S
spina1953
Guest
Hi Topper: It just seems to me that Luther was very much set in his ways. he appears to a very strong willed person with a rather large ego. it is true that Luther was not the only reformer as there were others before and during and afterwards. it also seems that Luther’s growing up in a rather harsh home and then being in a religious order that was also somewhat harsh appears to have formed him in how his thinking grew over time.
There does seem that Luther’s theology was influenced in large part by his scrupulosity he experienced and the struggle to overcome it. There was also the political influence from the princes of the time who used Luther to their own ends in weakening whatever power they thought the CC had over them. Without those princes who helped him I wonder if Luther would have succeeded.
When others like Calvin and Zwingli who had differing opinion and theology from Luther’s he attacked them in the same manor as he did the CC. While it is true that in the beginning Luther may have very well wanted just to reform the CC of abuses, in the end it seems that the more the CC disagreed and rejected Luther’s theology, the more Luther revolted and the more stubborn he became. Luther it seems was not going to recant nor concede anything, believing he was correct and the CC was wrong. The more Luther was attacked concerning his theology and interpretations of Scripture by the CC, the more vicious he became in his attacks against the CC and anyone else who disagreed with him.
I think that main reason as to why Luther was so successful was due to his having his tracts printed and published in German, more so than anyone else. In the end Luther breaking away from the teachings of the CC, and implementing his own interpretations of Scripture and his theology led to others breaking away and forming their own theology and interpretations which we see over the span of time develop into denominations each with their own interpretations of Scripture and theologies, which I think Luther would not have approved and would have argued as he did in his own time against any interpretation or theology that is different from his.
