A failed attempt to discredit Martin Luther

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The Reformation in the 16th century was a shock to the Roman Catholic Church. It has since been cleaned up again, but the character of this institution and its die-hard fans of a special kind remained true to its “spirit”. An attempt to discredit Martin Luther and his gospel teaching exposes the simple structure of these agitators.

The troublemaker of the late Middle Ages

The Roman Catholic Church is or was naturally not well disposed towards the Protestant movements. With the Reformation, primarily triggered by the Augustinian monk and professor of theology, Dr. Martin Luther, the Church of Rome lost its authority to interpret the Gospel that had previously been presented to the public. People had to believe “strongly” what this church and its clerics said. Only a few fragments of words from the sermons of the priests, according to Luther, which were delivered in Latin and therefore completely incomprehensible to the general public, remained in the collective memory of the misled listeners. The term for cheap magic arts, “hocus pocus”, finds its origins in the Eucharist and the priest’s associated fable, “hoc est corpus christi” (“this is the body of Christ”).

Luther recognized the “woman”.

Luther called the bishops of the Church of Rome “slaves of Satan.” These superintendents of an institution that endowed the rank of bishop according to the mythology of Mithraism (seventh stage), and the highly decorated cardinals, in their respective costumes, cannot better represent the “woman” in purple and scarlet described in Revelation 17:4. A colorful festival of self-aggrandizement in the heavy atmosphere of gold, precious stones and pearls. The golden cup in the hand of this “Mother of Whores” described in Revelation can be rediscovered in some illustrations and also issued coins of the Church of Rome.

The “rebellious little monk” from Wittenberg became Pope Leo X’s top priority alongside the Ottoman armies already on the border of the “Holy Roman Empire”. A pontiff who was up to his neck in debt due to his extravagant lifestyle and the ambitious construction of St. Peter’s (started in 1506). However, his origins from the noble Medici banking family did not protect him from having to pay for the debts he had taken on with the Fuggers. One could almost claim that if Leo hadn’t sent John Tetzel, his chief indulgence seller, to Saxony back then, Martin Luther’s rebellion might not have happened either.

The Bible predicted Reformation

However, a change was needed in this church and therefore also for the people. The Roman institution of Jezebel according to the church of Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) had to be replaced by the church of Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6). The prophetic community of the Reformation. A movement that led to a lot of change, but still remained imperfect (Info).

The Reformation began with the posting of the 95 theses on the castle church in Wittenberg. Martin Luther only denounced the sale of indulgences. Tetzel was the last straw for this. But the traditions and customs of Rome provided far more reasons to pursue the internal correction that Luther had actually planned.

The “high morals” of the popes

The bishops, who were committed to absolute chastity, especially the miter bearers of Rome, served as role models as self-appointed guardians of the sheep. Pope Sixtus IV (1471 to 1484) had a brothel built in Rome and received around 20,000 ducats from it. A whole lot of money. Pope Julius II (1503 to 1513) was the father of three daughters and his papal affairs were somewhat limited by his syphilis illness.

By the end of his life, the subsequent Medici Pope Leo X had built up a mountain of debt amounting to 400,000 ducats. To compensate for this outstanding amount, Sixtus IV would have had to run his private brothel for 20 years.

Martin Luther had already denounced these less than exemplary preferences and activities of the church leaders when Pope Clement VII came into play in 1523. At the beginning of his pontificate, he levied taxes on the hard-working prostitutes within his immediate area as bishop to build the convent “Santa Maria della Penitenza”.

Pride in the genes

It is easy to understand that the publication of such true characteristics of the papacy, hidden under the ostentatious façade, should be nipped in the bud. But it didn’t work. But pride prevailed and continued openly until at least Pope Leo XIII. In 1894, the pontiff proclaimed in his letter “Praeclara Gratulationis Puplicae” that the pope “holds the place of Almighty God on this earth.” (Info).

Since the “God” of the Roman Catholic Church is obviously not the God of the Bible, this explanation may well be correct (Revelation 13:4).

Counter-Reformation started immediately

The bitter struggle against the Reformation on the part of the Church of Rome began immediately. With the activation of the order of the “Society of Jesus” (Jesuits), the Counter-Reformation really gained momentum. This order, obsessed with money and power, did not shy away from causing mischief within the church, in keeping with the motto “the end justifies the means”. The Dominican Order was one of the greatest victims of the French Revolution. The department of the Inquisition was in charge of this ecclesiastical institution.

Beginning in the 1760s, the Dominican Order and the Jesuits engaged in a dispute over the supremacy of this “holy institution.” In 1773, Pope Clement XVI dissolved the Jesuit order. Around 40 years later, in 1814, this order was reinstalled by Pope Pius VII. In the meantime, the founding of the USA, the French Revolution, the deposition of the Pope on February 15, 1798 and the dissolution of the “Holy Roman Empire” took place.

Noteworthy is the concordat initiated by Napoleon with the papacy to establish the Roman Catholic religion as the state religion of France on July 15, 1801. Almost exactly 3.5 years (interesting period of time) after the pontiff’s removal from political power.

War against the gospel

Despite all the upheavals, changes and transformations, the fight against Protestantism remained the top priority of the Roman Church and its spearhead, the Jesuit order. The war waged against Protestantism by the Roman Church is nothing other than the war against the Gospel. As inconsistent and incomplete as the Reformation was, the general people now had free access to the truth of God’s Word. An abomination in the eyes of Rome.

Not many people have searched the Bible as intensively and struggled for understanding as Martin Luther. It is also in the nature of things. Like other reformers, he translated the Bible from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into his own native language. Pure poison for the Roman Church.

Martin Luther also recognized the biblical Sabbath, but still maintained the observance of Sunday, to an enormous rhetorical advantage for Rome. A day that was moved from the biblical Sabbath to Sunday by the Catholic Church alone (Info).

Luther was anti-Semitic and inconsistent

Luther was an outspoken anti-Semite. He was so opposed to Jews and the Jewish faith that he left the “Jewish Sabbath” narrative, which was very familiar to him as a Catholic (!) professor of theology, unchanged. A direct template for Rome, because already at the Council of Trent, Luther’s inconsistency in rejecting the biblical Sabbath led to the condemnation of the Reformation as an internal rebellion. Because anyone who claims to only teach according to the Scriptures (“sola scripura”) must necessarily also observe the biblical Sabbath.

Following this, the Reformers observed Sunday and this amounts to recognizing the authority of the Roman Church (Info). An argument from the Roman clerics that cannot be dismissed out of hand.

Expansion of interventions

But since the spread of the true Gospel could no longer be stopped thanks to the printing press, the church changed its strategy. Ideas emerged from the think tanks of the Jesuit order that were all contrary to the gospel. Be it measures in the education sector (Info) or even in the political area. In addition to the wave of “poets and thinkers”, enlighteners and philosophers, the order created “controlled enclosures for Protestants” in the form of lodges, instigated revolutions and manifested political systems that most closely corresponded to the ideas of the Church of Rome. Socialism and communism have proven to be not exactly friends of the gospel.

The Reformation has long since been buried

Protestantism, as it was started over 500 years ago, has long been shelved. This former reform is no longer taking place, the churches are no longer protesting (Info). The Roman Church won this marathon by a long shot. However, this result is not surprising, because the Bible predicted this around 2,000 years ago (Revelation 13, from verse 11)..

Today, beneath the mask of ecumenical friendliness that Rome put on, there is a smug enumeration of the transgressions of the reformers, especially Martin Luther. Kicking, defaming and mocking a defeated opponent is part of the repertoire of the “political liturgy” of the Roman Church. It seems to be a ritual steeped in tradition.

The mass crimes committed over the centuries are generously overlooked and only regretted quarter-heartedly when something was overlooked during the extensive destruction of evidence in the archives. A “bent pope” is only a program if it is beneficial to ecumenism.

An attempt at discrediting

When you consider who is the driving force behind this successor organization to pagan Rome, it also seems understandable that the enormous potential of pure evil cannot be consistently hidden behind a rainbow-colored facade of innocence. Whether they feel committed to this church or are simply guided by the same spirit, some contemporaries seem to find it a great satisfaction to continue to pummel someone who has already been defeated with their boot spurs. The means used (for the purpose) are apparently completely irrelevant, even if they are so crude and transparent that pity would be appropriate here.

Martin Luther’s Reformation and teachings were so wrong that even Luther himself deeply regretted them, according to the tenor of one “committed person” on social media who describes himself as a Catholic. He is also a representative of the thesis that the Old Testament also contains passages inspired by Satan. Whether there is another hidden department in the church of Rome where such apologists can make a career remains to be seen.

Quote #1:

As “proof” of his claim, the “Catholic” quoted the following statement from Martin Luther.
“»I wish and wanted that I had never started this thing… I would rather be dead… that I would have died when I was a child« (Tischreden, Eisleben, 1569, fol. 8 und 185 b.)“

A prime example of how, as a pastor or priest, you can simply pick verses from the Bible in order to convey and support your own vision. You simply set a frame and fill it with selected quotes. In this way you can make people believe that there is a “pink elephant in the stratosphere”.

The quote from one of Luther’s table speeches is easy to find because the source is well cited. Even in the original version. Below are two excerpts that contain this statement from Luther. With some leading text and also some leading text. This way the context can also be captured.

Luthers Tischreden – Volume XIII – 185a/b

Excerpt from the text (preserve the old spelling):
“Von Ungedult / obs auch allzeit
Da von dem Spruche Jeremiae (da der Prophetden tag verfluchet / an dem er geboren ward etc. Jerem. XX.) geredt ward / ward gefragt / ob auch solche gedancten und Wort Unchristlich / wider Gott und Sünde weren! Darauff sagte Doctor Martin Luther / man mus unsern Herrn Gott bisweilen mit solchen worten auffwecken / er höret sonst nicht. Es ist ein recht Murmeln des Jeremiae. Also sprach Christus auch / Von ungleubige und verterete art / wie lang sol ich bey euch sein und euch dulden? Wie auch Mose warff unserm Herrn Gott die Schlüssel für die thür / da er sagte / Hab ich denn diesen Hauffen und Menge (des Volcts) gezeuget? Bin ich doch ir Vater nicht.“

Jeremiah quote simply reinterpreted

The supposed evidence of Luther’s repentance for his Reformation is none other than the quote Luther used fromJeremiah 20:14:
“Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.“

Luther himself explains the explanation for his choice of words and also uses the example of Moses and the words of Jesus Christ. Just as Jeremiah acted and argued about his heavy burden, Luther also used the wording for his situation.
Only those who are too comfortable not to examine such claims as those made by this “Catholic” either have to believe it or remain unbiased and still ignorant.

Quote #2:

The “Catholic” uses further quotations as evidence of Luther’s insight into his supposed heresies.

“From this teaching, the longer the world gets, the worse it gets. Our evangelicals will be seven times worse than they were before: for after we have taught the gospel, we steal, lie, deceive, eat and drink and commit all kinds of vice. Since one devil was cast out from us, seven worse ones have now come into us.” (without citing the source)

Human nature

Luther actually made this statement in 1928 during a phase of frustration. However, as the “Catholic” would like to portray it, it is not a consequence of the supposed heresy of the Reformers according to the Gospel, but rather the condition of the “rebel” population in general. This statement was made after the raging peasant wars, which Luther neither supported nor promoted. After the separation from the tyranny of the Roman Church, there was indeed a lack of moral guidance. People’s morale plummeted. An identical situation arose during the French Revolution. Rome was disempowered and religion as a whole was banned. Within a very short time, Paris sank into a state like Sodom and Gomorrah once did.

Three years after this statement, Luther lamented the general contempt for the Church by people from all walks of life. In the churches, “Christ is now preached as the Gospel depicts him. Citizens, farmers and the nobility trample on their pastors and preachers, the princes and great lords of this world persecute the Gospel. What will come of it?” (Source).

A circumstance that can also be attributed to the fact that any disobedience to one of the Catholic church laws was punished neither with excommunication nor with the inquisition and thus almost certain death.
There can be no talk here of Luther admitting to an error in the teaching of the Gospel.

Quote #3:

Ein weiteres vom “Katholiken” verwendetes Zitat als vermeintlicher Beleg lautet:
“My heart trembled with fear and asked me the question: Are you the only one who is wise and should the others all be wrong and have been wrong for so long? How then, if you erred and led so many people into error, all of whom will be condemned for eternity… who commanded you to preach the gospel, who called you?
(Hamburger Briefe 528.)“

Martin Luther stood alone in Worms, expecting him to recant his writings. Alone and surrounded by clerics, inquisitors and in front of the emperor. Luther does not recant. Luther had not always had the security he displayed on that day. In a letter to the Augustinians in Wittenberg, Luther reveals his uncertainty about the possible consequences of his actions.

“How did my heart fidget, punish me, and throw at me your strongest argument: You alone are wise? Should the others all be wrong and have been wrong for such a long time? What if you err and lead so many people astray, who would all be damned for eternity? Until so long that Christ has strengthened me and confirmed me with his one, certain word, that my heart no longer fidgets, but instead stands up against these arguments of the papists like a stone shore against the waves and laughs at their threats and storms.” (-Source).

“Very inexpensive” method – Embarrassing

As clumsy as the attempt to discredit Martin Luther and the Reformation, the manner in which the attempt was carried out was also cheap. The “Catholic” pulled some suitable quotes out of his sleeve and placed them in a ready-made frame. The actual purpose of this night pedaling remains uncertain. Perhaps this only serves personal satisfaction within a completely insecure religious bubble.