Loved by God.

My photo
Chicago, IL, United States
* It's good to suffer loss, for it draws me to the Cross where God's loss is more than what anyone ever lost. * We cannot hear what the stories of the Bible are saying until we hear them as stories about ourselves. * Let go of control. * Trust God. Thank God. Think about God. Talk to God. Talk about God.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Was Luther a Lunatic?

Martinlutheraugustinianmonk
Is there any truth in the lunacy of Luther? Martin Luther, the 16th century Augustinian monk and Protestant reformer, has been accused of being insane. Why? Luther was a brilliant scholar. When he entered the priesthood, he thoroughly examined the Scriptures and the Law of God with his brilliant mind, and felt completely overwhelmed and greatly convicted of his sin. He would spend 3-4 hours in confession each day. How much could he have sinned living in a secluded monastery! That’s why he was accused of being an insane psychotic lunatic. But was he?

What do we Christians do when (not if) we sin? When we look at pornography? When we are overcome by lust? Sexual fantasies? Greed? Bitterness? Jealousy and envy? When we retaliate in self-righteous anger? When we blame others? When we feel entitled? When we make excuses? When we take revenge by lashing out and losing our temper? When we cannot forgive one particular person? When we feel superior to someone else?

Do we think “I’m justified”? Or “we’re all human”? Or “God understands”? Or "Jesus forgives me"? Or do we examine ourselves before the 10 Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount?


Do we lower the standard of God to fit the level of where I am at to relieve my guilt? Or do we keep the standard of God and cry out before him with agony of soul as Luther did? Was Luther indeed insane? Or was he a sincere Christian?
Posted by UBF Gospel Musings at 8:41 AM
Labels:

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousDecember 28, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    try the DVD "The God who wasn't there" or any of Bart D. Ehrman's books such as "Jesus,Interrupted", "Forged", or "Misquoting Jesus . Also "Why Faith Fails" or "The End of Christianity" by John Loftus or "The Case Against Christianity" by Michael Martin. Or to continue your education, "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris or "Why Intelligent Design Fails" by Young and Edis or "Has Science Found God" by Victor Stenger. Still further, "Everything You Know about God is Wrong" edited by Russ Kick. Read anything besides the myth, allegory and fable known as the bible.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)