The Conditionalist Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

II. Luther Revives Conditionalism at Outset of Reformation

MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546), learned in the classics, eminent in Scripture, and intrepid in action, was the master spirit of the Reformation in Germany. Although he broke with the Papacy by nailing his Ninety-five Theses against indulgences on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, it was his appearance before the Diet of Worms, to defend his position from Scripture before the emperor, that made him a national hero. His translation of the Bible into the German tongue ranks him among the masters and molders of the German language. And his doctrine of justification by faith became the battle cry of the Reformation. CFF2 65.3

Luther overshadowed all other leaders of the Reformation in sheer courage and audacity, boldly taking his battle for spiritual freedom directly to the highest ecclesiastical and civil authorities, and shaking off the pontifical yoke. He was one of the great preachers of his time and one of the most powerful personalities of the Christian Era. He dared to defy the Papacy, with all of its imposing power, pageantry, and perversions, as well as anathemas, by striking at its unscriptural traditions. And he was the first sixteenth-century Reformer to question and reject the papal dogma of the immortality of the soul, particularly the postulate of consciousness in death amid the pains of Purgatory. CFF2 65.4

Luther lived in a transition hour, preceded by centuries of blanketing darkness that still profoundly affected the thinking of the time. He received his earlier training at Eisenach, then studied for the law at the famous University of Erfurt, where scholastic philosophy was still the pattern and the dialectic skills were dominant. Here he showed unusual intellectual powers, receiving the highest academic honors. Here likewise he was trained in polemics that fitted him for his stormy lifetime of conflict with prelate, pope, and emperor. CFF2 66.1

It was here also that he found a complete copy of the Latin Bible, reading it with intense eagerness. He was stirred tremendously, and as a result there started a struggle within his soul that never ceased until there was not only a new Luther but a widespread Reformation. CFF2 66.2

The unvarying ecclesiastical emphasis of the Middle Ages had been to instill fear of God and unquestioning reverence for the church. Luther knew that he himself was unprepared to meet God. The monastery, looming as a city of refuge, was obviously the place for him, with penance as the method of performance for reaching heaven. So in 1505 he entered the noted Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, with all its cloistered austerities. Taking the name of Augustine, he gave himself to vigils by night, and labors, prayers, and penances by day. Thus he sought the forgiveness of God, and salvation through the penitential system. Coarse garments and the begging cup formed part of the picture. Luther, typical example of a pious monk, was ordained a priest in 1507. CFF2 66.3