Category Archives: Martin Luther

Flattery Gets You Nowhere

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

“I prefer to be frank and not have anyone misled by flattery. I can testify that although my shell may be hard, still my kernel is soft and sweet.  I wish no one harm, but desire everyone to carefully consider … Continue reading →

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Mercy in Moderation

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

In 1534 Martin Luther published a commentary on Psalm 101.  He used this commentary as an opportunity to write a manual for the Christian prince.  In August 1532, John Frederick the Magnanimous became the Electoral Duke of Saxony with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Aristotle, Cicero, Martin Luther, Politics | Leave a comment

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

On April 14, 1521 Martin Luther wrote the following words in a short letter to Georg Spalatin from Frankfurt-am-Main: I am coming, my Spalatin, although Satan has done everything to hinder me with more than one disease.  All the way … Continue reading →

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The Perversity and Ingratitude of the World

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Matthew Phillips

“For the perversity and ingratitude of the world is so great that it often repays evil to those who have deserved good from it and sometimes even treats them very rudely; on the other hand, it elevates and honors the … Continue reading →

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Burning the Bull

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“Greetings.  On December 10, 1520, at nine o’clock in the morning, all the following papal books were burned in Wittenberg at the eastern gate near the Church of the Holy Cross: the Decretum, the Decretals, the [Liber] Sextus, the Clementines, … Continue reading →

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The Origin of Indulgences

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

A close reading of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses demonstrates that he was calling into question not only the doctrine of indulgences but also the late medieval sacrament of penance. Luther focused on the interior nature of repentance instead of sacramental penance … Continue reading →

Posted in Crusades, Martin Luther, medieval, Peter Abelard, Reformation | 2 Comments

Defy Everything: Martin Luther in 1520

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“Let us…commit the affairs of men to God in faithful prayer, and be calm.  What can they do? Will they kill [me]?  Will they revive [me] again in order to kill [me] again? Will they brand me [me] a heretic?  … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther, Reformation, theology | 1 Comment

Never Trust a Mob

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

“We dare not encourage the mob very much.  It goes mad too quickly…And it is better for tyrants to wrong them a hundred times than for the mob to treat the tyrant unjustly but once.  If injustice is to be … Continue reading →

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Faith Works: Martin Luther’s Treatise on Good Works

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Matthew Phillips

Lutherans should celebrate the 500th anniversary of 1520 as a much more significant event than publication of the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517.  The Indulgence Controversy and the image of Luther’s hammer has captured everyone’s imagination for a long time.  However, … Continue reading →

Posted in grace, Martin Luther, Reformation | 1 Comment

An Infallible Truth

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Matthew Phillips

“It is an infallible truth that no person is righteous unless he believes in God, as stated in Rom. 1 [:17]: ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’  Likewise, ‘He who does not believe is condemned already” [John 3:18] … Continue reading →

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