbolic books of the German reformation. In particular, the Formula of Consent proclaims that one Holy Scripture should be recognized as a criterion, norm, and rule of faith. At the same time, symbols do not have an authoritative value in matters of faith but only serve as evidence of faith.20 On the other hand, it prescribes that all other books should be checked with symbols as to whether Christian dogmas are set forth correctly and in accordance with the word of God. The symbols should contain a doctrine that existed and must exist forever in the Church.21
Luther realized that the absence of the restraining authority of the Church Tradition leads to devastating consequences in the public environment, and he was trying to restore the lost balance between faith and morality. In the original writings of Luther, at the beginning of the Reformation, Christian freedom was to become the cornerstone of the Christian community, which did not admit the obligation of any external forms and rituals. In later writings, the significance of such freedom for the people is completely denied. Preachers are charged with the indispensable duty of maintaining the same formulas for teaching the doctrine of faith.
Overall Impact on Church and Society
The Wittenberg Reformation, begun by Luther, not only influenced the development of the religious situation in Germany and the Scandinavian countries but, of course, was an event that influenced the development of Christianity as such. There was the formation of national churches operating independently on the territory of individual states. Moreover, the reassessment of socio-ethical norms was introduced, which led to the formation of a type of Protestant work ethic, confessionalization, and its consequences. All these events in European history are closely intertwined with the history of the reformation. At the same time, the significance of the reformation is not limited to the religious sphere. It influenced the formation of the socio-cultural paradigm of the modern era, impacting, among other things, numerous aspects and directions of philosophical research in Germany and other countries.
The main principles of the Protestant doctrine, which were formulated during the reformation, including Soli Deo Gloria – neither the Pope nor even the saints can be objects of worship – became a foundation of modern Protestantism. Many features of Protestant beliefs and practices can be deduced from these principles: the denial of icon veneration, the reduction in the number of sacraments, and in some trends, even a complete rejection of them. The same concerns the lack of clear boundaries between priests and laity – pastors are not mediators between God and people, but only preachers and mentors, while the laity are obliged to study the Bible and be active members of the Church.
The reformation was a movement for the renewal of the Church that swept through almost all of Europe and split Christianity into Protestants and Catholics; the rift spread across all countries. In particular, Anglicanism arose in England, that is, the national Protestant Church. A common feature of all Protestants was the rejection of the popery, orientation towards the Bible, and the “doctrine of grace.” According to this doctrine, a person can acquire salvation only through Divine grace and not by good deeds.
Subsequently, the conflict between the old Church and the Renovationists flared up, and, as a result, the new denominations split from Catholicism. Afterward, a confessional border passed through Europe; this division caused the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648).
Moreover, it gave rise to practically two different populations within Europe, as interfaith marriages were rather the exception. Some historians and sociologists even believe that the Protestant mentality contributed to the dynamic development of the modern economy and thus left Catholic Europe far behind.22 23 The Lutheran Reformation, in fact, gave impetus to the development of capitalism, laying the foundations of today’s “Protestant ethics” described by Max Weber. Clearly, Luther’s goal was to reform the Church, not the path to a new capitalist society. Nevertheless, Protestantism spread not only to church life but also influenced the consciousness of the laymen, attuning them to the fulfillment of divine commandments that corresponded to the coming capitalist era.
It should also be noted that for Luther, the autonomy of religious experience is substantiated by the fundamental difference between the two forms of government of God (secular and spiritual), acting as a fundamental model. On the basis of it, the entire system of criteria is built that determines the relationship between Church and state. Luther did not strive to see in the Christian legal order a certain socio-political ideal. The state maintains ideological neutrality, and its institutions are designed to maintain social order and find their confirmation in punitive functions.24
Arguing against the Anabaptists, who perceived the Church as an “alternative society,” Luther objected to the use of the Bible in criticizing the secular state. He did not consider it possible to view the Bible as a code of laws or a constitution that defines the norms of social and political life.25 26 The main contradiction of Luther’s political theology lies in the assertion of a “double standard” according to which a Christian as a politician may not be guided by the gospel morality, but in private life must follow it.
Currently, Lutheranism continues to be the dominant confession of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and also occupies a dominant position in many lands of united Germany. Without taking into account the religious factor, that significantly influenced the formation of the mentality of the Scandinavians and Germans, it is impossible to understand the peculiarities of national cultures.27 The Reformation in Germany and the Scandinavian countries was based on the development of the ideas of the transformation of medieval Catholicism, one way or another formulated by Luther and his followers. Thus, without studying the legacy of Luther it is impossible to see the internal logic of the reformation.
Conclusion
Migrants brought Protestantism to the British colonies of North America, which later became the United States. There it exists in all its diversity to this day: there is no single state church in the United States. Under the shadow of Protestantism, new reformist movements and groups continue to form, competing with each other in the struggle for believers. Protestantism has made a significant contribution to the development of the American nation and the formation of its self-esteem.28
As a product of religious thought, Luther’s exegesis influenced the formation of both Protestant theology and the organization of European Protestant churches. It especially concerns those European countries where Lutheranism is legally or de facto state religion. Luther’s exegesis was predominantly a product of religious and philosophical thought. However, its influence is not limited to the sphere of religion since the conclusions drawn on its basis were of exceptional importance for the development of social relations, the progress of scientific knowledge, and social development.
Bibliography
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Cooper, Jordan. Hands of Faith: A Historical and Theological Study of the Two Kinds of Righteousness in Lutheran Thought. Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2016.
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Hinlicky, Paul. Lutheran Theology and Its Implications for Contemporary Church and Society. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2020.
Holder, Ward. “The Reformers and Tradition: Seeing the Roots of the Problem.” Religions 8, no. 6 (2017): 1-11. Web.
Holm, Bo Kristian. Lutheran Theology and the Shaping of Society: The Danish Monarchy as Example. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018.
Kruger, Michael J. The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity. Cruciform Quick, 2019.
Laffin, Michael Richard. The Promise of Martin Luther’s Political Theology: Freeing Luther from the Modern Political Narrative. London: T&T Clark, 2016.
Lioy Dan and Robert Falconer. “Lutheran and Reformed Theology in Conversation.” Conspectus -The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary 27 (2019): 191-223.
Machen, Gresham. Christianity & Liberalism. Bibliotech Press, Bexar County, Texas 2019.
Mullet, Michael. Luther. New York: Routledge, 2017.
Orta, Joseph.. “How Martin Luther Started a Religious Revolution.” National Geographic, 2017. Web.
Ozment, Steven, and John Witte. “Martin Luther.” In Christianity and Family Law: An Introduction, edited by John Witte and Gary Hauk, 195-210. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Pak, Sujin. “The Protestant Reformers and the Jews: Excavating Contexts, Unearthing Logic.” Religions 8, no. 4 (2017): 1-13. Web.
Pfrimmer, David. Faith in the Public Commons – Pursuing the Common Good. Waterloo: Centre for Public Ethics, 2017.
Rössner, Phillip. “Martin Luther and the Making of the Modern Economic Mind.” International Review of Economics 66, no. 1955 (2019): 233-248. Web.
Stjerna, Kirsi. Lutheran Theology: A Grammar of Faith. London: T&T Clark, 2021.
Winther-Jensen, Thyge. “The Reformation as a Religious, Political, and Educational Project.” Revista Española de Educación Comparada 33 (2019): 106-121. Web.
Witte, John. “From Gospel to Law: The Lutheran Reformation and Its Impact on Legal Culture.” Ecclesiastical Law Journal 19, vol. 03 (2016): 52-74.
Woodbridge, John D. and Frank A. James. Church History, Volume Two Pack: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Footnotes
- Sujin Pak, “The Protestant Reformers and the Jews: Excavating Contexts, Unearthing Logic.” Religions 8, no. 4 (2017): 1-13. Web.
- Matthew Barrett, God’s Word Alone: The Authority of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016): 90-94.
- Paul Hinlicky, Luther for Evangelicals: A Reintroduction (Ada: Baker Academic, 2018): 62-65.
- Ronald W. Duty, and Marie A. Failinger. On Secular Governance: Lutheran Perspectives on Contemporary Legal Issues (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016): 22-23.
- Ibid: 29.
- Paul Hinlicky, Luther for Evangelicals: 72
- Hinlicky, Paul. Luther for Evangelicals: A Reintroduction. Ada: Baker Academic, 2018.
- John D. Woodbridge, and Frank A. James. Church History, Volume Two Pack: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019).
- Ward Holder, “The Reformers and Tradition: Seeing the Roots of the Problem,” Religions 8, no. 6 (2017)
- Steven Ozment, and John Witte. “Martin Luther.” In Christianity and Family Law: An Introduction, edited by John Witte and Gary Hauk, 195-210. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
- Michael J. Kruger, The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity (Cruciform Quick, 2019): 35.
- Joseph Orta, “How Martin Luther Started a Religious Revolution.” National Geographic, 2017. Web.
- David P. Gushee, After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2020): 40-43.
- Joan Acocella, “How Martin Luther Changed the World.” The New Yorker, 2017. Web.
- Dan Lioy and Robert Falconer, “Lutheran and Reformed Theology in Conversation.” Conspectus -The Journal of the South African Theological Seminary 27 (2019): 191-223.
- Kirsi Stjerna, Lutheran Theology: A Grammar of Faith (London: T&T Clark, 2021).
- Thyge Winther-Jensen, “The Reformation as a Religious, Political, and Educational Project.” Revista Española de Educación Comparada 33 (2019): 106-121. Web.
- Gresham Machen, Christianity & Liberalism (Bibliotech Press, Bexar County, Texas, 2019): 48-50.
- Michael Mullet, Luther (New York: Routledge, 2017).
- Jordan Cooper, Hands of Faith: A Historical and Theological Study of the Two Kinds of Righteousness in Lutheran Thought (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2016): 49.
- Paul Hinlicky, Lutheran Theology and Its Implications for Contemporary Church and Society (Eugene: Cascade Books, 2020).
- Phillip Rössner, “Martin Luther and the Making of the Modern Economic Mind,” International Review of Economics 66, no. 1955 (2019): 233-248. Web.
- John Witte, “From Gospel to Law: The Lutheran Reformation and Its Impact on Legal Culture,” Ecclesiastical Law Journal 19, vol. 03 (2016): 52-74.
- Francis Fukuyama, “Political Consequences of the Protestant Reformation, Part I.” The American Interest. 2017. Web.
- Michael Richard Laffin, The Promise of Martin Luther’s Political Theology: Freeing Luther from the Modern Political Narrative (London: T&T Clark, 2016).
- David Pfrimmer, Faith in the Public Commons – Pursuing the Common Good (Waterloo: Centre for Public Ethics, 2017).
- Bo Kristian Holm, Lutheran Theology and the Shaping of Society: The Danish Monarchy as Example (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018): 30-34.
- Ronald W. Duty, and Marie A. Failinger. On Secular Governance: 68-69.