I agree with what you’re saying. And yes, what I said is true. My gut feeling tells me that Luther was justified in his fears. And this fear may be what led him to choose to flee from harms way. I wouldn’t doubt if the man were in heave now. Blessed Pope John Paul II, the Great, openly apologized for many atrocities done by leaders in the Church. Yes. I know I’ve given you the canned speech. I have mixed feelings as I’ve previously stated. But after discerning my entire life what I believe to be true, I do believe that the teachings of the Catholic Church are true. I just don’t agree with methods used to enforce them in salvation history. However, when you study history as far back as available, particularly during the time Saul was selected as King, you will find obedience to Saul to a fault. Thus, David, who had every right to defend himself, refused to harm the anointed king. David had several chances to kill Saul, but protected him instead. Remember that David is said to be a man after God’s own heart. That’s pretty special. But David, even in his serious sin, was dealt with respect. Fortunately he repented. But God did not allow him to build the Temple because he had too much blood on his hands… fast forward to Jesus…
Jesus said that I have not come to change but to fulfill the law. Later, he tells his disciples to following what the teachers of the law teach, but do not do what they do. Matt 23. Nowhere does God ever give permission to defy the authority placed above His people. However, that doesn’t mean our own fears, anxieties won’t have an adverse effect on our psyche. I too made mistakes out of fear. However, I understand that I was wrong on some of my issues. But that was because of a lack of proper catechesis. However, after telling my story to one of our priests, he was in shock at what happened to me. I’m not convinced he believed me, but if he didn’t he certainly agreed that he understood why I did what I did [understanding that if he believed me then he understood]. My father was either SSPX or Sedevantist. My mother was fundamental Protestant, very anti-Catholic. Her church was started by her grandmother because she was trying to get her child baptized in the Catholic Church and the priest replied, “I can’t baptize a bastard child.” So, I understand now why my great grandparents dropped Catholicism. One was Episcopalian and the other was Catholic. The insults go deep. But we can not judge Christ teaching based on the poor example of those place over us.
Luther’s problem is that he was a priest, monk and professor. He was knowledgable about many things, including Church teaching. However, he also made up his own beliefs that go against Christ teaching, which includes the Magesterial teaching passed down the ages. Now, nobody knows Luther’s heart except God. And we should leave it at that in my opinion. But, from the readings about him that I’ve gathered over recent time, I’ve come to believe he was somewhere in between the canned Catholic response and Protestant supporters of Martin Luther.
You guys are getting into stuff I really never intended to get into. I only care about the people, like Martin Luther, that live in fear of their leaders and community withing their faith. Sure, I have some interest in specifics, but it is very difficult to disipher history in the proper light. And most people approach it within the context of modern thought, not the time of those we discuss. Some of us have figured this out and are attempting to fill in the blanks, like me. I’ve opened my eyes to this over the past couple of decades and its been a long journey until I finally began to find and understand the information that motivated my conversion.
Luther spoke out, correctly/ respectfully against evil in the Church that he deeply loved … that is all he did. All of his subsequent physical actions/decisions were his reaction to threats against his life.
What you are saying is the standard response. What is quickly ignored is that (for Centuries) the people that spoke up about the destruction of the Church from within were summarily silenced one way or another. No one reached any level of authority in that system unless they agreed with the evil … or kept silent.
… Authority and obedience are fine … The Roman officer recognized that Jesus had authority because he was under authority.
When the leadership commits mutiny against God… as happened during the era of the Medici’s and Leo X … the only remedy was to speak. That is all that Luther did. The initial response from Pope Leo was to have a good laugh. When it was clear that Luther was serious … Leo & Co set a trap to catch and kill the truth. They failed … and now … Luther is the bad guy in the minds of many Catholics.
I find if hilarious that you seem to be trying to reach a former bible only fundamentalist with scripture. And you failed to mention several pieces of information not to mention that you helpd seal my case.
