For me, coming to Lutherland in Germany is a bit like a Catholic going to Rome. I’m really tuned in to the churches and the other physical reminders of the courageous accomplishments of the Reformation. Without those hard-fought reforms, the Bible would still be read in Latin by priests, and then interpreted for us on their terms. The 500th anniversary of Martin Luther kicking off the Reformation in 1517 is quickly approaching, and towns like Erfurt will enjoy lots of attention. Here’s a quick visit to a great church in Erfurt, where Luther went to university, became a monk, and was ordained a priest.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Comments
nonsense, the Catholic church banned the translation of the bible into other tongues for centuries. The last thing Popes wanted was the search for truth, look at all those condemned to die because of it.
I’m wondering if Rick is going to go to Wartburg Castle. My classmates and I visited the Castle back in the 70’s when it was part of the DDR. It was an impressive castle and I remember being show the spot where Luther hurled the ink pot at the devil. The wars that happened during and after the reformation were horrific. And Catholics need to accept that the church had become corrupt. It doesn’t mean that everyone in the church was evil and corrupt, but it was prevalent enough to spark massive war and destruction.
To be completely accurate, the Church banned unauthorized translations of the various texts, not translations themselves. Luther’s was the first translation into the contemporary German vernacular of his time, but far from the first into a Germanic language. And Luther wasn’t above making some liberal editorial changes that better supported his theological arguments, most infamously adding the word “alone” to Romans 3:28.
Just wondering, though… Mr. Steves, you have always been very open about your Lutheran faith. Why has it taken you so long to write about this region, which surely must hold very special significance for you?
I’m also looking forward to your reactions to the Wartburg, both on the Luther and Tannhäuser connections.
Many of us know about the Catholic Church. And many of us know a bit about religions in general. It’s a very personal thing. We could debate: Christianity; Islam; Hindu; Buddism; Judaism; aetheism; wiccans; scientology etc. Perhaps we should all just relax. People have been murdered for eons in the name of religion. But let’s also try to remember that for every atrocity committed in the name of religion there have also been many good works. I did not watch Rick’s video about Martin Luther but these old-time mavericks all had a point of view, some of which caught on. And today’s mavericks are also entitled to their opinions.
Well Sophie, considering that Guthenberg had invented the printing press in the 1440’s and could print up 5 copies per week, and that others soon copied his invention, I think that by 1517, bibles were not the rarity you claim them to be. Frankfurt was having book fairs by the 1480’s, where anyone could buy a copy.
Wondering that you don’t mention the indulgences the Catholic church was selling in the Middle Ages. Even today, the Vatican is sitting on a huge archive of information that they do NOT want to release to the public. Wonder why? What could it be? The Catholic church has done more to suppress knowledge to the masses than any other organization. It is one vast mass of secrecy.
As to Luther, he wasn’t all warm and fuzzy when it came to the Jews though. He was quite the anti-Semite. Seems this side of him has been left out.
All that said, I can’t wait to go visit Erfurt, though I do wish there were some better videos of this charming town, especially of the bridge.
Rick is correct on the issue of the church…First of all, the old testament was written in Hebrew and the new testement in Greek…so why did the Vatican push it in Latin? And did not want other countries to have it in different languages….do as I say not as I do…many classical texts came into the west from the middle east and people coming from (then) Constantinople….look this stuff up, it’s easy….have you been to the catacombs in Rome???? do you know what the fish stands for ιχθύς ?? Jesus Christ, Gods son the saviour…and that was in Greek….so when researching one’s religion, digging deep to find information was difficult until a few years ago, we now have the internet…all the information is there, some to horrible to mention….yes rick does at times twist history–that i don’t care for, however, here he is telling the truth…like it or not
p.s.—someone wrote the catholic church was corrupt???? it’s the most corrupt its been in centuries…between Penn State and the Vatican, it’s hard to watch the news….and at least Penn State took responsibility for their actions….
Hey Rick
We all are for freedom to express your religion. But face it Rick….to accept Luther (an ex-catholic) you have to accept that for 1500 years Christianity as revelation was “wrong”. But now Martin Luther “got it right”. Come on Rick….and as far as interpretation of the Bible…..ALL written language is subject to multiple interpretations. You cannot get a defininte define revelation without an “authority” to interpret it. And guess what Rick….Christ gave no authority to Martin Luther but rather to “THE CHURCH”. Nice try though. People who hate the power (“authority”) of the Church….seem caught up with the own desire for power and authority.
JJ
Take a look at what you just said….”nothing”…..the fact that the Church translated into Latin is a distinction you make that makes no difference. Written language is written language whichever ii is…….but no definite revelation can be know without an “authority” and a “tradition”.The “catholic faith”—–THAT is the tradition that was handed down and traced back to Christ himself. No one says you have to believe it….just dont misrepresent it.
Im neither Catholic nor Protestant, but it does need to be pointed out that Jesus could not have given authority to ‘the church’, since the church didn’t exist at the time of Jesus’ death, and Jesus was at any rate one of a number of radical Jews floating around Palestine around the turn of the first century, none of whom had any intention of founding a ‘church’ of any sort. All this tradition was just invented wholesale much later and has nothing to do with jesus, as such. Personally, I do find it ironic that Luther, a rabid anti-semite, claimed to know the best way to interpret the (reported) words of a 1st century Jew. Its all a bit silly, really.
Hey Rick, the axiom warning against discussing religion and politics is clearly alive and well. Catholic or Protestant (Lutheren) isn’t tolorance a tenet in common?
Anyway, let’s remember that the Reformation by any other name an excuse for a Land Grab by the “princes” who were none too happy with the economic demands of Rome.
And you JJ, pretty hurtful and vicious stuff. I am Catholic and a Penn State grad (1968), My bad. And shame on you!
Yes, the truth can be hurtful, I was in Rome when mother’s of abused children from the States were giving pamphlets out in the Basilica Cardinal Law was in charge of…..In this pamphlet they stated the reality of what he had done…the hurt and pain of those mothers stands in my mind, while Law is living in the largest apartment owned by the church and given a stipend of $15,000 a month…I know people who read ancient Hebrew and Greek and it is difficult for them to understand what was written centuries ago, perhaps Rome understood the Hebrew and Greek languages better…so why did they think it should only be in Latin? Rick did a wonderful show on Saint Paul, you can watch it on you tube, also l own his dvd on Israel and he does a wonderful job on explaining the Christian faith….
Dear “s”
The “church” did not exist at the time of Jesus death? No, “the church” as you define it and how you think of it perhaps (you never defined the term) but Christ commissioned the apostles and sent them forth….what resulted was a developing of “The Church” as the centuries past. If you do not believe in a definitive divine revelation—that is your choice…but do not mischaracterize how “The Church” understands herself.
Oh JJ
Feel free to criticise the certain Church officials for handling adminstrative matters and human scandal. But really that is not the divine revelation itself. A point many people cannot seem to understand. You do not throw the baby out with the bath water—-well you can if you want—free country—just leave the rest of us our choice. And Rick …..Rick is a great business developer in the area of Europe tourism—made alot of money! Great job Rick. But really stick to that and not try to define the Church.
Oh Freddie,
Leave Rick alone he is only telling the truth…criticise certain church officals…have you ever read the history of the church you follow..I know the history of the church I follow, and if it did horrible things and hid them, i wouldn’t be part of it any longer…Do you know where the funds were made to build a certain huge building in Rome, a lot of the art housed there is stolen and they do not want to give it back…a giant obelisk from Egypt in its main square…Egypt wants it back…thou shall not steal, and my parents taught me if you steal, give it back…that’s religion…..where did the horses from St Marks in Venice come from?? It’s really sad…it’s one thing to steal, it’s another to display to the world…read the books…
Well Rick it doesn’t take much for you to whip up the anti Catholic bigots. I suspect this was your intention. It is a old story that translations of the bible into the vernacular were prohibited and Luther changed all that. By the medieval era the bible had already been translated into many languages. Many of these translations can be seen in museums today. The church did ban what it considered heretical translations e.g. Tyndale or Cathar. These translations are of such dubious value that none of the thousand of protestant sects in existance today has chosen to use them. Translations in local languages were sometimes banned because they were deemed to lack sufficient “prestige” to permit their use. Sometimes this was unfortunate bigotry and sometimes obscure dialects lacked adequate vocabulary etc to permit an accurate translation. One more thing Gutenberg was a good Catholic.