Theologian · Early modern
Martin Luther
1483–1546 · Lutheran Reformation
Augustinian friar; forty-one propositions condemned by Leo X (Exsurge Domine, 1520); excommunicated 1521 (Decet Romanum Pontificem). The Council of Trent answered his teaching on justification, the sacraments and authority.
Augustinian friar and professor at Wittenberg, Luther's anguish over his own righteousness ended in the conviction that the sinner is justified by faith alone, Christ's righteousness being imputed while the sinner remains “at once just and sinner.” From this followed his rejection of merit, indulgences, the sacrifice of the Mass, monastic vows and papal authority, and his appeal to Scripture alone; against Erasmus he taught that the fallen will is in bondage. His German Bible and hymns created a Church.
Why he matters: The Council of Trent is the Church's answer to Luther: on justification as real renewal, on free will, on the seven sacraments and on Scripture and Tradition. To understand Trent one must understand what he said; the 1999 Joint Declaration shows how far the misunderstanding, and the real difference, extend.
Where to be careful
His doctrines of sola fide, sola scriptura, the bondage of the will, the denial of transubstantiation and the Mass as sacrifice, and of papal primacy are condemned by Trent. His devotion to Christ, his catechisms and his hymns contain much that Catholics can read with profit.
Reading
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The Freedom of a ChristianMartin Luther · The short 1520 treatise; sola fide in its most attractive form.
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The Bondage of the WillMartin Luther · His answer to Erasmus, and the text Trent's canons on free will have in view.
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Luther: Man between God and the DevilHeiko Oberman · The best biography; or Joseph Lortz's The Reformation in Germany for a Catholic account.
Documented positions
Where this thinker stands on each dispute the test covers.