by Lisa Rosenkranz

Created on: October 26, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

In the excerpt "On Papal Power, Justification of Faith, and the Nature of the Clergy," from Martin Luther's Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate, Luther uses the words "knavery," "wickedness," and "ghoulish," to describe the Roman Catholic Church and its doctrines. He voices a very clear opposition to their practices. "As a result," states Luther, "the whole of Christendom has fallen abominably." Luther attacks the pope and uses his argument in an attempt to convince the German Nobility to intervene. Thanks to his direct and open criticism he finds himself excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and outlawed by Emperor Charles V.

Luther believed that the Roman Catholic Church had "cleverly built three walls around themselves." The first wall was made by creating decrees that declared temporal power had no jurisdiction over them and that spiritual power was above all others. The second wall was when anyone tried to find fault with the Catholics practices through Scripture, they would object that only the pope had the authority to read and interpret the Scriptures. The third wall was if the Church was threatened with a council to discuss and settle church doctrine and practice, the Catholics state that only the pope has the ability to summon a council and has full authority over all decisions made at a council.

Luther believed that the Roman Catholic Church created this three-way system of protection to allow them to continue to "practice all the knavery and wickedness in which we see today." He also says that the Catholic Church intimidated royalty into believing that it would be an offense against God (in other words, a sin) not to be obedient to the Roman Catholic Church.

According to Luther's beliefs salvation was acquired through faith and faith alone. He quotes the book of Romans (10:10), "If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him form the dead, you will be saved." The Catholic Church had a habit of convincing people that they could buy their way into heaven (or even a dead relative's way) by doing charitable acts, giving to the poor and other such devotional works. This could be looked at as abusive, like Luther did, or you could look at as an effective means to get people to do charitable works and other productive things by way of persuasion.

Luther says that the Roman Catholic Popes want to assume the "sole authority" of the Scriptures

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>