I think we’re still missing the point here. We’re comparing Luther to other Christian leaders. Luther wasn’t just a leader like a priest or bishop. He formed his own Christian religion. He changed the Bible to fit his own, new doctrine.
It’s obvious that Luther was a sinner–all men are. That he was worse than most is also obvious. But it’s not really that important.
Luther founded a new Christian religion. Were his pronouncements spoken infallibly? Were the changed to the Bible guided by the Holy Spirit? Or were these things the outcome of the musings of a very sinful, mentally distressed human being who was saw abuses in his church and rebelled against her.
Are these changes the work of God, or are they the acts of angry rebellion and an ego run amuk? Was this a response to the Holy Spirit, or was it one desperate man’s way of dealing with his own tortured mind?
As I said before, Luther was a very intelligent man, and he was right about the abuses the bishops were inflicting on vulnerable church members. He was a thinker, no doubt. But is that enough to form a new Christian religion? He, no matter how intelligent he was, is not perfect. How is he able to change doctrine and gut the OT to suit his own interpretation of certain parts of the NT? And he wanted to excise parts of the NT, too!
Luther cut parts of the Bible out of the Canon and kept others. That means that Lutherans are using the canon of Luther and that they believe he, a sinning man, is able to determine canon on his own. Catholics don’t believe that even the popes have that ability.
But, you see, he, as founder of his own new Christian religion (as Jesus was the founder of the Catholic Church), he believed he could do that.
If not Luther, then on what authority do Lutherans say their church and Bible were formed? If you believe it was under the Holy Spirits authority, are you claiming infalbility for Luther when he was speaking on faith and morals? If not, then how do you know that what he said is, in fact, correct?