Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Martin Luther's Devotion to Mother Mary

Despite the radicalism of early Protestantism toward many ancient Catholic "distinctives," such as the Communion of the Saints, Penance, Purgatory, Infused Justification, the Papacy, the priesthood, sacramental marriage, etc., it may surprise many to discover that Martin Luther was rather conservative in some of his doctrinal views, such as on baptismal regeneration, the Eucharist, and particularly the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Luther indeed was quite devoted to Our Lady, and retained most of the traditional Marian doctrines which were held then and now by the Catholic Church. This is often not well-documented in Protestant biographies of Luther and histories of the 16th century, yet it is undeniably true. It seems to be a natural human tendency for latter-day followers to project back onto the founder of a movement their own prevailing viewpoints.

Since Lutheranism today does not possess a very robust Mariology, it is usually assumed that Luther himself had similar opinions. We shall see, upon consulting the primary sources (i.e., Luther’s own writings), that the historical facts are very different. We shall consider, in turn, Luther’s position on the various aspects of Marian doctrine.

Along with virtually all important Protestant Founders (e.g., Calvin, Zwingli, Cranmer), Luther accepted the traditional belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary (Jesus had no blood brothers), and her status as the Theotokos (Mother of God):

Christ…was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him… "brothers" really means "cousins" here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers. (Sermons on John, chapters 1-4, 1537-39).

He, Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb…This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that. (Ibid.)
God says…"Mary’s Son is My only Son." Thus Mary is the Mother of God. (Ibid.).

God did not derive his divinity from Mary; but it does not follow that it is therefore wrong to say that God was born of Mary, that God is Mary’s Son, and that Mary is God’s mother…She is the true mother of God and bearer of God…Mary suckled God, rocked God to sleep, prepared broth and soup for God, etc. For God and man are one person, one Christ, one Son, one Jesus, not two Christs…just as your son is not two sons…even though he has two natures, body and soul, the body from you, the soul from God alone. (On the Councils and the Church, 1539).

Probably the most astonishing Marian belief of Luther is his acceptance of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, which wasn’t even definitively proclaimed as dogma by the Catholic Church until 1854. Concerning this question there is some dispute, over the technical aspects of medieval theories of conception and the soul, and whether or not Luther later changed his mind. Even some eminent Lutheran scholars, however, such as Arthur Carl Piepkorn (1907-73) of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, maintain his unswerving acceptance of the doctrine. Luther’s words follow:

It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin" (Sermon: "On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God," 1527).
She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin—something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. (Personal {"Little"} Prayer Book, 1522).

Later references to the Immaculate Conception appear in his House sermon for Christmas (1533) and Against the Papacy of Rome (1545). In later life (he died in 1546), Luther did not believe that this doctrine should be imposed on all believers, since he felt that the Bible didn’t explicitly and formally teach it. Such a view is consistent with his notion of sola Scriptura and is similar to his opinion on the bodily Assumption of the Virgin, which he never denied—although he was highly critical of what he felt were excesses in the celebration of this Feast. In his sermon of August 15, 1522, the last time he preached on the Feast of the Assumption, he stated:
There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith…It is enough to know that she lives in Christ.

Luther held to the idea and devotional practice of the veneration of Mary and expressed this on innumerable occasions with the most effusive language:
The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart. (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ…She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity. (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God’s grace…Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ…Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

Luther goes even further, and gives the Blessed Virgin the exalted position of "Spiritual Mother" for Christians, much the same as in Catholic piety:

It is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man is able to exult in such a treasure. Mary is his true Mother, Christ is his brother, God is his father. (Sermon, Christmas, 1522) Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees…If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother. (Sermon, Christmas, 1529).

Luther did strongly condemn any devotional practices which implied that Mary was in any way equal to our Lord or that she took anything away from His sole sufficiency as our Savior. This is, and always has been, the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, Luther often "threw out the baby with the bath water," when it came to criticizing erroprevalent in his time—falsely equating them with Church doctrine. His attitude towards the use of the "Hail Mary" prayer (the first portion of the Rosary) is illustrative. In certain polemical utterances he appears to condemn its recitation altogether, but he is only forbidding a use of Marian devotions apart from heartfelt faith, as the following two citations make clear:

Whoever possesses a good (firm) faith, says the Hail Mary without danger! Whoever is weak in faith can utter no Hail Mary without danger to his salvation. (Sermon, March 11, 1523).
Our prayer should include the Mother of God…What the Hail Mary says is that all glory should be given to God, using these words: "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus Christ. Amen!" You see that these words are not concerned with prayer but purely with giving praise and honor…We can use the Hail Mary as a meditation in which we recite what grace God has given her. Second, we should add a wish that everyone may know and respect her…He who has no faith is advised to refrain from saying the Hail Mary. (Personal Prayer Book, 1522).

To summarize, it is apparent that Luther was extraordinarily devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is notable in light of his aversion to so many other "Papist" or "Romish" doctrines, as he was wont to describe them. His major departure occurs with regard to the intercession and invocation of the saints, which he denied, in accord with the earliest systematic Lutheran creed, the Augsburg Confession of 1530 (Article 21).

His views of Mary as Mother of God in Catholicism, and his opinions on the Immaculate Conception, Mary’s "Spiritual Motherhood" and the use of the "Hail Mary" were substantially the same. He didn’t deny the Assumption (he certainly didn’t hesitate to rail against doctrines he opposed!), and venerated Mary in a very touching fashion which, as far as it goes, is not at all contrary to Catholic piety. Therefore, it can be stated without fear of contradiction that Luther’s Mariology is very close to that of the Catholic Church today, far more than it is to the theology of modern-day Lutheranism. To the extent that this fact is dealt with at all by Protestants, it is usually explained as a "holdover" from the early Luther’s late medieval Augustinian Catholic views ("everyone has their blind spots," etc.). But this will not do for those who are serious about consulting Luther in order to arrive at the true "Reformation heritage" and the roots of an authentic Protestantism. For if Luther’s views here can be so easily rationalized away, how can the Protestant know whether he is trustworthy relative to his other innovative doctrines such as extrinsic justification by faith alone and sola Scriptura?

10 comments:

Matthew said...

This is an excellent post. I've been trying to tell this to Protestants for several years.

Anonymous said...

Michael,

You are a true trail blazer in your own right. We are living in a time when we must truely fight as Crusaders for our beliefs. We are living in a time where excess and self centerness rule. "Spiritual not religious" or "Agnostic" are a sign of the times. Catholics have been pursecuted for thousands of years. I would like to see less luke warm Catholics and alot more Catholic's that are on fire for Christ. The luke warm Catholics are easily swayed and often become "recovering Catholics" because they feel the church should evolve with the times. The church is not an institution that changes with times. It must be an anchor with a strong tether. The anchor is stationary. We tether away as far as we may, but it will always hold strong until the day we find our way back. This is something Fundamentalist have a difficult time fathoming. Do you ever notice that we are not as hard pressed to convert as the Fundamentalist and the like are? I find that very interesting. The reason they are hard pressed is because they feel that their strengh lies in numbers. We don't need numbers when we are the one true faith.

Michael said...

I agree mary, you make some very strong points.

Anonymous said...

Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He did just that.

"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5:10)

"For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14)

Oh, dear readers, believe the clear testimony of the Word. Do not trust in fallible men, but rely on God's clear word. When God saved me, these words rang true for the first time:

"My Sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:27-28)

and these as well:

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God..." (Romans 5:1)

Adam's sin was imputed to all his posterity. (Romans 5:12-14) We are all born children of wrath, slaves of sin. But by faith in Christ, our sin is shown to have been imputed to Him on the cross and His righteousness is imputed to us. This is the Great Exchange. He died in our place.

Nothing we do or participate in(baptism, sacraments, etc.) can make us right with a perfectly Holy God. It is our realization of His Holiness and our utter depravity that makes us cry out for a saviour. It is faith alone in Christ alone that saves.

"..., for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." (Galatians 2:21b)

I pray that all who read this will trust in Christ alone for salvation. God's gospel is clear:

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor 5:21)

Any truly honest person would agree that any righteousness we have inherent in ourselves is far short of what God requires. That is why we need the righteousness of another (Christ). If Christ is not our perfect righteousness, we are without hope in the world.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

It is out of concern for the lost that I proclaim the gospel. "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, ..." (2 Cor 5:11a)

Readers, do not depend on your church, your catechism, your priest, or any of your own works for salvation. Lean wholly on the saviour, Jesus Christ. The gospel has always been simple.

To Him be all the Glory

Michael said...

So jeff..

You didn't even really approach any of the points that I made. let me ask you something... are the jews saved??? before Christs time if all they had to do was believe in Yahweh, does that mean that they were saved automatically? Didn't the jews of the old testament have to "work" out their salvation with the Lord in order to enter in the kingdom of God???

Anonymous said...

Genesis 15:6 "Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." Abraham was justified by faith, and the willingness to sacrifice Isaac was the fruit (work) that showed his faith, he was not saved by that work.

EJ said...

I responded (in length) to this post, my friend. Please read my comments here. Soli Deo Gloria

Anonymous said...

You're right. I did not respond to the points "you" made in "your" blog entry. Did you write it? I saw that Dave Armstrong wrote the exact same thing over ten years ago. Give credit where credit's due and don't pass it off as your own. That's plagerism. By the way, I found Dave Armstrong's original material

here:

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ95.HTM

which was also reprinted with permission here:

http://www.chnetwork.org/mary.pdf

Also, regarding the question on the Jews and salvation. Salvation has always been by faith and not by works. Please read as a starting point: Gen 15:6 and Romans 4.

Unknown said...

Actually Jeff,
Salvation has always been by Grace.

Grace working through Faith and Works is what the Bible teaches.

To say anything contrary would show that you don't understand what you have read or haven't read the whole Bible.

Try giving James a try sometime.

And in Romans, notice that Paul talks about the "Obediance of Faith." This phrase acts like a bookend in Romans. Must be important! Faith and Works.

When Paul talks about the works of the law, he is talking about circumcision and dietary laws.
Works of the law won't save you Paul says.
However, when a Christian does good works, Christ is working through him and they become God's work that we are doing.

Having faith isn't enough. Good works must accompany your Faith.
"Faith without works is dead."

Michael said...

Jeff,

I never said it was mine. But the basic principle of the matter is that you didn't have an answer to what I put up there, even though it was someone elses work. it doesn't really matter, it just goes to show that you didn't know how to answer those questions...