Martin Luther and the 95 Theses - by Ron Dart

100 years have passed this October 31^st 2017 (October 31 1517) since Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to Albert on the door of Wittenberg. Such a posting signals the birth of the Protestant Reformation and the shaking and shifting of the tectonic plates of Western Civilization. The recently published 2016 biography of Luther by Lyndal Roper, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet, is worth more than many an ample read (indeed many a reread). The in depth probes by Roper unveil and reveal much about Luther that is admirable and disturbing, questionably prophetic yet undeniably worrisome. There can be no doubt, though, that Luther (and those who followed him of lesser lights) brought into being the modern world as we inhabit it.

It is important as we linger and meditate on the 95 theses that we also ponder the needful critiques Luther was levelling at the imperfect Roman Catholic Church of his time and the path and direction Luther would take when he felt unheeded, opposed and marginalized by the RC Sanhedrin. Did Luther need to break from Rome? Such are the arguments of many Protestants? Did he, really? Erasmus, for example, was as critical of Rome as was Luther but he never felt he had to depart the church. What was it about the differences between Erasmus and Luther that drove Luther to be schismatic and Erasmus to uphold a commitment to the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church?” Erasmus certainly agreed in spirit and content with the 95 Theses and many of the positions Luther took after he posted the 95 Theses.

It is these sorts of questions that held me as I looked into the eyes of the Luther statue when at the Lutheran College in Alberta more than a decade ago. I tend to nod more to Erasmus than Luther, but the latter clash between these two men reveals much about a way of interpreting and applying the Bible to personal, ecclesial and public life. Why did Luther (and protestants who stand in such a schismatic tradition) take the positions he did when other equally valid choices were before them. “Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other”. Was such a stance his only option? He could have, in fact, done other—Erasmus and many others did who shared many concerns with Luther—do a read of Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet and reflect on whether Luther could have done other—sit Luther and Erasmus beside one another and heed and hear their speech. I often return to my look into the eyes and soul of the statue of Luther and ponder such questions. 

Amor Vincet Omnia

Ron Dart