martin luther commited a great sin separating the church , but I understand he was not mentally all there?

Answer 1

I am not sure that history agrees that Fr. Luther wished to separate the Church at at all but instead wanted changes. He lamented in later years his actions and even doubted his salvation for what he had done. Certainly he said many things that would lead one to believe that he became a troubled soul in his later years but I believe he knew of the heresy that he had set in motion and the apostasy that would result by his actions which has devided the Church so egregiously.

Fr. Luther claimed that Scripture is the “supreme” rule of faith; it may surprise you that I do not disagree with that statement. What I do disagree with most strongly is when one says that it is the sole rule of faith as most modernist “Sola Scriptura” advocates claim. Note, I said modernist, as Martin Luther did not share the same view as many claiming “Sola Scriptura” do today, in regards to the Scriptural understanding. Luther believed that Biblical understanding is a partnership between the scholar and the lay person and that it was to be taught in community instead of each person believing themselves to be a theologian. Here is what Fr. Martin Luther said:

"This one will not hear of Baptism, and that one denies the sacrament, another puts a world between this and the last day: some teach that Christ is not God, some say this, some say that: there are as many sects and creeds as there are heads. No yokel is so rude but when he has dreams and fancies, he thinks himself inspired by the Holy Ghost and must be a prophet" De Wette III, 61. quoted in O'Hare, THE FACTS ABOUT LUTHER, 208.

"Noblemen, townsmen, peasants, all classes understand the Evangelium better than I or St. Paul; they are now wise and think themselves more learned than all the ministers." Walch XIV, 1360. quoted in O'Hare, Ibid, 209.

"We concede -- as we must -- that so much of what they [the Catholic Church] say is true: that the papacy has God's word and the office of the apostles, and that we have received Holy Scriptures, Baptism, the Sacrament, and the pulpit from them. What would we know of these if it were not for them?" Sermon on the gospel of St. John, chaps. 14 - 16 (1537), in vol. 24 of LUTHER'S WORKS, St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia, 1961, 304

By the time Fr. Martin Luther made these quotes Ulrich Zwingli had already “thrown the baby out with the bathwater” by denying the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, essentially forbidding Christ from Protestant worship. There were already schisms and vile disagreements over the most basic of Christian beliefs and the identity of Christianity was changing by these reformers on the whims of eisegesical whimsy and exegetical error. The fact is that Luther’s lamentations were prophetic, realizing that the Church had maintained Sacred Tradition and that his movement was sliding down a slippery slope of apostasy in exponentially increasing proportions.

The truth is, as Vatican II states that sacred Tradition and Sacred Scriptures flow from the same wellspring, which is Christ, they are unified and culminate to the same end. If one wishes to follow biblical teaching about the “rule of faith”, it is Scripture and apostolic tradition as interpreted by the living teaching authority of the Church from which comes the oral teaching of Jesus and the apostles and the authority of interpretation given to the Church.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 2

I don't believe Luther is to blame for separating the church. I think it is the inflexibility of some Catholic Church officials that led to the separation.

Luther raised important questions in his 95 Theses and other pamphlets. The church response was to threaten him, with excommunication and torture. Unfortunately for them, there were many who agreed with Luther in his calls for reform.

Because of Luther, many left the church. But the reformation wasn't only about the creation of new churches; it was also about Catholics cleaning up the Church (which they did). So, in some ways, The Catholic Church can thank Luther for starting the process that led to the Catholic Reformation.

By the way, the church was already separated, when the eastern churches were excommunicated by the pope during The Middle Ages (which led to the Orthodox Church).

Answer 3

So you favor paying the Church in advance so you can sin freely.

You give Martin Luther too much credit. It was the German Nobility that protected him that made this possible. They wanted to break the back of Rome and they succeeded. Half the world defected and Rome ceased to run the Western World.

If the Pope had only given Henry an Annulment and stopped the concept of taking money to sin, the world would be a vastly different place today and Rome would still be in charge.

Two silly little mistakes. The Butterfly effect.

Answer 4

Martin Luther was a pretty good person for creating protestantism (even though he was a little twisted in some other views). I mean honestly without him we would never have had the Reformation, and we'd probably still be in the bronze age if it weren't for him. We'd still be buying indulgences and all that...

Answer 5

so maybe his being mentally-ill can become his excuse, but what about the people who followed his ways, such as the Bible-fundies? they can't say they're all mentally-ill as well, can they? so what will be their excuse then?

edit: then again, if they want to have the same excuse as being mentally-ill as well, no one is stopping them.

Answer 6

It's often so easy to accuse someone of being "evil" or mentally ill for not agreeing with us, saves us the trouble of understanding their position. Again, is there a question her? If there is please point it out for me.

Answer 7

Luther said some right things, and some wrong things.

And catholics are not saved Christians.

Answer 8

You are so wrong. He only did not change much enough. we all need God's grace.