Martin Luther on Unity

[James Rondon]

"Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call 'non-essential', and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in thet church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is 'unfruitful' and 'unnecessary'. To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God."

~ Martin Luther

[zoonance]

"Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call 'non-essential', and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in thet church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is 'unfruitful' and 'unnecessary'. To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God."

~ Martin Luther

Well said.

[ravenlorre]

"Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call 'non-essential', and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in thet church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is 'unfruitful' and 'unnecessary'. To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God."

~ Martin Luther

Martin Luther's third grade teacher:  "Marty tends to have difficulty working and playing with others."

When your Medieval Abbott tells you to "loosen up" after you've spent night after night sleepless; screaming and yelling at demons in your cell until dawn - you might want to consider his advice.  Too bad Respridal wasn't invented for another 500 years - it would have saved us a lot of trouble.

blessings

[James Rondon]

Perhaps he needed to buy an indulgence, or two for that?

[Alison405]

Indulgences???

[VerbumReale]

"Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call 'non-essential', and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in thet church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is 'unfruitful' and 'unnecessary'. To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God."

~ Martin Luther

Martin Luther's third grade teacher:  "Marty tends to have difficulty working and playing with others."

When your Medieval Abbott tells you to "loosen up" after you've spent night after night sleepless; screaming and yelling at demons in your cell until dawn - you might want to consider his advice.  Too bad Respridal wasn't invented for another 500 years - it would have saved us a lot of trouble.

blessings

You forgot to mention that the third-grade teacher's idea of "working and playing well with others" is turning a blind eye while all the "teachers" oppress not just little Marty's classmates but all of Europe with the expolitive use of indulgences, and telling everyone that they deserve the suffering they are going through. And of course the students can't check the Bible for validity because they are not allowed to read it, or even if they are allowed, it's written in Latin which only the "teachers" can read.

You might want to learn your history a little better, or at least start looking somewhere other than Roman Catholic rhetoric, before you go talking about how much "easier" things might have been if only Marty might have just wlked lock-step along with the corrupt church leadership of his time.

Also the only person who offered Luther any counsel during his long nights of the soul period when he was a monk was Johann Van Staupitz, who eventually did get Luther to "lighten up" and stop tormenting himself. Staupitz encouraged Luther to seek refuge in scripture, particularly Romans. Of course Luther had to get special permission to study scripture, because nobody was allowed to without permission from a priest.

You can gripe about Luther all you want but the reality is the leadership of Roman Catholic church at the time (which was really more of a monarchy that dressed up as cardinals and bishops) brought the reformation on themselves. They made it inevitable with the mass exploitation of the populus through the exploitive use of indulgences. People can only be oppressed so long before they fight back. If the repformation didn't happen through Luther it would have happened through someone else.