Talk:Martin Luther/archive1

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Contents

[edit] Date of Death

[edit] Nailing the Theses

"Although many believe that Luther nailed these theses to the door of a church in Wittenberg, this notion has recently been criticized."

Shouldnt this part have a better explanation? It´s just loose in the rest of the paragraph. It doesnt clarify anything. Can somebody fix it? I´ll do some research to try to fix it myself, though.

Also, I disagree about redirecting 95 Theses to this article. It deserves a new article - I´ll try to work on it.

Yves 14:20 26 May 2003 (UTC)

[edit] "Return to Bible teachings" is controversial

Just to point out that there's a world of POV in "His call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible..." It implies that the Church once was BASED on the teachings of the Bible when the Church's belief is that it PREDATED the New Testament. Luther called for a return "Ad Fontes" but it was his point of view that that source was the Bible alone, rather than the Bible, tradition, and continued guidance by the Holy Spirit. I would think there could be a way of pointing this out that sounds less like the article is endorsing rather than attributing the POV. -- Someone else 02:28 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)

[edit] First person perspective

Well, yes, Moses, I justify my EDITS by saying they make the article better. You've now twice reverted to first-person drivel that seeks to explain what Luther said by asserting a point of view that is unattributed, reinstating the spelling errors with the blather. I won't get into an edit war, but the article has a very informal unencyclopedic tone in the version you seem determined to have. The reader doesn't need us to tell him why Luther was brusque. -- Someone else 02:35 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)

[edit] POV concerns

Yes, Someone else, the phrase does express a POV -- Luther's. Since this is about Luther, we need to talk about it. What I hope to have, when we're done, is two or three paragraphs about Luther and his significance at the top of the article, a TOC, and detailed commentary about facets of his life. We can, of course, explain later, perhaps under Luther and the Bible, how others viewed his call to return to the Scriptures.

On the other hand, if you can find language that retains a statement of Luther's POV, but does not make it sound like it's false (the opposite danger), go for it. Please note I left alone your change summarizing the influence on the counter reformation. It is much smoother than my original and makes the point well.

On the balance of the article, please be patient. Luther is quite important to me and I'll be at this as time permits over time. Much work needs to be done to material new and old to bring us to a NPOV and to fill out Luther's life. So far, we've not even mentioned his birth, boyhood, marriage, hymns and contributions to congregational singing, the main message of the reformation, etc. My bibliography is only a start, I've never seen any of the quotes that were on this page last week beyond "Here I stand..." and none of his most famous quotes are mentioned, etc. Much to do... CTSWyneken 11:41 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Doctorate

Was Martin Luther really a Dr.? I don't see any mention of him receiving a Doctorate. Harris7 12:14 27 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Yes, indeed, he did receive a doctorate (see http://www.lcms.org/cyclopedia for confirmation). I hope eventually to get to this detail, but haven't done the research to write about it. If you'd like to get us started (on this and other detail) be my guest. I'll add citations and refine it when I get to it.

65.238.146.2 23:35 29 Jun 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Excommunication; table talk quote

The recent work on the excommunication section is mine. I MUST remember to log in... Moses, would you be willing to add full citations to the work you've done in the Antisemitism section? I cannot locate exactly where any of the material is coming from, even the quote, to verify. Author, title, translator, publisher, place, date and page would help. Not saying you put it there, but the citation Table Talk is nearly useless, since there are literally dozens of editions, translations and versions of this collection. May I recommend adding the work to the bibliography and citing the way I'm doing with Brecht? CTSWyneken 02:29 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Is the article apologetic?

This page is developing into an extensive collection of apologetics, primarily regarding Luther's anti-Semitism. I have therefore added an NPOV disclaimer. --Eloquence 20:29 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Eloquence... would you be so kind as to identify what you find to be "apologetic" on this talk page? I may be inclined to agree. Putting an NPOV warning, however, seems premature. You could have edited the text, raised issues on this page, etc.

The irony is that I found the page unfairly attacking Luther on this very point, showing signs that the authors have placed on the page whatever they'd like people to believe and did not care either to read about the issue or document their interpretation. Yet, in the spirit of NPOV, I've left such in place. Some of the language others have recently added to the article in this area may seem over the top in the other direction, but it is their attempt to bring some balance into what seemed to them to be an attempt to turn him into a 16th century Darth Vader. So, if you're serious about it, why not proposed a BALANCED paragraph? CTSWyneken 00:21 1 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Some stuff that I removed:

No public figure today could write in the manner of the correspondences Luther received or in the way Luther responded to them. Opinions today are immediately shared electronically with a wide audience. Imagine what would happen to a television evangelist today who made disparaging comments about the pope or the papacy! With that in mind, one must reconsider commentary Luther now receives as we in the 21st century are aghast at his 16th century lack of political correctness. Yes, we really do speak to and of each other in a kinder and gentler tone in our century.

This is apologetic and very unencyclopedic (it reads like a poorly-written essay). Use of exclamation points, passive voice and poor examples.

Today when parents desire for their children to meet and marry someone of their own particular denomination of the Christian faith, no one would call down anti-(-Catholic, -Lutheran, -Baptist, -semitic) comments toward them.

This is off-topic (topic was Luther's views on killing Jews), apologetic and badly written. --mav 01:27 1 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Mav, Agreed. To the other overnight editors... well done! CTSWyneken 12:28 1 Jul 2003 (UTC)

You can ask any Luther scholar; Luther is THE most prolific religious writer known. His writings alone form a good size library and take up copious shelf-space. This is a verifiable fact. I don't think it is fair to characterize this fact as "hero worship".

The rest of the paragraph following the statement of Luther prolificity needs to be reworked; the wording I changed made it sound like Luther was some sort of egotistical delusional, comparing himself to the Apostle Paul. Give this a day or two.

Now we come to the core of the matter, the following two paragraphs:

One hardly reads much of Luther when he comes upon a brusque statement or two. As we in the 21st century read his works, we must be reminded that Luther received many communications from throughout Eurorpe from people who could write anonymously, that is, without the spectre of mass media making their communications known. No public figure today could write in the manner of the correspondences Luther received or in the way Luther responded to them. Opinions today are immediately shared electronically with a wide audience. Imagine what would happen to a television evangelist today who made disparaging comments about the pope or the papacy! With that in mind, one must reconsider commentary Luther now receives as we in the 21st century are aghast at his 16th century lack of political correctness. Yes, we really do speak to and of each other in a kinder and gentler tone in our century.
When the various writings of Luther's time are examined it becomes quickly apparent that language is evolving. Some seemingly odd expressions or strange ways with words are simply due to a paucity of language. We would not say we eat "pig" in the English language, but use the old French word "pork" instead. When we are taken aback by a particularly crude comment from Luther, remember he was using the terminology of his day.

These paragraphs are not "hagiography" or "hero worship". They are important historical context. To convey the facts without their appropriate context is to confuse and mislead. Luther wrote a lot of things in a time and place that was very different from the 21st century. An encyclopedia that wishes to inform the reader needs to take the differing contexts into account.

Then we come to this snippet:

Today when parents desire for their children to meet and marry someone of their own particular denomination of the Christian faith, no one would call down anti-(-Catholic, -Lutheran, -Baptist, -semitic) comments toward them. Parents have a right and a duty to direct their children.

That snippet is very related to the topic of the paragraph. The person who added it was using a simile, an example, to make it clearer to the reader what Luthers intentions were. Read the sentence that came right after it:

Luther felt a duty to direct his German people to cling to the Jesus the Jews did not accept.

The sentence I put back in was clearly clarifying and adding meaning to sentence above.

Finally, the sentence I took out:

In recent years some branches of the Lutheran Church has apologized for, and officially renounced, Luther's antisemitism.

I have as yet seen no evidence of Lutheran churches apologizing for Luther's antisemitism. What some Lutheran churches have said is described in the paragraph immediately following the sentence I removed, and could hardly be construed as apologies for anti-semitism.

--Moshe Nackmen

The sentence previously stated that Luther was the most prolific writer ; there was no qualification at all. Such statements need to be backed up by a good deal of facts; even with the present qualification. Otherwise it is just POV.
Sorry but the para about Luther's use of language is a longish and badly written apology for why Luther acted the way he did. Per NPOV we must first state what he did and then attribute interpretations of those words to their adherents; what is above is an essay on why the author thinks that Luther is misunderstood. And the use of exclamation points and passive voice makes the passage sound really bad. All that can be condensed into more fluid prose (as I have already done; twice so far).
You consider it an apologia; I consider it essential context for understanding Luther. --Moshe Nackmen
Essential for understanding Luther per your own POV. Please read NPOV and understand that the passage is very badly written. --mav


The statmen that "Parents have a right and a duty to direct their children" is blatant POV since many people do not believe this. Again, more essayish writting.
You mean it is Wikipedia policy that we can't use metaphors, similes, allusions, and the other devices natural to the English language to communicate our meaning? --Moshe Nackmen
If it were a good simile, allusion or metaphore, then yes. But the passage assumes itself to be correct without question. This is POV that must be removed. --mav
NOTE: Look at my first versions before RK removed much of the text I qualified. --mav

[edit] Incorrectly attributed quote (solved in article)

Luther called the Jewish people "venomous beasts, vipers, disgusting scum, canders, devils incarnate. Their private houses must be destroyed and devastated, they could be lodged in stables. Let the magistrates burn their synagogues and let whatever escapes be covered with sand and mud. Let them force to work, and if this avails nothing, we will be compelled to expel them like dogs in order not to expose ourselves to incurring divine wrath and eternal damnation from the Jews and their lies." (Source: Martin Luther, Tischreden (Table Talk) )

Finding a public domain text of Table Talk, I looked through the section on the Jews. There was nothing like the above quote in there. Edit history shows that RK was the one who added the quote. RK, can you explain this please?

--Moshe Nackmen

OK. Just search for "Concerning the Jews and Their Lies" and you will see many very similar quotes. The above seems to be consistent with what I saw; just because the actual passage is not on the web yet doesn't mean it wasn't written. --mav


I find it disconcerting that a non-existant quote would be inserted in this article, then blown off so easily. If there are similar quotes in "On the Jews and their Lies", please quote them here, with page numbers. --Moshe Nackmen
When I find time I'll do that (some of the stuff is worse than what was in this article). --mav

[edit] Maintaining NPOV

Dear Friends:

I do think it is possible to work through all of this to an acceptable NPOV article. First, as someone who likes Luther alot, let me weigh in and say that I don't think a lot of the explanation and apologia is necessary. There is a lot of context that can be set without all of it. As we expand this article, just describing his life and actions will help set the context. Please be prepared for quite a bit more text as time goes on. We haven't even begun to touch some of the aspects of Luther's life that shape our world today...

Mav, all I ask is that we operate on a factual basis. While I can see integrating such a quote in the text, and will not dispute placing it there, I'd prefer to keep the quotes in our quote section. I deliberately excluded the actual words of Luther at the Diet of Worms from the new narrative for this reason. I'll later add them to the quotes.

Please note, that, if you quote from the online version of On the Jews and Their Lies that the text is likely under copyright and posted without the permission of the publisher. I've contacted them and they assert that all volumes were renewed. They will, when time permits, document it for me. On the other hand, it is fair use to quote such a work with full attribution. The safest way to do this is from the physical book.

On Luther, the most prolific author... I think the line unnessary. In fact, I'm not sure about much of the text around it being necessary. Saying he was very prolific is easily verified. I have over 100 volumes of his words in the original languages on our shelves. The American Edition alone is 55 volumes.

We do not have to establish Luther's importance. We need only describe it. CTSWyneken 16:06 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Quotations section

I think the quotes section needs to go eventually and the quotes should be integrated into proper context. Quotes without context are useless and tend to get disorganized. They are also problematic from an NPOV perspective because the selection of quotes can convey certain emotions, and when not in context, these can become very dominant. There should be at least one quote representing each of the aspects of Luther's life and personality, and if we get too many quotes about a single aspect, these could be moved into a separate section (e.g. "More examples of Luther's use of profanity"). --Eloquence 16:41 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I'd rather have no quotes at all than to put them all in the flow of the text. This lengthens the article quite a bit when done right. The problem with quoting an individual is NPOV. It is very easy to distort who a person is and what he was like, which is, after all, the point of a quote. A quotation section, or maybe a separate article on quotes, might help. On the new quotations: I have the same concern with these as the previous quotations. Where in On the Jews and Their Lies are they found? We need the reference to the physical edition and the pages numbers therein.

CTSWyneken 18:19 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Yes, it will lengthen the article, but this is not a problem with proper structure. Actually, quoting an individual is exactly what NPOV is about -- attributing views to those who hold them. It is much easier to distort what someone said by not directly quoting them ("Luther argued that the Jews had to be destroyed" instead of "Luther wrote: .."). It is still possible to distort by quoting, of course, but such problems are addressed by asking questions: 1) In which context did the quote appear? 2) Is the quote representative for the work / the views of the person? 3) Does the quote overemphasize a particular aspect of the person's views/character? And so on.
A page number would be fine, but in that case it's actually unnecessary since we have the full text online (and frankly, if the webmaster of that page thinks it's legally OK to have it online, we should not be the ones to prove that it isn't). --Eloquence 18:34 2 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Regarding the extensive quotes From "On the Jews and their Lies," I think much of it could go, thereby obviating the need for page numbers. Why not merely say that it is the best exemplar of Luther's anti-Semitism, which was shared by many at the time. Then place a link to the fordham website (the most available version of the document) at the bottom of the page.

I took out all that 21st century stuff. There isn't that kind of apologia on other pages on historical people. Also, IIRC, some of Luther's contemporaries also found him crude. Oh -- and put in "one of" the most prolific writers -- I think Augustine of Hippo is still at the top of that particular list.

Does anyone else think that this article is really disjointed? The headings break up the flow -- especially when there is only a sentence below the heading. Boots

[edit] Replies to quotes, Article Flow, etc.

Dear Eloquence:

  1. Well, if no one minds article length, we can place the quotes in the body of the article. Anyone object to ditching the undocumented ones and moving the others up into context?
  2. On the quote, yes, we do need the page number. Why? This is a very large work and scrolling through to find the quote is a real access problem. A link to the document and to the passage within would be ideal, but is not coded in this version of the document. At the very least, we should link directly to the document from the place where the quoted is entered.
  3. There are a few reasons for caring about copyright.
    1. Because the publisher is objecting to the posting of the document, all versions may disappear from the net in the near future. This leaves us with the moral equivalent of a broken link.
    2. Also, postings like this increase the paranoia of publishers, who have lobbied congress effectively into limiting what we can legally post.
    3. Finally, it makes an already difficult relationship with those of us who wish to provide freely accessible versions of classic works. That's why I care and why I always inquire on works published after 1923. Finally, and for our sakes the most practical, it is against Wikipedia rules to link to those works whose status is challenged.

Dear Boots: On the flow of the article, yes, it is very disjointed, incomplete, achronological, etc. let's fix it.

Yes, Augustine of Hippo is also a facile writer. We can add others to the list. I'm also an Augustine fan. But his works take up two to three shelves, while Luther's take up nine! 8-)

Seriously, one of the most prolific is very fine and quite accurate and sounds less like a cheering section. CTSWyneken 02:01 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I don't agree that scrolling through to find the quote is a "real access problem". How hard can it be to open a page, hit Ctrl+F, and enter a search phrase? Someone who wants to verify whether we have done our homework should be able to do at least that. Of course, having a more specific reference would be nice. I do not see how us having a link to the full text causes problems 2 and 3. If we posted the full text ourself, I would agree. It would be unfortunate if the link to the full text disappeared, but that would still not justify removing the quote, since we have established that it is authentic. --Eloquence 02:24 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Hmm... I don't remember suggesting we remove the quote at all... I think that was someone else. Well, anyway, I do not believe that the quote itself should or has to go, especially as I have suggested above, that I'm game to integrate quotes into our lengthening article.
I do however, believe it is necessary to cite the physical copy. In reply to your observations:
On scrolling through a document in electronic form, hundreds of pages long in print: For you it may not be an access problem, but as a reference librarian, I must disagree.
  1. First, you are assuming a great deal. That folks are using a Microsoft program, and know about the function and remember its there and remember to have the search start at the top of the page and type the right phrase exactly as it appears in the page (which once in a great while does happen) and that the server for the file is up when consulted and that the file creator hasn't removed the file from the 'net.
  2. Second, there are reasons beyond verifying the quote is authentic at stake. Suppose someone wants to read more of the original work? Suppose they are following several leads at once? Why go through the time-consuming and frustrating process of scrolling or searching?
  3. If anything, researchers are less patient than more. Especially high school students and college students. We are constantly working to convince them to pin things down.
  4. There is simple courtesy. If we can be precise, we should. CTSWyneken 13:27 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Ghost Writers of Luther?

Dear Cimon:

Could you document the information about Luther's friends editing many of his works? This really is the first I've heard of it and makes it sound as if Luther really isn't the author of his works. It certainly isn't accepted that this is so, so at least we need to qualify it, if not remove the phrase entirely. CTSWyneken 13:27 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Dear CTSWYNEKEN:

The NPOV edit I incorporated does not in any shape or form suggest that his friends edited his works. Quite the contrary. The inference you might make is that Luther himself edited his friends writings and published them under his name (with their implicit permission). This does not make them ghost writers of Luther, but rather just friends who provided raw material for him to work out into fully-fledged publishable writings. Now I am not going to require you to provide proof that every work published by Martin Luther was constructed by him alone without any help, but at the very least if you excise everything else I wrote, please retain the phrasing about the writings being "attributed" to Luther. Whether he did or did not write them, is very difficult for either of us to ascertain. The view I described is the one amongst Luther scholars over here (Finland). They may very well be wrong.-- Cimon Avaro on a pogo-stick 19:01 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)
When somebody does the writing and you take the credit, that's ghost writing, at least that's what I thought it was. 8-) Now, Luther, of course, like all other scholars, present and past, did work together with others. Some of the things that are called his writings are his words as constructed from notes taken down by friends -- Table Talk, his lectures and his sermons the things that leap to mind. In these cases, scholarship gives full credit to the speaker (as is true for Calvin's Works, Zwingli, etc.) Why I asked about it is that you are the first person I've ever heard or read suggest that Luther is not the author of works with his name on it. Could you document the Finnish folk who say this so I can see for myself?
The current edits you've made help some. But I really would like to know where all this comes from. CTSWyneken 21:00 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

"All this" comes from a genuine wish to present Martin Luthers workss and history accurately.-- Cimon Avaro on a pogo-stick 21:28 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Very good. Then we're at this for the same reason. So, could you help me out and point me to articles or books that advocate this viewpoint? It's quite new to me. CTSWyneken 21:39 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Even better. We are all similarly purposed! I will do my best at providing cites. Feel free to excise any and all "quotes" you feel extraneous. -- Cimon Avaro on a pogo-stick 21:57 3 Jul 2003 (UTC).

[edit] New Luther Pic

Luther

I've uploaded this portrait of Luther. Any objections to replacing the current image with this one? CTSWyneken 14:16 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Are you sure this is not copyrighted by the museum that owns it? Many famous pictures have been copyrighted in the past few years -- I think it started in NY with some Monets. And I disagree about the quotes. Enough to say that Luther was an anti-Semite (but not particularly out of line for Christians of his day) and that the best representation is the work cited. This avoids problems of page numbers, searching, etc. If this were an article on Luther's A/S, it would be appropriate to quote, but it isn't, so it's not. Boots 14:42 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Yes. First of all, the painting itself is in the public domain, created nearly 500 years ago. Second, ownership of the object does not in itself mean that the entity holds the intellectual rights even if, say, it were an Andy Warhol. Warhol's heirs, or those to whom the rights were sold, have those rights. Third, in the court case Bridgeman v. Corel, the court found that photography of a painting, such as this, is not sufficently creative to warrant a new copyright. Unless there's a fundemental change in the image (putting Bill Clinton in front of a portrait of Henry VIII, for example, or changing its color, images of public domain paintings are themselves in the public domain.

On the quotations, I can go either way, as long as the quote is accurate or the summary is fair to Luther and to his critics. If we quote, we should cite. This really is not a burden, it's just good scholarship. we should probably cite anyway, since the topic is controversial. CTSWyneken 16:00 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

But many museums do not allow flash photography without express permission and payment. Therefore any decent photo of a painting will be unique so far as quality is concerned. At least that is what a certain history professor/Wikipedian has told me (user:JHK). And how is a photo of a painting any different than a photo of any other thing? Either way somebody has to go out and take the photo; shouldn't that work be protected by copyright? --mav
I've cleared this already with Jimbo regarding my Gallery of Pompeii and Herculaneum, we both think that attempts to copyright photos of public domain content should be met with strong resistance, and that such pictures are acceptable in most cases, because they do not contain substantial original expressive content. Yes, some museums try to claim copyrights regardless, which is a disgusting practice, but like many incorrect copyright claims in books, we can safely ignore that. Unless the picture shows substantial scenery, has been visibly post-edited or clearly makes special use of lighting etc., we should just go ahead and use it.
As for the specific picture, can we have a higher resolution version as well? --Eloquence 22:48 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Don't you mean to say "photos of public domain paintings"? Otherwise what you just said doesn't make sense. Somebody still has to do the work of taking the photo and that work IMO should be protected by default (regardless of the claims by museums). The "public domain status" of what is being photographed is irrelevant. All that matters is the copyright of the photo. We cannot morally require people to respect our copyrights if we do not take care to respect the copyrights of others. I'm sure there are plenty of clearly copyright-free photos of various paintings of Luther - lets use those instead. --mav
I do not agree, and neither do established US precedents. And no, I do not think that "work should be protected by default". I don't think that if I go to a museum and make a photo of a drawing by Albrecht Dürer, I should be able to get people locked up or fined for making copies of that photo and have the copyright maintained by my heirs for 70 years after my death. I think people who do these sorts of things are cultural pirates trying to deprive us of our public domain heritage, and a danger to society. Lock up the painting and license the photo and you are talking about very real and very effective attempts at piracy. Please do not tell me that you condone such practices, because I find them absolutely abhorrent.
Copyright is a monopoly which should be abolished entirely because it is unsustainable and harmful, but in the absence of such a clearly required minor adjustment to our body of laws, it should at least be restricted to truly original creations, which pushing a button on a mechanical device in many cases is not, especially when the expressive content of the picture lies entirely within its subject, and not in the photography technique used. Mechanics can't copyright their work on a car -- copyright is for expressive content, not manual labor. Regardless, we have an established policy on this, and if you want to ban public domain images from Wikipedia, you'll have an uphill battle to fight. A photo of a public domain picture is in the public domain. --Eloquence 23:14 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

No need for the "condone" wording Eloquence since I am a very strong proponent of putting a great many things under free licenses (otherwise I wouldn't be here). However, I do not believe in forcing this on anybody (esp if it means their work is automatically put into the public domain without their consent). And copyright is very important to protect the work of authors in order to keep bread on their tables or, in our case, to make sure the body of knowledge we create is always added to and not wrapped up into a black box (either way it is the choice and freedom of the authors that is paramount). But I can see an analogy with creating a photographic reproduction of a painting and creating an OCR copy of public domain text. I would consider the OCR text to be in the public domain even though it did take some work by a person to create the copy (turning each page and hitting the scan button). So to be consistent I'll withdraw my round of devil's advocate and re-upload some images that JHK removed. --mav

The "is copyright necessary" argument is a long one and off-topic here. The EFF has collected some arguments for the other side here. I have to add, however, that the "Wikipedia depends on copyright" argument is bogus; if there was no copyright, there would be no need for copyleft, and no incentive to "lock up" content in proprietary formats because these could be easily circumvented and that circumvention documented publicly (the DMCA prevents that). As for who is forcing what on whom, I suggest you also take a look at Richard Stallman's and Bradley Kuhn's excellent essay Freedom or Power and for a worst-case scenario, The Right to Read. John Gilmore's What's Wrong With Copy Protection is also worth a read, and there are some good pages in the infoAnarchy wiki. --Eloquence 23:48 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)
But the reality is that there is copyright and it is used for very valid reasons (such as putting food on the tables of content creators). Therefore we need copyleft to do what we want to do because we have a higher purpose. But let people who want to use copyright to protect their own unique work use it. You have already successfully argued that a photo of a public domain image is not a unique expressive act. --mav

Here's how it works under US Copyright case law:

  1. One of the major criteria in establishing if a work can be copyrighted is that it must be sufficiently original in content and composition. The court found that, when the purpose of a photograph is to faithfully reproduce a painting, the photograph fails this test.
  2. Yes, museums may limit access. They own the painting, after all. In this case, there is no photo to scan and no copyright to consider.
  3. Photographers have argued this, yes, but in the court found otherwise.
  4. It really isn't a matter of what should or should not be copyrighted. It is a matter of what the law says. If we don't like it, we should speak to our legislators about it.
  5. Photographs of three dimensional objects may be viewed the same by the court, but this argument has never been tested.

If you'd like, I'll produce the case citation, and, if I can find the URL, a link to the opinion.

As to the photo, yes, my master scan is very high resolution. I reduced it for upload, size in kb and physical dimensions. What specs to you recommend?

CTSWyneken 22:55 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

The version you have uploaded is fine for the article, but it would be nice if you could upload a copy with the highest optical resolution possible. That way, we can easily print the picture if need be. However, the file size should not be above about 500K. --Eloquence 23:14 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Once again, edited before logging in. I'm responsible for the new paragraph, which still needs some work... CTSWyneken 13:49 5 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Death of the Quote Section

Hearing (or seeing) no objections, I've eliminated the quote section and relocated verified quotes. If anyone would like to add other verfied quotes, please do, in the body of the article and fully quote them. If their source is on the 'net, all the better. Please provide the URL after the quote. CTSWyneken 21:28 5 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Newbie, oops, edited before logging in. I clarified the date of Martins birthday and Baptismal birthday which are one day apart. jrshaw 19:09 6 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Thanks, for the correction, JR... I knew they were close together, but did not have the date of baptism handy at home. On not logging in... I know how you feel... CTSWyneken 20:22 6 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Uploaded a printable version of luther46.jpg. Is luther46c.jpg CTSWyneken 21:56 8 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Just added a narrative of Luther's personal experiences and what he came to believe. This is the toughest to do from the NPOV standpoint. I think I've gotten the balance right, but am open to adjustments. I think the best counter balance here would be to describe what those who found these teachings dangerous had to say as they discovered with alarm what the Doctor stood for. If someone would like to take a shot at this, go for it. CTSWyneken 01:08 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Edited the bit about Luther's marriage "reviving the tradition of clerical marriage." Luther may have claimed this but, by and large, the Western Church discouraged the practice from a very early date and, IIRC, Gregory VII banned it. Or it was part of the decisions of the Schism of 1054. I think it is very important that this article be less hero-worship-y. Luther's theology is one thing -- it should not only be explained (but really more under Lutheranism), but how it was different from what went before. But this is a historical biography, and it needs to reflect the fact that, at the time, the majority of people who kept up with these things remained Catholic. Also, it is important to note that many people followed Luther not because they were anti-Catholic, but anti-Habsburg and anti-Roman influence. Even Henry VIII, who split from Rome, rejected Luther's teachings as heretical. Boots

Thanks,, Wesley!Boots
:: Point taken, but let's not go the other direction. CTSWyneken 22:28 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Proposal of where I'd like the article to go...

I think that the article needs a lot more work, especially since in really does not do justice to the life of Luther. What I'd like to do is have the article start with three-four paragraphs summarizing why this guy is important. We I think we're almost there with para. 1 & 2 as it now stands. What we need is a new paragraph that starts something like: Martin Luther remains a controversial figure. Roman Catholics ... etc. This should not be very long, and should hit the main points. Later, they can be elaborated upon.

I'd like to follow with a table of contents (is this feature ready yet, Eloquence?) and then a more or less orderly series of sections on the variety of things that Luther said, taught, did, reacted to, etc. I like Boots' idea of describing how that differs from what went before and also think we should have paragraphs like Luther's marriage shocked and outraged his opponents...

The trick is to keep all this in balance and perhaps move some material into secondary articles like Luther's translation of the Bible, 95 Theses to keep blow by blow detail that is fascinating from overburdening an article likely to be quite long to start with.

What think ye? CTSWyneken 22:28 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Dear Someone Else:

I think testify is a fairly accurate characterisation. The letters between the principle figures before and after Worms studiously avoid an outright demand for Luther to recant. The actual imperial summons calls for Luther to come to the Diet to answer questions about his writinge. It could mean a variety of things from a debate to an outright demand to repent. You must remember that Worms is a political assembly of all the governments of Germany. The young Emperor Charles needs all of them badly, since he is facing a serious military struggle against Suleman the Great and the Ottaman armies, which in this era even laid seige to Vienna. Luther's prince and, by this time, many others, thought him anything from a hero to a useful instrument to check Papal power. Charles was determined to resolve the Luther matter, but could not afford to alienate any of the states he depended on for funds and forces. Even before the Diet, a demand is not made that Luther recant. The question was: do you stand by what you taught in these books or do you reject them. Even after Luther's appearance, a commission from the imperial states is sent to discuss with him. So, while the emperor and his supporters would have preferred a straight-forward demand, this was not the actual case, although no one, then or now, doubts what was at stake. CTSWyneken 14:58 10 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Recant at Diet of Worms

Dear Someone Else:

...Even before the Diet, a demand is not made that Luther recant. The question was: do you stand by what you taught in these books or do you reject them..... CTSWyneken 14:58 10 Jul 2003 (UTC)

that is, he was asked to recant, and his speech, as he himself wrote it down for posterity, is a refusal to recant, not a defense. -- Someone else 20:59 10 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Someone Else -- IIRC, he wrote down the speech later. Recant implies that the meeting was in some way a formal heresy trial -- it wasn't, at least not in the sense of those of reformers like Hus. But it's an imperial Diet -- not an ecclesiastical one. The fact that Luther wrote down his speech as a refusal to recant doesn't mean that he was asked to do so -- Luther was very belligerent, after all, and the record as mentioned above is perhaps less biased. Boots

He did indeed record his speech later, but there's no conflicting account. He was asked two questions: are these your books, and do you recant them. There was no opportunity given for "defense" of the books, though I'm sure he, and the princes who supported him, would have liked one. Worms was not a trial, as Luther was already excommunicated: it was a chance for him to recant and avoid the penalty, which was to be enforced by the Emperor. I really don't understand why one would use the word "defense": it's not justified by any account of the events at the Diet. -- Someone else 00:09 11 Jul 2003 (UTC)
It is justified by the accounts of the principle reports by Justus Jonas, Luther's friend and Nuncio Aleander, the pope's emissary. It is summarized in the currently most respected of Luther biographies, Martin Brecht's three volume work.
I'm afraid you have the questions wrong. They were, according to the papal nuncio, Aleander, "First, do you acknowledge that these books here (a bundle of his books and writings in Latin and German was shown him) now named publically to you one by one, which are published with your name as author, are yours? Do you recognize them or not? Next. do you wish to retract and recall them and their contents or to cling to them henceforth and to insist on them?" [Luther's Works, vol. 32, p. 124] In fact, quite a bit of time was given for him to defend the works.
It was likely that Charles V wanted the Diet to condemn Luther and was using it as a way to please the princes that insisted that Luther had been condemned without being heard out and answered. The summons was cast in that form. Luther had every right to expect to be heard. The nuncio was angered that Luther was given this opportunity. In the end, the Reichtag did not render its opinion, pleading for time. Charles ended up issuing the edict on his own authority and did not insist on its implementation by all princes. In short, Luther was intended to identify his work, and to state which he would stand by and which he would retract and why. He had hoped for an all out debate, which was not to be. The nuncio and emperor had hoped for a renunciation or condemnation, which was not to be.
On these facts, I believe that "defend" is quite appropriate, but not a perfect phrase. "testify" works, although it doesn't say about what. CTSWyneken 22:06 11 Jul 2003 (UTC)
I believe my summary of the questions is accurate, and my only difficulty with the section as it now stands is the hand-waving about whether he said "Here I stand, etc." -- I think it would be better to remove

Because Melanchthon was close to the reformer, he may well be reporting the story as Luther told it. However, we have no way of knowing for sure these words were ever spoken. Of course it is quite plausible that he may have said them to himself, rather than out loud. This might present a natural explanation why such eminently quotable words were not recorded contemporaneusly.

as it's suppositional, conversational, and non-encyclopedic in tone. (And needs to spell "contemporaneously" better). But as I've removed it before and it's been restored, I won't persist. If you feel it improves the article, I won't play with it. -- Someone else 23:25 11 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Tone of Article

Since the parts you probably would consign conversational, suppositional, non-encyclopaedic etc. in tone and poorly spelled as well, are most likely from my keyboard; let me just say that I have no personal fondness for them at all. Just trying to find a weasel-worded solution, when the alternative seemed to be to recount just the supporting fact that it was actually written down a whole (woohoo!) 50 years after. If there were a way to just say that he did not in fact probably say the words at all, that would accord perfectly with my sense of what can be justified historically. -- Cimon Avaro on a pogo-stick 00:11 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Well, yes, I was suggesting that less "weasel" would be better<g>, however well-intentioned. I had originally thought that, just as you say, simply indicating that the words were first "recorded" 50 years after they were supposedly uttered would be acceptable, but apparently they are hard words for some people to give up... very much like "Nevertheless, it does move".... -- Someone else 01:32 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] On "Here I Stand..."

On the "Here I stand quote..." 400 years of tradition are really hard to fight! Tell folks Bogie never said: "Play it again, Sam!" After just a few decades! The trouble with discussing debates about such things is fairness does not allow for brevity in what should be a general article. I feel the same about the nailed-or-mailed debate, which is more-or-less still going on, with the majority settling around both. Say that briefly! 8-)
I'm inclined to take most of it into the Wiki-equivalent of a content note... another short article. That way the scholarly debate can be discussed for those who love trivia, but keep the narrative clean. CTSWyneken 01:42 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Peasants' War

Boots:

re: Peasant's war: nicely done! Some minor tweaking may help (Luther tried to mediate between the Lords and Peasants first, with uncharacteristically mild language, but, in his view, got for his efforts a peasantry that twisted his words, thus his Against the Murdering, Raping Hordes of Peasants Otherwise, very good work.

re: the excommunication, I think this event needs its own section. The intro does help the section on the Diet, as the article now stands. CTSWyneken 22:13 11 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Lightning-strike legend

Hi,
I'm curious about what documented basis there may be for the lightning-strike ("Help, St. Anne..") legend? I see it is described as a legend at http://www.luther.de/en/legenden.html
I've read that a more likely explanation was that Luther became a monk to escape (and offend) his abusive parents, and that the lightning legend was created later. Harris7 20:44, 31 Jul 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Answer

Dear Harris7:
According to Brecht, the account comes from Crotus Rubianus, a friend of Luther from the days before his entry into the monastery, in letter 213, 16 October 1519. WA br 1:543, line 105ff. CTSWyneken 12:21, 1 Aug 2003 (UTC)
...and further on, from Luther himself: WA 8:573, Lines 20ff, WA TR no. 116, WA TR 4 no. 4414, WA TR 4 no. 4704, WA TR 5 no. 5373, WA BR 2:384, Line 80. The text fro TR 4 nol 4704 says, it part: "On the 16th July (1539), St. Alexis Day, Luther observed: "Today is the anniversary of my entrance into the monastery at Erfurt." Then he began to relate how he made the vow. Two weeks earlier while travelling near Stotternheim, not far from Erfurt, he was so frightened by a flash of lightening that he exclaimed in terror: "Help me, St. Anne, I will become a monk!" [Hillerbrand, p. 23] CTSWyneken 14:42, 1 Aug 2003 (UTC)

[edit] "crude" statements?

From the article: "Luther's work contains a number of statements that modern readers would consider rather crude."

Then just below are some nasty racists remarks, attributed to him unless I misread the article, which appear to advocate burning down the houses and driving the Jews into poverty and exile, and advocate that robbers should be allowed to set upon them on the highways.

Are these what is meant by "crude"? If so, "crude" seems a bit euphemistic, for what I might term "racist almost to being genocidal".

The article still needs quite a bit of work, and this section is one of them. Luther lived five centuries ago and his language is quite a bit different than we expect of educated folk today. There are passages which talk about bathroom activities and such which we do not quote here, nor do I think we should. I'm leaning towards streamlining and generalizing most of it, taking tangents, as I believe this is, into side articles, or leaving them out altogether. This is, after all, an encyclopedia, not a full-blown biography.--CTSWyneken 20:27, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)
My point was that the article says "rather crude", and then displays appallingly nasty comments, as I said, appearing racist nearly to genocidal characteristic. I'm not sure whether you are arguing that we should consider these nasty comments only "rather crude" because everyone was crude then (not only don't I believe that, but I don't follow the logic; it says modern readers, so you should express modern judgement, not some smoothed over euphemism).


Streamlining sounds like a euphemism for bowdlerizing. Instead of removing information, why not add information to keep the whole in balance? Information should be removed if it's wrong or repeats something said better elsewhere in the entry. We have to deal with the realities of life and history at Wikipedia. There is no length limit on entries. Martin Luther might be even as long as Britney Spears. Longer even. Wetman 20:34, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)
I think there's a balance somewhere between provide a lot of good information and writing something so long and confusing that no one will read it. In fact, the irony is I just got finished lengthening the section on the Diet of Worms!
On the other hand, I, for one, hate scrolling to read long articles and often don't bother to fish through or print them. I'm sure a lot of folk out there feel the same way. No, I'm also not for "bowelderizing." What I mean by streamlining is keeping something flowing in a straight line. For example, stopping to explain why some folk feel Luther nailed the theses, others that he mailed them and most folk that he did both, distracts from getting a clear understanding of how things happened in 1517. So, I've opened a short article on the 95 theses and put the info there. When I get a chance, I will take the sentences out of the Luther article and link to it. I think other areas can benefit from it. As elsewhere on the web... want more? Just click.--CTSWyneken 20:55, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

The "Martin Luther and Judaism" section seems to be exceptionally NPOV and well written to me at present, and I don't see a current need for it to be either added to or taken away from. On the other hand, Wiki is not paper, and I would generally like to see a massive amount more content added to every article, and for the number of articles to multiply exponentially as well ;) Sam Spade 07:28, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Government position?

I speak from ignorance, but I thought that Luther held some sort of governing position. Actually, I thought I'd read that he was some sort of religious despot, or dictatorial church tyrant--but I'm not sure if that is anti-Lutheran sentiment that I've seen disguised as history. In fact, this is why I read the article, but I saw no mention of any such.


Luther never held a position in government, nor would his theology permit such. He was the first to advocate the notion of separation of church and state, although his concept was very different from ours. He felt a government had a duty to God to promote Christianity, fight its enemies and punish blasphemy. His role -- and that of anyone in the church -- was to advise the government as to God's will. Luther's style was quite polemic, like the most partisan of our politicians on steriods. When read out of context and century, he can sound very extreme. What most people fail to realize is that everyone wrote that way in the sixteenth century. This is the day of Vlad the Impaler, Sueleman (sp.?) the Great of the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition and the Conquestadors, Aztec sacrifices of the beating hearts of their enemies on the high altars of Mexico. Not a very gentle age.
You have a point, though, about anti-Luther propaganda. Very often it is disguised as history. Of course, NPOV, the reverse was often true! --CTSWyneken 20:45, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Marriage

His marriage, on June 13, 1525, to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, began the tradition of clerical marriage within several Christian traditions. More accurately "revived a long-abandoned tradition" Would anyone object to that? It's not a minor point after all Wetman 04:00, 18 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Neither seems right, I think because Luther's marriage was arguably both an abandonment of one tradition and either a return to or independent institution of another. How about His marriage, on June 13, 1525, to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, was a departure from then-current practice, requiring priestly celibacy, and established the practice of priestly marriage in several Christian traditions. Though the Christian traditions hadn't yet been formed at the time of his marriage, that's a bit backwards. - Nunh-huh 04:14, 18 Feb 2004 (UTC)
I see the point here and perhaps we need to rework the statement. I'd argue, though, that we want to keep the first paragraph very short and summarizing. We will want to do a whole section on Luther's marriage and family life, and Nunh-huh's words would be great there. Can we rework the phrase without making it a few paragraphs? --CTSWyneken 21:01, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)
"His marriage on June 13, 1525 to Katharina von Bora began the tradition of clerical marriage within several Christian traditions" is patently false. Priestly marriage had been the norm throughout until the 4th Lateran council, and has always been practiced by Eastern rite Catholic/ Eastern Orthodox priests. Furthermore, clerical marriage has always been practiced, even in Western Catholicism, by permanent deacons. Began should be replaced with revived, but then what about clerical? As Luther stopped regarding the priesthood as being sacramental, calling it "priestly" marriage seems inaccurate. Would referring to his marriage as breaking his vows be acceptable? --Jroberts548

[edit] Translation

The phrase ... added several principles to the art of translation sets up the reader but doesn't enlarge on this statement. I'd be interested. Wetman 18:01, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I plan to do so, but haven't gotten that far. (real life has a way of getting in the way of Wiki... 8-) ) Last summer, I got as far as the 95 theses. Working on our Luther exhibit (with actual first printings of many of Luther's works in it) has brought me back into the picture again. --CTSWyneken 21:04, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Online Essay on the Life of Luther

If anyone is interested, the Schaaf-Herzog article on Luther is online at: [1] It is public domain, so if someone wants to cut-and-paste, we can really expand our article rapidly and accurately. It's considered a rare, more or less POV, article written in the 19th Century. --CTSWyneken 21:09, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Great page!

I have been studying Martin Luther most of my life, and I want to compliment you all on a fine page. The fact that I see little need for me to make changes or additions is striking in and of itself, and the joy I have been taking in re-reading it is a special compliment from me to each of you. Keep up the good work! Sam Spade 07:31, 4 Mar 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Another item to literature section?

The book "Young Man Luther" by Erik H. Erikson (W. W. Norton & co., 1962) may be worthy to be referred among books on Luther. Its author was professor of psychoanalysis and human development and he wrote an analysis of Luther's struggles from the psychoanalytical (post-Freudian) point of view. However, he is by any means bashing Luther as crazy and the book gives a huge insight into Luther's struggle before and after his conversion. User:Matej

I recently added a bunch of rather controversial edits. I thought many of these were interesting points to make, but I understand that some of them might be disputed or considered POV. If anyone sees a problem, reply to this post (or edit a dissenting opinion into the article, perhaps). Brutannica 06:55, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and the cloaca

Many scholars dispute the fact that Luther made his theological discoveries in the privy. For copyright reasons, I cannot quote the sources in Wikipedia, but if anyone is interested, they could look at the most thorough biography of Luther, the one by Martin Brecht: Martin Luther Vol. 1, p. 122, 227. For this reason, I'm deleting the comment. CTSWyneken 16 November 2004


[edit] Expanding from Schaaf-Herzog

I've begun adding text from the 19th century Schaaf-Herzog Encyclopedia. It solid, but a bit old. Feel free to edit it. I just want to get more of the story told quickly. --CTSWyneken 20:30, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Leipzig Debates

If anyone can find the text of either the Obelisci, the Asterisci, or the proceedings of Luther's and Karlstadt's debates with Eck, it would be a fine contribution to the article.

--jrcagle 23:47, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

when was the last time these articles were updated?

[edit] Martin Luther as a Heretic

Is there any dispute that Martin Luther was labelled a heretic at some point in time? If not, then his inclusion in the category "Heretic" only serves to report this. It does not define him as a heretic. - Tεxτurε 19:56, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Well if the criterion for being in the "heretic" category is "person x was once labelled a heretic by some group of people at some point in the past", then every pope in the past five centuries (at least) could be placed under the "heretic" category too, as it is also indisputable that Protestants in the past who have called the pope a heretic.
If the criterion for being in the heretic category is "The Roman Catholic Church once labelled person x a heretic", then that is obviously "pov pushing". It would be sort of like somebody creating a category called "False Religions" and adding every religion on Earth to that category except Islam, and to back up what they did they would point to an Islamic "scholar" who said that Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism etc. are all false religions and Islam is not. BSveen 22:02, Apr 29, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Jurist?

I thought Martin Luther was a jurist to start with. Then he used his text-analyzing skills to analyze the bible, finding lots of strange things in his contemporary church, and first much later becoming a priest/monk.

I find this incoherent with the article (not that I've read it or anything ;). Am I wrong?


Luther was a law student before he entered the monastery, but never practiced law at any level. His Biblical method arose out of his formal Biblical studies, his reading of the writings from the early church, especially St. Augustine, and his commitment to several principles of humanism, especially Ad fontes to the source.--CTSWyneken 11:42, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] luther on women

why is there absolutely nothing in this article that reflects Luther's views of women? where are the quotes like "If [women] become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth - that is why they are there."

Try wikiquote [2]. This page is an encyclopedia article, not a place for quotes. A section on his views may be applicable, if written neutrally. Sam Spade 13:00, 14 May 2005 (UTC)
Yes... it's very easy to pull quotes out of the massive volume of writing Luther did in his lifetime. Any discussion of his view on women would need to include the tremendous esteem and affection he held for his own "Lord Katie," the personal risks he took in assisting her and other nuns in breaking their monastic vows, etc, as well as the quotes described. Luther the human being is seldom reducible to a small collection of hand-picked soundbites. -- Bob Schaefer 16:55, 14 May 2005 (UTC)


A lot can be said about Luther and his view of women, which was quite remarkable for his time. What must be remembered about Luther's "writings" is that just about every word he said in the presence of others was written down from 1520 to his death in 1546. Even the scribbles he wrote on a piece of paper found in his belongings when he died was published. Haven't you said something stupid when having a bad day? Luther repeatedly said how much he wished all of this had been burned. Even though we would miss a lot of Luther's work had it been destroyed. Luther himself would not. He only valued a handful of his works.
That being said, he said much about women -- especially in his formal writings -- which exalts the simple acts of love of an ordinary mother above all the priests, monks and clerics in the world. They obeyed direct commands from God, which the professionals made up great works for themselves to do. God would reward those women who obeyed him more than those who obeyed themselves, he often said.
When it comes to quotes, please cite your sources. I spend a lot of time reading and answering questions about Luther, but have never heard this particular one... --CTSWyneken 11:53, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and witchcraft

Is there a specific statement Luther made encouraging the suppression of witchcraft that we could add? If not, the section seems a bit vauge. Luther surely did oppose witchcraft, but I'm not so he did so in an hisorically significant way. If the section can't be made more specific perhaps just remove it?

After reviewing all the citations for "witchcraft" and "witch" in the American Edition of Luther's Works (55 volumes), I find very little remarkable about Luther's views on the matter - certainly nothing that merits the strongly worded section on "Luther and the persecution of witches". Typical of Luther's thoughts on witchcraft is the following (LW v.24, p.74):
"It is true that the devil can torment people and lay them low; or he can blind them temporarily or lame a member, as he often did through his witches and devilish whores, and then heal them again. Not that these people were really blind or lame, for to such he could not restore sight or a member; but he bewitches the people and dupes their five senses, so that they do not know better and are willing to swear an oath that it is real."
Luther understood witches to be cheats or deceivers, in keeping with the biblical depiction of Satan as a misleader. Their power, such as it may be, is primarily the power of deception, and it is at any rate completely subject to divine will. Witches, like the devil, only operate to the degree that God allows, and no more.
In this position, Luther strikes me as, if anything, more moderate than many of his contemporaries in his approach to witches and their activities. Yes, he atttributed many misfortunes to witchcraft, including his own frequent illnesses. Yes, Luther (like any other Christian who takes scripture as the Word of God) wrestled with the meaning of passages like the cited Exodus 22:18. However, linking Luther in this manner to the Salem witch hunts seems quite a stretch to me. In reality, Luther's Works does not contain a single reference to this scipture that appears to advocate killing witches, and the Lutheran Confessions do not cite Ex. 22:18 at all. Of all the things that fired Luther's passion, witchcraft does not seem to rank high among them.
This section in the Wikipedia article strikes me at best as an effort to thrust modern sensibilities onto a midieval man. With no evidence from the historical record, it ties Luther to a movement that he may well have denounced as hysteria inspired (ironically enough) by the trickery of the devil and of actual witches.
I am in favor of deleting the section unless/until it is better researched and written from a NPOV.
--Bob Schaefer 00:51, 23 May 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. Sam Spade 09:02, 23 May 2005 (UTC)


Indeed! Leave it out... --CTSWyneken 11:54, 24 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Date of complete Bible translation

An inline comment in the article questions the date of Luther's first publication of his complete Bible translation into German. This is indeed listed as 1534 according to The Bible Through the Ages, Reader's Digest Assoc., 1996, ISBN 0895778726, an outstanding text regrettably now out of print. --Blainster 23:06, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and the Counter-Reformation

The latest editing change for the first section of this article is an improvement: "His call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible spawned new traditions within Christianity and his teachings affected the Counter-Reformation in the Roman Catholic Church." However, I would submit, "His call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible spawned new traditions within Christianity, which, in turn, promted the Counter Reformation as the Roman Catholic reaction" would be a more accurate statement here. drboisclair 19:34, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

Yes. Good. Done. Bbpen 20:08, 29 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Pro-Luther. POV

I think this article is very Pro-Luther in some parts.

There is an advantage in it being pro-Luther because readers are invited to look at the subject "from the inside." I do agree that objectivity is to be a goal; however, there has been so much negative press on Luther in recent years. drboisclair 20:10, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of "Roman" from before "Catholic" in this article

An editor removed "Roman" from before "Catholic" in Luther's Legacy section of this article. This would imply that Protestants in general and Lutherans in particular were not catholic. Protestants are not eo ipso (simply by being "Protestant") non-catholic. I made what I felt were necessary emendations. drboisclair 16:14, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

If the term "Catholic Church" is used instead of "Roman Catholic Church" it is still both ambiguous and anachronistic in that those Christian churches, which remain and have remained under obedience to the pope, have been historically known or referred to as the "Roman Catholic Church" or the "Catholic Church." The Eastern Orthodox Church as well as the Evangelical Lutheran Church and some other Protestant denominations consider themselves no less "catholic" than the "Roman Catholic Church." drboisclair 18:19, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Recent Massive Changes

Friends:

I dropped by and noticed massive changes in the text of this article. I'm not sure why, since, ironically, it was in areas we had edited together quite a bit and not in the ones that needed a lot of work (and still do) May I request a moritorium on these changes until we can absorb what's here now and see if they are truly improvements?

--CTSWyneken 02:08, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

Changes that I made to this article were corrections of grammar and factual information. For example, "The Castle Church" is not the "town church" of Wittenberg. There were two churches in Wittenberg: All Saints and St. Mary's: the Castle Church and the City Church. There were links that implied that Martin Luther was a "Reformed Theologian," which is an error. Another problem was the one I listed above that by an editor removing "Roman" from before "Catholic Church." drboisclair 14:23, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Commentary on Recent Changes

In the first paragraph, we used to use the word "tradition" to describe "Lutheran and Protestant." This is the term used currently in scholarly circles for sets of denominations, organizations, etc. that share basic theological and cultural features that distinguish them from other traditions within the same religion. "Lutheran," "Anglican," "Reformed," "Pentecostal" are such traditions within Christianity. Denomination is used in scholarly circles for a specific organization, with rosters, rules, buildings and budgets. So, Christianity = Religion, Lutheran = Tradition, Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod = denomination, and, while we're at it, St. Peter Lutheran Church of Fort Wayne, Indiana = a congregation. If no one objects, I'll revert the term.

--CTSWyneken 10:16, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

It might be clearer to add "ecclesial" before "tradition(s)" for more accuracy; however, the first paragraph has been well improved. drboisclair 18:31, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

The next change I will make, unless someone objects, is to add "and culture" after doctrines in the first paragraph. --CTSWyneken 09:49, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther's Doctor in Biblia degree

A correction that removed Doctor in Biblia from the Martin Luther article here alleged that it was an historical error. On the contrary, according to at least two professors from a prestigious Lutheran seminary, the specific title of Luther's doctorate was Doctor in Biblia. Luther's own testimony confirms this: "I was forced and driven into this position in the first place, when I had to become Doctor of Holy Scripture against my will" [Luther's Works, vol. 13, St. Louis: CPH, p. 66; emphasis added]. Footnote 41 on this page reads: "As a doctor of the Sacred Scriptures he had the responsibility to teach and defend Biblical doctrine; and he maintained that this was just what he was doing" (Emphasis added). We read this in the "Introduction to Volume 10" of Luther's Works (10:1-2; emphasis added): "Johann von Staupitz had persuaded Luther to pursue advanced studies to qualify for the degree of Doctor in Biblia and had moved Frederick the Wise to provide funds for promoting Luther’s doctorate on the promise that Luther would be a great asset to the University of Wittenberg as lecturer on the Bible." His position at the University of Wittenberg was: Lectura in Biblia (cf. Heiko A. Oberman, Luther: Man between God and the Devil, New Haven: Yale, p. 143). QED drboisclair 00:30, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

Thank you for clarifying your position here. I think we need to clarify a few things on this particular point.
First, the work of Brecht very clearly suggests that the title of the degree was Doctor of Theology. I've never seen any argument to the contrary prior to this. So I naturally will have to do a little spade work to see whether primary sources support the contention that the title of the degee itself is Doctor of the Bible or Doctor of Theology.
Second, I cannot verify, naturally, the statement you make about "a prestigious Lutheran seminary," since I do not know who these professors are and so have no way of evaluating their opinion. Such a statement is not helpful at determining the facts of the matter.
Third, the statement you quote from Luther does not necessarily refer to the title of his degree. I have understand him previously to be referring to his chair at the University of Wittenberg. Here he does not identify his call as the of "Teacher of the Bible," but "Teacher of the Holy Scripture." The footnote adds no new evidence to what the title of the doctorate was, since it explains the very same phrase.
Fourth, the only reference that your cite that gets at our question is the Oberman passage. I'll check that when I get to work tomorrow at the seminary library. Even at that, some of Oberman might actually support what I'm suggesting.
Why is this important? Luther understood himself as called to teach the whole church. He did not restrict himself to Biblical interpretation. He may have been accused -- then or now -- of overreaching his authority. In the controversy that followed the 95 Theses, his discussions ranged across all of Christian doctrine. He saw himself as called by God through the church to do this. So we must be sure of what the title was.
What I suggest is we drop the the "Doctor in Biblia" statement until we can verify from primary sources that this was the title of the degree. We can add at this point or near it that Luther was called to the position of "Lecturer on the Bible." (I prefer to use a few latin forms as possible).

The Doctor in Biblia degree is a doctorate in theology. Since the entire university system is a child of the Christian Church, it is often pointed out in academia that the doctorate in theology is the grandfather of all doctorates. It is not an "either, or" situation but a "both, and." I believe that leaving the data in this article gives the readers the benefit of further information on Martin Luther, whom I as a theological scholar admire and continue to study with great interest. drboisclair 06:41, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm not arguing whether or not a Doctorate in the Bible is a theological degree (It most certainly would be), but what, historically, the actual title of the degree was. In other words, if Luther's diploma is extant, does it say "Doctor of Theology" or "Doctor in the Bible." So far, I've only seen the former employed, including now in the Oberman volume. on page 143, Oberman says: "Luther received his doctoral degree in theology and was accepted into the university senate three days later. Now the time had come to take over the task for which Staupitz had so long groomed him: the Lectura in Biblia, the chair of Biblical Theology, which Luther was to hold until his death." This seems to confirm what I've understood to be the case: awarded the degree Doctor of Theology, Luther was called to the position of Teacher of the Bible, i.e. Doctor in Biblia. Oberman does not provide a source at this point, but, if you wish, I'll see if I can't find something in primary source to establish my contention.

--CTSWyneken 20:50, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] More on Luther's degree

Thank you for looking in to this. Perhaps it is a technicality that means something to people attending seminaries and graduate schools. If you judge it to be best for the article, it might be best to go back to the general "Doctor of Theology": the German sources online have it as Th.D., but theological doctorate or doctor of theology is what the degree is called in Brecht, Schwiebert, and even Oberman. I agree about the Latin and German. As you can see in the Martin Chemnitz article, I have translated all the non-English words. --drboisclair 00:29, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] My credentials

Rev. Smith, as you see from the title page of this online source, these articles may be "edited by anyone." The "prestigious" Lutheran institution is Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and the professors in question are the Rev. Dr. H. Richard Klann, Ph.D. and the Rev. Dr. Norman E. Nagel, Ph.D., whom I have had the pleasure of studying under. Perhaps, you'd like to check their credentials. Of all the professors that I have studied under I do not know any that knows Luther better in the LCMS. Excepting, of course, the sainted Rev. Dr. Heino Kadai, who used to teach at your institution, Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne. As I said, I have taken numerous graduate courses on Luther. I know that you have an M.S. in L.S. and an M.Div. from the St. Louis Seminary, and you are blessed to be the librarian of a prestigious Lutheran institution and on the faculty--the librarian is on the faculty I take it. I respect your credentials, and I am disappointed that you see fit to delete data, which are historically accurate. You need to point out in this article that Luther was a biblical exegete. By just saying that he was a "doctor of theology" does not give the reader all the information. Why didn't you edit some of the inaccuracies in the paragraph on the 1520 treatises, e.g.? All of us have a right to edit this article. In my case I will not put anything into it that cannot be supported. Have you checked out the LW 10:1-2? Isn't it better if we add information that is original from our own study as experts in our field? Philip Schaff was a celebrated church historian; perhaps his citations from the History of the Christian Church should be referenced, so that we can be more respectful of his words. In short I would request the same respect for my input as a fellow Lutheran scholar. Cordially and fraternally, Rev. David R. Boisclair, M.Div., S.T.M., St. Louis, Missouri. drboisclair 04:17, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Dear Pastor Boisclair:

Thank you for providing this data. I knew Klann quite well. He was a professor of mine. I know Dr. Nagel even better, having studied under him at two institutions. I was at at Dr. Kadai's funeral as well. Knowing that gives weight to the argument you're making. My point for asking is, on the internet, anyone can say anything. If a person is not identified, it is impossible to tell whether or not their opinions carry any weight at all. Prior to your comments today, I had no way of knowing if you were an eminent Luther scholar, or someone with a high school degree who was playing with the text (if you've seen some of the vandalism we've corrected recently, you'll see what I mean) Because I have a lot of work in this and a half-dozen articles, I watch what I've gotten to very closely. Any time a change is made in those sections, I notice it in the history and see what has been done. If I can live with it, I leave it alone.

I deleted this datum from the article because the work I consulted did not have that title at all. Please note I have not re-deleted the data, since I now have some reason to believe it to be accurate. I will follow up to see if I can verify it. If I can, I'll be content to leave it, but will likely suggest translating it to an English form. One of the continuing problems with this and other articles is using vocubulary unfamiliar to casual readers. Avoiding unneeded latin is one thing I believe we should do. My point is to be sure we are as accurate in the details we choose as we can be.

I'm not saying you have no right to edit the article. In fact, I'd welcome the help. The reason why I went for this detail is it is in a section that I and others have worked over for years. I simply have not had the time to do this with the whole article. When we started, this was very bad indeed. In fact, it should be very clear in reading the article before you began editing, where we had left off, where Schaaf was quoted verbatum and where no work had been done at all.

What I'm asking for is for you not to wade in and make dozens of changes at once, without at least warning us here of your intent a day or so in advance, so that I do not have to check each one of them, which is very time consuming in a tight schedule here. --CTSWyneken 11:16, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

I appreciate your work, and I would like to help. I will follow this courtesy protocol: it is only fair. I am sorry if I have deleted material from the Schaaf-Herzog Encyclopedia. I am glad that we are able to use that material. I would imagine that we cannot use resources that are copyrighted like The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Please call on my help if you think it appropriate. I would appreciate it if you took a look at and put the Martin Chemnitz on your "watch list." drboisclair 16:13, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

At this time, with all the editing that has recently been done, it will be quite a chore to add citations to Schaaf back in. My point in bringing it up was to show that we have not just made up a lot of this material. We've often copied it verbatum from sources in the public domain.--CTSWyneken 11:16, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps some of the Schaaf-Herzog material could be retro replaced by using the "history page". I could try to restore it if you desire. Perhaps it would be better if one had the entry in Schaaf-Herzog to consult and simply enter the information at the appropriate places. Will not take this on unless it is agreed. drboisclair 16:13, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm content to leave things as they are at the moment and work together on this article. Schaaf is online and linked at the bottom of the article, so we can go out there to harvest material. It is perfectly fine to adjust it. Now that I'm sure who you are and know that you'll discuss here any major revisions, I'll assume the changes made without checking to be limited to minor ones. I'd suggest the best way to proceed would be to have Stan archive the current talk page (I never got the hang of how to do this) and have us begin by each reading the article as it is now. Let's then see where improvement can be made and see if a general plan can emerge. (like where to shuffle explanitory text off to little side pages) If I remember correctly, not much has been done by trustworthy authors on the later parts of Luther's life. I'd be very happy to have Pastor Boisclair author new text for these and have us discuss and adjust the text. We would also want to invite others out there lurking to join our happy throng.

--CTSWyneken 21:03, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Do not make massive changes without disscussion please

In the spirit of the wikipedia, I do not mind editing of the articles here. After all, that's the point of this experiment. I do find it offensive, however, to find the work that I and others have done on this article over years, some with a lot of debate, completely revised without so much as a warning, much less a discussion. Most of the changes you've made do not change the substance of what we've done. So why change them? Just because you do not like the way they sound? Then ask. Most of us do not mind some adjustment. I take this particular article quite personally because I am tired of Luther being abused unfairly. When there are changes, I check each one to be sure that the changes have merit. When you change enough to generate a whole history page of just your edits, you cost me much time and effort.

So, please! Before you change text in volume, some of it the words of historians like Philipp Schaaf of the 19th Century, please discuss it with us. You may be suprised (I, for one, would like to see much of the latter parts of the article fully redone.

Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana --CTSWyneken 21:57, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

I do not like Luther being abused either, and I resent all of the vandalism that is being done to this article. Perhaps this article like the one on our Lord should be protected from vandalism in some way. Perhaps if some editors may be considered to "own" an article, there should be some kind of notation made at the beginning of the article for the "outsider" to consult. As someone who admires and studies Luther I do not feel that I am an outsider, and I admit to being disappointed at my contributions being summarily removed. drboisclair 04:55, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
There has been serious discussion in the wikipedia governing board about just that. A number of "settled" articles find themselves under constant attack. The current mechanism, which relies on folks like me to stand watch on articles we care about, can be very burdensome. Incidently, you can often click on a user's name in the page history and see something about the user. This takes you to the user page, where you, Stan and I have left some idea of who we are. By using this info and by skimming through the page history, it is often clear who cares about a given article. When it comes to the subject matter of this article, not only are you not an outsider, but something of an expert. The issue was we did not know that. I apologize for the wholesale deletes of your material. I normally would not have done this without expressing my concerns here, but, when you did not respond here to an earlier plea, I looked for a way to get your attention. Not my greatest moment.

--CTSWyneken 12:11, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

I apologize for cavalierly revising material painstakingly devised. CTS library affords an excellent resource for formulating these articles. I like editing and revising, and at times I have acquired information that I naturally volunteer without consulting. I agree that this project is one that should be done carefully. I like the tremendous resources that "The Wittenberg Project" offers to the online community. "The Wittenberg Project" is a valuable resource that I hope will be expanded! Cordially, drboisclair 15:56, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Theory of Grace paragraph

When I edited the Theory of Grace paragraph I was restoring what I thought was removed by a vandal, who had left the final five or six words. I felt that this paragraph should be restored. I am glad it was. drboisclair 06:29, 19 September 2005 (UTC)


Pastor Boisclair -- do you have a suggestion as to the title of this section? I'm not comfortable with it. The trick is to find one that is accurate, reveals Luther's viewpoint, while keeping the article itself from departing from a neutral point of view. So, we say in the opening paragraph "Luther's call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible" is fine because we indicate that it is his view. What we wouldn't do here, which we would do at a Lutheran site, is poin blank state he was right.

--CTSWyneken 11:55, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Theory of Grace as the title shows more objectivity than one like "Reformatory Discovery" or "Tower Experience." I take it that this paragraph is about Luther's breakthrough. One question I have is: was the paragraph removed by a vandal or was it removed in the attempt to streamline the article to make it less long? I believe that such a paragraph with its present content is important to be retained.
It could be Luther discovers the gospel; but that might be construed as not objective. Theory of Grace is objective and it shows that Luther did not have it point blank at the start. He seemed to work with a theory that he developed over time. There are two schools of thought here: "Early daters" and "Late daters": The early daters feel that Luther got it right early--in his first lectures on the Psalms 1513-1515 with the idea that he had it right in time for the 95 Theses. The "late daters" believe that he got it right with his 1518 lectures or commentary on Hebrews. Scholars like Lowell Green believe that when Luther came to this discovery is important for Lutherans. Lutherans, though, are bound to the Book of Concord, so it does not matter when he got it right. Theory of Grace helps in pointing out that it was a gradual understanding. These are a few observations.

--drboisclair 16:27, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

I'm operating from Dr. Nagel's understanding that no "tower experience" in the sense that folk in the romantic era saw it ever happened. He believed that Luther came to study one concept at a time and had flashes of insight that gave him joy and excitement. The first was over the word "penance," the most famous over the word "righteousness." Other words are spoken of in a similar fashion. What seems clear to me, however, is that Luther's theology was not as we have come to know it until the three 1520 treastises. The title of the section, for me, sounds a bit like "Luther believed this, but it wasn't true." I know that's not what the words actually say and finding a neutral title other than it is a tricky proposition. So, unless we have a "shower experience" and discover something better, I am content to leave well enough alone.

--CTSWyneken 21:42, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

This is the wisest course. drboisclair 00:17, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] "Crotur"

I have moved to here the emphasized passage

The disputation at Leipzig (1519) brought Luther into contact with the humanists, particularly Melanchthon, Reuchlin, Erasmus, and Crotur. Crotur was closely associated with the knight Ulrich von Hutten, who, in turn, influenced the knight Franz von Sickingen.

because after my addition of linkage to it was reverted without explanation, I went searching for more information on this mysterious "Crotur" so that he could be properly identified and linked. The only references I easily found to him were clones of this very article on other web sites, so I have moved him here until we determine if he is the product of a hoax promulgated via Wikipedia, or was an actual person with a forename and dates. If we don't know enough about him (if he actually existed) to make at least a stub article on him, then we shouldn't mention him at all, and that may suggest a different path of affinity to Ulrich von Hutten. Perhaps scholar CTSWyneken might check this out at the seminary library. --StanZegel 23:43, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

I have had the same misgivings about this phantom humanist. There have been vandal additions; hence, "Crotur" may be such a phantom. There was an internal link that was to a page that had not been created as yet. I have never heard of such a 16th Century humanist. BTW, I did not originate the entry of "Crotur" into this article. I was just editing the sentence for more understandibilty. There are perhaps some humanists from the 16th Century that I do not know about.drboisclair 04:35, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
Good eye, Stan! I'll add this to the list of things to check on.
I had a student worker here, Mark Steiner, do some research on this fellow. We find a similar one, a Crotus Rubianus (see Lutheran Cyclopedia p. 212) AKA Rubeanus, Johannes Jaeger, Venatorius, ca. 148-ca. 1545) a german humanist, b. Dornheim, Thuringia and a friend of von Hutten and Reuchlin. Sounds like our guy.
He sounds so obscure that I think we do no violence to history by omitting him. --StanZegel 22:37, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The need to arrange the initial picture and coat of arms

If you notice in this article, there is an enormous space that shows up at the beginning of this article because the beginning picture and the coat of arms are placed as they are. Perhaps the coat of arms might be put on the left and the picture box on the right or vice versa to make the beginning of this article look better. drboisclair 05:01, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Actually, the table of contents box always consumes its vertical space with no article text beside it. The placement of those two graphics fills space alongside the TOC that would otherwise be blank. If they were placed elsewhere, they would take additional space in their new location instead of making use of waste space here. BUT... any illustration should be located where is is most useful in context. I don't recall if the article has a section describing Luther's seal, but if it ever does have such a section, then it would certainly be better to move the seal graphic down to illustrate that section. --StanZegel 05:42, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Suggestions for Rewrite of Luther Article

Thank you, Stan for the archiving!

To one and all interested:

Several of us propose to do a full revision of the article. This is an open invitation to one and all to join in the discussion of its strength and weaknesses. Come one and all!

--CTSWyneken 01:23, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

I propose that the general outline of the article be retained: as it is objective and it covers the major segments of Luther's life. The aim is to keep it objective, accurate, and informative.
I would also say that the introductory paragraph is adequate, only the final sentence: "His marriage on June 13, 1525, to Katharina von Bora began the a [sic] movement of clerical marriage within many Christian traditions" might be amended to read "...many western Christian traditions" because the Eastern Orthodox Church continued to practice clerical marriage throughout ecclesiastical history up to that time. I removed the "the" in this sentence, which might let it stand as it is: "...a movement of clerical marriage within many Christian traditions"
--drboisclair 18:56, 21 September 2005 (UTC)


Hmm... I posted here yesterday, but it didn't take... Yes, go ahead and make the change. --CTSWyneken 09:59, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Putting the article on a diet

I'd like to see us streamline the article, taking as much of the detail in it, especially the tangents, into other articles like 95 Theses, Diet of Worms, etc. The result will be easier to read, yet will fully tell the story. For example, the detail on the Diet of Worms would work nicely elsewhere, including the debate over "here I stand..." --CTSWyneken 09:59, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

This is advisable; however, you must consider that the pivotal importance of Martin Luther to history warrants an extensive article. The liberal use of internal links might facilitate more condensation. I agree with you about the "here I stand..." debate. This should be placed in the "Diet of Worms" entry.
--drboisclair 21:27, 24 September 2005 (UTC)
Having spent eleven years in putting Luther's words on the internet, I'm in full agreement with the importance of having more than a few paragraphs on the doctor. What I'm looking for is not so much to eliminate events that we cover as to reduce the detail, as in the "here I stand" debate. I'd also argue the blow-by-blow I added originally is, in retrospect too much. I have the same problem with the Luther and the Jews section. On the other side, we do not discuss much of Luther's life beyond 1522... nothing about the table talk, nothing more than a quick mention of his marriage in the opening paragraph, and much more. So, I'm saying let's use a wider angle lens here and a close up in related articles.--CTSWyneken 02:24, 25 September 2005 (UTC)
I tend to think an encylopedic length article in an encyclopedia of unlimited size, like this one, is appropriate. I'd hate to see this take a Drudge Report format (a page composed primarily of links to elsewhere) and I suggest that things like "here I stand..." belong primarily here, not in Diet of Worms. The Diet met every year, in different places, and settled multiple affairs of the Empire. As Lutherans, we tend to think the 1521 session was all about us, but it met for four months and Our Man was indeed on the agenda (but not until 2 and a half months into it), but so were other things and I would expect that the Diet of Worms article will eventually be expanded into (this being an encyclopdia) the other things that occurred there too.
I further think that one wanting to know about Luther should be able to be fully fed here, and that links should be for information upon the linked subject per se, not for the Lutheran connection to that subject. Thus Luther's time at the Wartburg should be covered here; the link to Wartburg Castle should be for information about other events in the castle (Tannhäuser, St. Elisabeth, usw) not for more Luther-related information.
I agree reorganizing the article for utility, and filling in gaps, and polishing language for clarity is good. But I'd hate to see detail disappear for reasons of space or brevity, because they are not really relevant limitations in an electronic encyclopedia. I hope things are added more than removed. Augmentation instead of purging. --StanZegel (talk) 07:03, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Save our Biographical Infobox

There is a move among the administration of Wikipedia to remove the biographical infoboxes comprehensively. I urge all to weigh in pro or con. The one in this article looks good and should be retained. This requires the timely attention of all, please. --drboisclair 21:30, 24 September 2005 (UTC)


[edit] InfoBox Conversion to avoid Controversy

In order to avoid the "Biography Infobox" controversy, why not make the Cranach painting of Luther into an image box like the Luther seal: one could then add the caption information. I think that the Cranach painting should be retained --drboisclair 19:55, 27 September 2005 (UTC)


Actually, that's the way it started out. Let's just go ahead and do it. --CTSWyneken 11:05, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Diet of Worms

I thought the detail deleted today had been helpful: the date Luther's interview began, and a fleshing out of the context and major points of his most famous statement. --StanZegel (talk) 13:47, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

Dear Stan:
This was a first pass (the hazzard of acting on the way out the door for church), just to get a feel for what it would look like. Please note that I moved the prior text to the Diet of Worms page. Feel free to add back some of the data. What I'm trying to avoid is the "play by play" and overdoing the explanitory notes. The balance I think we should be after is to hit the major details and descibe the event, but not burden it with background info not absolutely necessary to carry the account further. Take a look at several encylopedia articles in print and you'll see the kind of balance I'd like to see achieved.

--CTSWyneken 17:13, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

The condensation done on this section is good. If there are other needed details in this section, they can be added in over time. drboisclair 18:51, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Exile in the Wartburg

When a moment presents itself, I'd like to thin out this section a bit. On the other side, a sentence on the Invocavit sermons is needed.

added a needed break for Luther's return to Wittenberg and at least two sentences on the Invocavit Sermons. If too long, feel free to edit.drboisclair 19:41, 27 September 2005 (UTC)
I like the way it looks. When I get to thinning it, I suspect I'll leave it. The trick will be to keep the story line in tact, while taking out details that are not needed. --CTSWyneken 11:52, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Missing Events

I'd like to list here the things the article is missing at this point. Please add whatever you'd like. Feel free to write new text on these...

  • Luther's Marriage and family
  • The Table Talk
  • Settled life in Wittenberg
  • Luther's hymns
  • Luther's role in the writing of the Augustana; the Smalcald articles
  • Luther's preaching
  • Some detail on Luther's death and funeral
Added detail on Luther's death, culled and condensed from Brecht, vol. 3.drboisclair 19:43, 27 September 2005 (UTC)
Nice job, Pastor Boisclair! On a first read, it sounds really good. You've provided a lot of rich detail. The only question would be if there is a little bit too much. But I will be a good boy and leave it alone. --CTSWyneken 11:56, 28 September 2005 (UTC)
Professor Smith, I would be honored if you would refine it where you feel necessary. Team work is a blessing.drboisclair 18:54, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Expanded Bibliography

I like the additions here very much. --CTSWyneken 11:56, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther's writings

Either there should be substantial discussion of his writing here or it should be merged in with the more historical section. I may try to do the latter unless anyone objects or wants to do it himself. As it is the secton is out of place, in addition to not being of the highest quality.

CSMR 04:36, 30 September 2005 (UTC)


Welcome! I have no object to this. I have not gotten to this section at all. I'd prefer to have the last section resemble the Schaaf article linked in the online section. By the way, please put a little about yourself on your user page. To do this, click on your username, type a few lines and save it. It's good to know who a person is when we're all working together. --CTSWyneken 11:04, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The numerous edit entries

My apologies for the numerous edits in converting the infobox biography to an ordinary image with caption. I hope this is satisfactory. If not we could revert back to the infobox.drboisclair 10:34, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Looks good! Since I knew what you were up to, the number of edits was fine. It can be quite a pain to get an image to do what you wish, as I know all too well...

--CTSWyneken 12:54, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Deploring the vandalism

The price of a good article means that one has to have eternal vigilance against vandalism of any kind whether humorous, devilish, or angelical. Of course, you cannot let it bother you. You might find yourselves laughing as teachers do when they find that students have written silly things in the manuals on their desks!drboisclair 13:32, 3 October 2005 (UTC)


[edit] No More red internal links!

With the addition of Bartholomäus Bernhardi of Feldkirchen and Gabriel Zwilling as new articles I have removed all the red internal links to the Martin Luther article. drboisclair 03:27, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The anonymous addition of 95 theses nailing disclaimer

An anonymous editor added this to the section on the "Indulgence controversy": "[Note: According to Traditions & Encounters 3rd ed. Vol.2 Bentley/Ziegler, The nailing of the theses did not actually occur. This is merely a popular legend.]" I cut it and pasted it here. There is dispute on this point. Cf. Brecht, Martin Luther: His Road to Reformation 1483-1521 (vol. 1), p. 200. I have read and heard that the nailing to the castle church door was a legend; however, the theses were "posted" to Archbishop Albert of Mainz. You may wish to delete this anonymous reference along with my qualification. I believe that Philipp Melanchthon's biography of Luther states that it was nailed to the Castle Church door.

I thought it best to cut this anonymous reference and place it here. drboisclair 02:39, 8 October 2005 (UTC)


A full discussion of the issue is in the 95 Theses article. Brecht concludes, as I do, that both likely occured. He goes with sometime on or after Oct. 31. I see no reason why Oct. 31 as the date of the posting. It best explains how the work circulated so quickly. There's no evidence of the document going in the mail to a source that would leak it -- in German no less. In any case, the discussion is too much of a tangent here. As the keynote of a symposia on the subject said, "Whether they were nailed or mailed, they certainly were posted!"

--CTSWyneken 16:09, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

Thank you for the speed with which you addressed this issue. For this reason any other statements on this matter should not be placed in this article. drboisclair 18:24, 8 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] A new proposed addition to the article on Luther's marriage and family

I have composed this section in line with the categories listed above as needed in the article. I think that we might add something about the extended family members who lived with the Luthers as well as the college students, but this is a beginning if it is acceptable. This could lead into a section on the Table Talk drboisclair 22:31, 11 October 2005 (UTC):

(caption) Martin Luther's marriage and family (caption)

April 8, 1523 Luther wrote Wenceslaus Link: "Yesterday I received nine nuns from their captivity in the Nimbschen convent." Luther had arranged for Torgau burgher Leonhard Koppe on April 4 to assist twelve nuns to escape from Marien-thron Cistercian monastery in Nimbschen near Grimma in Ducal Saxony. He transported them out of the convent in herring barrels. Three of the nuns went to be with their relatives, leaving the nine that were brought to Wittenberg. One of them was Katharina von Bora. All of them but she were happily provided for. In May and June 1523 it was thought that she would be married to a Wittenberg University student, Jerome Paumgartner, but his family most likely prevented it. Dr. Caspar Glatz was the next prospective husband put forward, but Katharina had "neither desire nor love" for him. She made it known that she wanted to marry either Luther himself or Nicolaus von Amsdorf (Nicholas v.A.). Luther did not feel that he was a fit husband considering his being excommunicated by the pope and outlawed by the emperor. In May or early June 1525 it became known in Luther's circle that he intended to marry Katharina. Forstalling any objections from friends against Katharina, Luther acted quickly: on the evening of Tuesday, June 13, 1525 Luther was legally married to Katharina, whom he would affectionately call "Katy." Katy moved into her husband's home, the former Augustinian monastery in Wittenberg. Their first child, a boy, Hans was born June 7, 1526. He was followed by Elizabeth, December 10, 1527, who prematurely died in August 1528; Magdalena, May 5, 1529; Martin, Jr., November 9, 1531; Paul, January 28, 1533; and Margaretha, December 17, 1534—three boys and three girls. Another of Luther and Katy's daughters would not reach adulthood: Magdalena died in her father's arms September 20, 1542.

--I would put this between "Return to Wittenberg ..." and "The Peasants' War." drboisclair 22:32, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

I have added this paragraph with helpful emendations by Stanley Zegel. This could be built upon or edited. drboisclair 22:34, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Nicely done! --CTSWyneken 12:58, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Where the Luther marriage took place

Hey, Stan, I understood that the marriage took place indoors before a small group. I know that it was customary for marriages to be held at the church door in those days; however, I do not think that Luther's was. I will research. Do you have clear research on this. Cheers, Dave drboisclair 10:22, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Only my recollections from my visits there. I trust your research over my memory. The Luther wedding reenactment is a big annual festival in Wittenberg, so that may serve as a guide/confirmation. --StanZegel (talk) 11:57, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
And the festival's webpage says it happened inside the former monestery.--StanZegel (talk) 12:07, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
Some days after June 13, 1525 they had a wedding celebration when perhaps there was a ceremony before the church door. The question is which church? All Saints or St. Mary's? drboisclair 22:52, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
I think it would have been St. Mary's, the stadtkirche just off the marketplace, but it is worth researching. --StanZegel (talk) 00:50, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
I recall the wedding proper being done quickly and quietly. Not everyone approved, not the least of all Phillip! He never got over it and saw it as a bit of slight. Well deserved from my reading! They did do a public announcement later, which is what the Stadt Wittenberg celebration reenacts. --CTSWyneken 13:01, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther's Mother

Was she really Margareta Lindemann, as the article presently says? Other sources say M. Lindemann was the grandmother, and M. Ziegler was the mother. Because those whose last names begin with a "Z" are often not given their just recognition in this world, if the mother was indeed a Ziegler, she should be given credit for it! --StanZegel (talk) 04:01, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Excessive Pov

This is a very, very Luther is good article. I put up an POV flag and someone took it down. This isn't WikiChurch or anything. Need major editing and I can't believe my Flag was put down. It doesn't make sense.


We've worked very hard at giving an NPOV here. Can you be more specific? What do you think is POV here? Perhaps we can adjust it...

--CTSWyneken 11:00, 25 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther on Law and Gospel

I am proposing that a word(s) on Law/Gospel and a link to the article on Law and Gospel might be added to this section:

Luther's theory of grace The demanding discipline of earning academic degrees and preparing lectures drove Martin Luther to study the Scriptures in depth. Influenced by the call of humanism ad fontes—"to the sources"—he immersed himself in the study of the Bible and the early Church. Soon terms like penance and righteousness took on new meaning for Luther, and he became convinced that the Church had lost sight of several of the central truths of Christianity taught in Scripture—the most important of which being the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Luther began to teach that salvation is completely a gift of God's grace through Christ received by faith. {Luther's definition and reintroduction of the principle of the proper distinction between Law and Gospel safeguarded his theory of grace, which he believed to be the central message of Christianity.} drboisclair 00:05, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps "... by humanism's call ad fontes ("to the sources") ..." might be clearer? --StanZegel (talk) 03:56, 26 October 2005 (UTC)
Feel free to adjust it, Stan. --CTSWyneken 12:16, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
David, I like your addition very much. I'm wondering out loud, now that I read it, if we have it in the right place. (I really don't know...) When did Luther start using Law/Gospel talk? I also wonder about the title, which sounds a little awkward to me... --CTSWyneken 12:16, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
I share your concern about the chronology in putting the Law/Gospel insight in this paragraph that precedes "Indulgence Controversy"; however, it would not fit thematically in the later paragraphs. My rationalization for putting it in the "Theory of Grace" paragraph stems from the fact that there are elements that were already in that paragraph that may not have been chronologically before the "Indulgence Controversy." Law/Gospel distinction is very closely linked to Luther's doctrine of Justification by grace through faith, so this paragraph is the natural place for a reference to Law / Gospel distinction. We probably need to modify the caption a bit. I would suggest: "Luther's doctrine of Justification and proper Law / Gospel distinction". drboisclair 15:41, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
Why don't we go to the simple title: "Luther's theology of grace" and insert the word: "later" in front of the Law/Gospel paragraph?

--CTSWyneken 18:34, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and anti-Semitism

Discussion of this topic has its own talk page.

[edit] The indulgence controversy

Contrary to popular belief, Martin Luther never adequately understood the Catholic Church's teachings on indulgences. As a result, his inflammatory writings on the matter have caused much confusion, and have led many to imagine that the Church once handed out indulgences to the highest bidder, with no concern for true repentance of sins. This is, quite simply, a distortion of the actual Catholic doctrine, which was the same in the Middle Ages as it is today.

The whole controversy surrounding Luther and indulgences began when Pope Julius II decided to restore the beautiful Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, originally built by Emperor Constantine. To help pay for the project, Julius' successor, Leo X, "proclaimed and Indulgence," which stated that anyone who might contribute to the restoration of the basilica, should receive, provided they make a sincere confession, remission of the "temporal guilt" associated with their sins - that is, the punishment they might receive in purgatory. This, of course, had nothing to do with future sins the contributor might make. As ever the Church carefully administered the indulgences, and allowed them only to those confessing humbly and faithfully.

Martin Luther's sermon attacking Leo X's Indulgence contained "no accurate reasoning, no grasp of the subject, but plenty of violent declamation." He personally attacked John Tetzel, who had replied soberly to Luther's charges in defense of the Church: "I laugh at your words as I do at the braying of an ass; instead of water, I recommend to you the juice of the grape; and instead of fire, inhale, my friend, the smell of roast goose."

(See the brilliantly documented "Facts About Luther" by Msgr O'Hare.)

  • O'Hare, Patrick F. Facts About Luther. Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, 1987. ISBN 0895553228.

(originally posted in the article, instead of on the talk page, 23:56, 3 November 2005 by IsabellasKnight)

With all due respect to the sincere Roman Catholic faith expressed in these paragraphs, this is simply an historical error. Martin Luther understood the concept of indulgences that they were the remitting or waiving by the pope of temporal penalties incurred by sins that are imposed by the church in its sacrament of penance. John Tetzel and his collegues did not disabuse their listeners of their simple belief that they were buying the forgiveness of sins, that indulgences were a plenary remission of eternal penalties. Luther at first did not advocate doing away with indulgences; he wanted them used properly. It was the Roman curia and the pope who blew things out of proportion by condemning Luther because he did not accept the novel concept that there was a treasury of merits gathered up of the surplus merit of Christ and the saints. This was vaguely set up in papal decretals of the then past two centuries 1300-1500. Luther encountering intransigent opposition began to investigate further into theology. This was what he was supposed to do as a doctor of theology. He was a teacher of the church, who was responsible to warn and instruct the church catholic on the true faith. I like to remember what Danny Thomas once said some 30 years ago about Pope John XXIII that if he had been pope in 1517 the Reformation would not have occurred. This may not be an historically accurate assessment, but it argues the need to get all the facts and sit down and dialogue. Allow the fresh air to air out the stale air in the church (aggiornamento). If the one who posted these paragraphs would examine the writings of scholarly Roman Catholic theologians like Fr. Harry McSorley or Fr. Daniel Olivier, he or she would have more insight to speak on these matters. Respectfully submitted IMHO, drboisclair 16:51, 4 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther's bouts with diabolical visions

Moving this from article main page to here for discussion as likely to be controversial and currently unsourced.Gaff 23:04, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

Luther was prone to have religious hallucinations. Several times throughout his life, he claimed to have had arguments with satan while using the latrine. Apparently, he had human waste fights with satan, and by being the superior thrower, he would usually win the fights and cast the devil away. Whether this was true or whether he was insane will never be known, but it is safe to say these were strange occurences that no doubt affected him throughout his life.(edit by User: 70.33.58.128)

Luther may have thrown a bottle of ink at a vision of the devil--they still show the ink stain on the wall--but he never threw fecal material at anything. This is sheer nonsense. drboisclair 00:05, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

  • Is it?

For Luther the bathroom was also a place of worship. His holiest monuments often came when he was seated on the privy (Abort) in a Wittenburg monastery tower. It was there, while moving his bowels, that he conceived the revolutionary Protestant doctrine of justification by faith. Afterward he wrote: "These words 'just' and 'justice of God' were a thunderbolt to my conscience. . . I soon had the thought [that] God's justice ought to be the salvation of every believer. . . Therefore it is God's justice which justifies us and saves us. And these words became a sweeter message for me. This knowledge the Holy Spirit gave me on the privy in the tower."

"Well, God is everywhere, as the Vatican conceded four centuries later, backing away from a Jesuit scholar who had gleefully translated explicit excretory passages in Luther's Sammitche Schriften. The Jesuit had provoked angry protests from Lutherans who accused him of "vulgar Catholic polemics." Yet the real vulgarity lies in Luther's own words, which his followers have shelved. They enjoy telling the story of how the devil threw ink at Luther and Luther threw it back. But in the original version it wasn't ink; it was Scheisse.

That feces was the ammunition Satan and his Wittenberg adversary employed against each other is clear from the rest of Luther's story, as set down by his Wittenberg faculty colleague Philipp Melanchthon: "Having been worsted. . . the Demon departed indignant and murmuring to himself after having emitted a crepitation of no small size, which left a foul stench in the chamber for several days afterwards."

Again and again, in recalling Satan's attacks on him, Luther uses the crude verb bescheissen, which describes what happens when someone soils you with his Scheiss. In another demonic stratagem, an apparition of the prince of darkness would humiliate the monk by "showing his arse" (Steiss). Fighting back, Luther adopted satanic tactics. He invited the devil to "kiss" or "lick" his Steiss, threatened to "throw him into my anus, where he belongs," to defecate "in his face" or, better yet, "in his pants" and then "hang them around his neck."

A man who battled the foulest of fiends in der Abort and die Latrine was unlikely to be intimidated by the vaudevillian Tetzel.
William Manchester, A World Lit Only By Fire, The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance (Boston, 1992), pp.139-140

--jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 00:44, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

Mozart also made scatological references about himself, but we do not punctuate his beautiful music with flatulant bursts. This scholar is not a Luther specialist, and the primary sources adduced do not specifically say that Luther pelted his diabolic visions with dung. To say that the toilet is a place of worship is only partly true in that God is everywhere, even in filthy places, and the Christian is to pray without ceasing. To demean Luther's sense of the holy and worship is sickening and unbecoming of a scholar.

Luther is a hero with feet of clay. His genius he shares with few, his feet of clay he shares with us all. Luther labors under the disadvantage of being a famous genius, whose every communication has been stored by the world. I daresay that all of us have embarrassing secrets that we would keep hid. Unfortunately for Luther he does not have that luxury.

Luther's Table Talk is probably the source of this unsavory aspect of his life. It is probably partly to mostly true; however, Romanist polemicists have exploited and taken these aspects out of context in order to discredit Luther's message, which happens to be the true central message of Christianity in my humble opinion.

We can be like giggling children in delighting in toilet humor, or we can show respect for a great man. In the end, the fool we make of him we make of ourselves. IMHO, David R. Boisclair drboisclair 07:09, 8 November 2005 (UTC)


First of all, this is an encyclopedia article, not a book. We should put here only the most general information.

Second, simply because something is in a book doesn't make it true. What are the sources, written in the 16th Century for this information?

--CTSWyneken 11:00, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] William Manchester and Luther

I'll keep a running list of what I learn about this work under this title. The first thing I notice is that Manchester is a historian of the twentieth century, writing mostly about WWII. Medieval Mind is his only work outside that subject.

A review of the work in Word and World 14 (1994) no. 2:225-228 quotes the author's note from the work as saying: "Complete at last, this book is a source of pride, which is pleasant, though in this instance somewhat odd. It is, after all, a slight work, with no scholarly pretensions. All the sources are secondary, and few are new; I have not mastered recent scholarship on the early sixteenth century." p. xiii.

The reviewer says the work "displays a breathtaking lack of scholarship." and "obviously, the problems with this book are many. Events are sometimes related inaccurately. The conclusions drawn from particular events are often questionable. The presentation of facts is selective and biased. The method used is dubious. Someone interested in this period of history could find better books. It is hardly conceivable that one could find a worse book."

If you want to get into Luther's struggles, you need to find another work. read Obermann's Luther : man between God and the Devil and Brecht's three volume Martin Luther before adding material on this topic.

This book is not the first we hear about a preoccupation with what is called an "elimination theology": Osborne popularized this thinking with his Luther (play). I appreciate the work the above poster has brought to bear on this. drboisclair 14:56, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Featured Article?

Well guys, do you think this article meets the criteria for a featured article? Should we get an outside opinion on whether it is ready? --StanZegel (talk) 02:13, 11 November 2005 (UTC)


No, Stan, I don't think we're at all ready for prime time. We have to put the whole thing on a diet, add missing topics, as I mentioned above, etc. If David has the time, we might also get Bob Kolb's suggestions.

--CTSWyneken 11:34, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] ML & the Jews redux

I am sorry we have to go through this again. Recently we've had a long discussion that I thought ended with understanding and found a compromise. The current summary section misrepresents the content of Martin Luther and Antisemitism. Paul Johnson is a reputable Christian scholar. Why was his sourced quote removed? Even if there was "an anti-Christian pamphlet of Jewish authorship" (which one? just curious), I don't see how this can serve an excuse to calling for violence against entire Jewish communities. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 10:16, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

Luther doesn't say which one, but in the beginning of the work he explains his reason for taking up his pen on the subject. Perhaps as I complete reading the entire 66,000-word work he'll be more specific, but I haven't run across the title of the offending tract yet. --StanZegel (talk) 14:50, 11 November 2005 (UTC)
I have no problems with restoring at least the content of Paul Johnson's essay, or that of other responsible scholars, although I'd prefer to keep it a summary with a citation, rather than a quote. That avoids awkward copyright questions (which shouldn't be a prob with one this short, but I've known some authors object to being quoted without permission, even though we shouldn't have to, at least in the US. EU has a pesky moral rights clause....) We also need to remember we now have a full length sub-article on the subject and should keep the reference very short and in summary.
As far as the issue itself, I think we need to keep the discussion on the new article's talk page. --CTSWyneken 11:55, 11 November 2005 (UTC)
I've adjusted the language in the main article to improve flow. The only thing someone might object to is the removal of the Johnson quote. I believe the substance of it is in the text and the citation provides the verification that someone respected view things this way. I have no objection to further tweaks, nor, if others feel the actual quote contributes something, to restoring it.

--CTSWyneken 12:51, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

This seems a good compromise, Bob. Because an entire article devoted to this subject now exists, the issue need only be alluded to here so that the reader becomes aware of it and can click to go to the separate article for any details and nuances. I think, in light of the separate article, the present section is still too detailed. --StanZegel (talk) 14:13, 12 November 2005 (UTC)
IMHO, the current version of the summary has a couple of problems:
  1. "provoked by an anti-Christian pamphlet of Jewish origin" -- this phrase needs to be reworded or removed to make sure it can't be interpreted as if we justify calls to destroy/expel entire communities based on such "provocations".
  2. I disagree with the removal of the one-line Johnson's quote - not because I added it, but I think it makes a very important point, and Johnson is far from being alone on this. In general, giving a book title and page number is not as convincing as a quote. See WP:CITE.
  3. I would add a few words repudiating ML's views, such as 1994 Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Thanks. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 08:32, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
Johnson's quote appears in the Martin Luther and Antisemitism article, so perhaps a further internal link should allow the reader to have fast reference to it. I have adjusted the line about Luther's motivating factors in writing his tirade against the Jews. Again, the church statements quite amply covered in the ML & Antisemitism article. This is my suggestion to Humus sapiens's suggestions above. drboisclair 12:14, 14 November 2005 (UTC)
I have done some editing on this paragraph. I hope that it is helpful. I think that in the three internal links to Martin Luther and Antisemitism we are reinforcing the reader clicking it to read the whole story. drboisclair 12:35, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Elector John Frederick's Decree against the Jews 1536

Do we wish to draw attention to John Frederick's unfortunate decree against the Jews in 1536? drboisclair 12:42, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] as his answer to an anti-Christian pamphlet of Jewish origin

as his answer to an anti-Christian pamphlet of Jewish origin

Source please. Jayjg (talk) 19:26, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

because he deemed their denial of Christ to be blasphemy

Source please. Jayjg (talk) 19:27, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

please read the book. Its in the intro. Sam Spade 19:30, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Source please. Jayjg (talk) 19:28, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Source, from the opening sentences of On the Jews and Their Lies:

"I had made up my mind to write no more either about the Jews or against them. But since I learned that those miserable and accursed people do not cease to lure to themselves even us, that is, the Christians, I have published this little book, so that I might be found among those who opposed such poisonous activities of the Jews and who warned the Christians to be on their guard against them. I would not have believed that a Christian could be duped by the Jews into taking their exile and wretchedness upon himself. However, the devil is the god of the world, and wherever God's word is absent he has an easy task, not only with the weak but also with the strong. May God help us. Amen.
Grace and peace in the Lord. Dear sir and good friend, I have received a treatise in which a Jew engages in dialog with a Christian. He dares to pervert the scriptural passages which we cite in testimony to our faith, concerning our Lord Christ and Mary his mother, and to interpret them quite differently. With this argument he thinks he can destroy the basis of our faith.
This is my reply to you and to him. It is not my purpose to quarrel with the Jews, nor to learn from them how they interpret or understand Scripture; I know all of that very well already. Much less do I propose to convert the Jews, for that is impossible. Those two excellent men, Lyra and Burgensis, together with others, truthfully described the Jews' vile interpretation for us two hundred and one hundred years ago respectively. Indeed they refuted it thoroughly. However, this was no help at all to the Jews, and they have grown steadily worse.
They have failed to learn any lesson from the terrible distress that has been theirs for over fourteen hundred years in exile...."

--StanZegel (talk) 19:45, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Luther's harshness in this pamphlet was deeply deplored by his contemporaries.

This is obviously bunk, so I removed it. Sam Spade 19:30, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

This is not "obvious bunk". This is from the introduction to the translation of On the Jews and their lies: "Already upon its first appearance in the year 1543, Luther’s treatise caused widespread dismay, not only among contemporary Jews but also in Protestant circles. Melanchthon and Osiander are known to have been unhappy with its severity. Henry Bullinger, in correspondence with Martin Bucer, remarked that Luther’s views reminded him of those of the Inquisitors. And a subsequent document prepared by the churches of Zurich declared (speaking specifically of the treatise Vom Schem Hamphoras, published later in 1543), that “if it had been written by a swineherd, rather than by a celebrated shepherd of souls, it might have some—but very little—justification.” (American Edition of Luther's Works, vol. 47, p. 123).

I've re-written the section to conform with NPOV. I have a great deal of difficulty with the paraphrases of Luther's opinions used on this page, which I believe are inaccurate, so I have once again used his own words instead. Jayjg (talk) 20:29, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The relationship between Luther and the Jewish people is the subject of much controversy.

The article states The relationship between Luther and the Jewish people is the subject of much controversy. What is the source for this claim, particularly "much controversy"? Jayjg (talk) 21:49, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Jayjg, this is getting out of hand. There is a separate article about the Luther/Judiasm topic, and all of the details, charges, counter charges, proof text, counter proofs and other lengthy exposition belongs there, not in this article. The summary in this main article is a summary to alert the reader that there is more at the linked elsewhere. Every detail put here seems to require more detail to support it. This article's discussion of the subject should be merely a couple of sentences to alert the reader to click elsewhere, and I will rewrite it to that effect later. Your attempts to put sources in every line has resulted in some incorrect attributions (he did not suggest the Jews be expelled because they would not convert, but because they would continue to reject Christ and thus blaspheme. That's not in the introductory sentences I supplied at your request, it is later in the work.) and made what should be a simple paragraph come in danger of exceeding the length and detail of the subarticle to which it is intended to point the reader. As I say, I'll compose a short summary later today or tomorrow as a substitute for something that has grown too large again. --StanZegel (talk) 22:47, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

The claim that it has been the subject of "much controversy" is, in my view, quite incorrect. It was mildly controversial when written, generally not commented on for centuries, viewed with much approval by the Nazis, and finally censured in the late 20th century by almost everyone. The only "controversy" at all is a mild academic one, carried on by a small number of individuals, as to whether it is "anti-Judaism" or "anti-Semitism". The summary itself is quite short, and your "summaries" inevitably seem to contain Luther-apologetic POV, which is why direct quotes are essential. Furthermore, if Luther did indeed decry the Jews for "rejecting Christ" and "blaspheming" (which, in fact, is merely another way of saying they refused to convert to Luther's faith), then that must be directly quoted - otherwise it seems that Wikipedia itself is making the charge. Jayjg (talk) 22:57, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Yep, all those quotes will go into the subarticle on the subject. As to whether it has historically controversial or not, I don't know, but that again is a topic for the subarticle. Placing things into historical context may be seen as apolgia, but it is essential to understanding the subject. I'm leaning toward just listing the On the Jews and ... in with the other works higher up in the article and making a link to the subarticle. --StanZegel (talk) 23:21, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

I concur with Mr. Stan Zegel's proposal here. We should increase interest in the reader to look at Martin Luther and Antisemitism. drboisclair 15:47, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

If there is no evidence that it was controversial, then the statement doesn't belong on this "summary" page. An NPOV summary is both necessary and possible (and, in fact, exists now). The alternative is to restore the entire article to this page, which you removed in the first place. Continual attempts to minimize or remove any reference to this issue are simply not acceptable. Finally, if the paraphrases provided are inaccurate or POV (as they have in the past), then the actual quotes will have to stay. Jayjg (talk) 23:29, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

Friends! This discussion, and the lengthy blow-by-blow belongs in the subarticle. Please take a moment to review other encyclopedia entries on the subject. A paragraph on the subject is long. We are endeavoring to put this article on a diet because it is overlong as is and because we still have gaps in the information about Luther.
Re: much controversy; Yes, indeed, little attention was paid to Luther's remarks until Hitler used them for his twisted purposes. Now it is highly controversial, as the discussion here should tell you. It is so obvious that it wouldn't need a footnote in a university paper.
As far as quotations go, they should be used sparingly, if at all, in encyclopedias. Again, there is an active legal dispute over the publication of quotations from copyright protected work. (heard of Google Print?) Some argue that the heart of a work cannot be copied without permission at all. I think there's a weak argument for that, but we should be very careful in the use of direct quotes, IMHO. We certainly shouldn't quote Johnson in both articles. So, the question should be: is the quote so vital that a paraphrase cannot carry the point at all? I'd suggest: No. Let's leave it out here. --CTSWyneken 04:03, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
There is absolutely no copyright issue whatsoever with using quotations from works. The current issue is not with the Johnson quote, which StanZegel has already removed from the text, but with the other quotes, which Stan now proposes to remove from the text as well, along with every other piece of information about Luther and the Jews, aside from a link to the sub-articles. I repeat, Wikipedia articles summarize sub-articles in the main text, they don't just link to them. Jayjg (talk) 18:19, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I think that two issues, substantive and formal, are getting conflated here and thus leading to unnecessary counterproductivity. Here is, as I see it, the formal problem. It is well established, through a host of policies, foremost among them Wikipedia: Neutral point of view and Wikipedia:No original research that the views of editors are irrelevant to the contents of an article. The reason (at the risk of sounding pedantic) I remind yous guys of this has to do with the word "controversial." There certainly are "controversial" topics, and Luther's attitudes towards the Jews may be controversial. The sentence in question is, "The relationship between Luther and the Jewish people is the subject of much controversy." Here is the problem: it does not make clear, controversial among whom?. I raise this point because in my experience sentences like these often find there ways into Wikipedia articles when there has been a lot of contention among editors. And I believe that this is entirely inappropriate and a violation of our policies. That the question of Luther's anti-Judaism of anti-Semitism is a controversial matter among contributors working on this page, I have no doubt. But remember, editors views do not go into articles. The only thing that matters is controversies among scholars and between Jews and Protestants. This is my "formal" point: we can say that it is a matter of controversy only if the controversy is "out there," not in here.

This leads us to the substantive question. Is there a lot of controversy among scholars? This is far from my field, but as far as I know, the answer is "no." I think that most scholars acknowledge that at a certain point in his career it became evident that Luther was anti-Jew, and that this anti-Jew stance included problems he had with both Judaism and Jewish people. I also think that most Jews and Lutherans acknowledge this. I certainly remember that when the Lutherans (whatever the organ of that movement was) in effect apologized for Luther's anti-Semitism, it was a very big deal. And I was a little kid, it is not like I read the New York Times front to back every day. Like most kids I was pretty ignorant of most current affaires except for the big deals, like our losing Vietnam, Watergate, landing on the moon, and Lutherans apologizing. Anyway, that the Lutherans would apologize and that this made Jews happy signals to me that both Lutherans and Jews agreed that Luther had made many anti-Semitic remarks, i.e. there was no controversy over this.

If an editor wants to claim that I know little of the matter and that in fact there has been a lot of controversy out there (outside of this talk page, outside of Wikipedia), fine. But: show me the sources. Right now the article provides the name of one scholar, and refers to some primary sources. This to me is prima facie evidence that the topic is uncontroversial. If it were really controversial, I would expect a long list of people (scholars and leaders of the Lutheran Church and maybe even some Jews) who took one side, and a long list of people (scholars and leaders of the Jewish community, and maybe some Lutherans) who took another, irreconcilable side. I woulod expect reference to other signs of controversy: floor fights over contentious resolutions at meetings of Jewish and Lutheran religious leaders; the publication of a scholarly book that was widely attacked; a debate in an academic journal involving several scholars unfolding over several issues of the journal. To me these are all signs of controversy. Lacking them, I see no controversy. Slrubenstein | [[User talk:Slrubenstein|Talk]] 15:59, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

You have a good point. I will take the step of removing the unsubstantiated statement. drboisclair 17:02, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
If you want to take the word "controversial" out of the article, you can. But it does not change the point that it is very controversial among scholars. Take a look at the quotes and the links on the sub-page, which give just the tip of the iceberg of the debate to the level of polemics on this issue. Opposed to Johnson's book is Uwe Siemon-Netto.The Fabricated Luther: the Rise and Fall of the Shirer myth. Peter L. Berger, Foreward. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995. If you wish, I could produce a very long list of opinions on all sides of the issue. In addition, I am a published Church historian who has put quite a bit of time into studying Luther. drboisclair has a graduate degree in the field itself. Both of us are in direct conversation with Luther scholars on a regular basis. We do know what we're talking about.

--CTSWyneken 21:17, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Now that the intro sentence to the Luther and Antisemitism section of the main article has been deleted, we need to replace it with something. The section as it now reads is without transition and indication as to why we're bothering. Since I've taken a crack at it, only to be told I do not know what I'm talking about, will someone else take a crack at it?

--CTSWyneken 11:38, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

OK, what exactly are they disputing? Whether or not he was anti-Judaic/anti-Semitic? Jayjg (talk) 16:20, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
The dispute is over whether Luther possessed a hatred of Jewish people by race, in other words, that he was anti-semitic, or whether he opposed Judaism as a religion and all those who believed and practiced it, in other words, was anti-judaic. One side marshalls On the Jews and Their Lies, the other his kind personal behavior towards opponents in trouble and his occaisonal kind comments about Jewish people. --CTSWyneken 21:18, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
I see. How about "Luther has been accused of Anti-Semitism primarily in relation to his statements about Jews in his book On the Jews and their Lies, though it has been argued that Luther was expressing Anti-Judaism rather than Anti-Semitism." I only ask because that's exactly what I wrote as the first sentence of that section, two weeks ago. Jayjg (talk) 21:26, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
As far as information goes, the first sentence as is, the one you propose and the one I've written in the sub-article are fine. The problem is style. If this were turned in to me as a college paper, I would note to things: one, is that it is abrupt. In tone, it is like starting an article in the second paragraph. (at least to my ears) Second, I'd tell them to avoid passives, The purpose of my now-deleted prose is to tell people why we're discussing this, a.k.a., there is a debate about it. That gives proper transition to the matter. This is not hugely important to me. So, as long as the text is NPOV write what you wish. What suprised me is that someone who would think this as not controversial. --CTSWyneken 12:39, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

I've taken a shot at rewording this intro. Does this work? --CTSWyneken 11:00, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

While Luther's supporters are disheartened by Luther's harsh words towards the Jewish people and others, they argue that Luther's words were motivated by Judaism's rejection of Christianity rather than hatred of Jews as a race. -- I hope you do realize that if the Jews embrace Christianity, they won't be Jews anymore. Let me rephrase it: Jews were required to convert (in other words, disappear as a distinct religious group) to be tolerated. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 11:49, 18 November 2005 (UTC)
I think that you are missing the distinction between Jewish as an ethnicity and Judaism as a religion. Tkleinsc 13:36, 18 November 2005 (UTC)
It doesn't matter: Jews are ethno-religious group. They rejected ML's calls to abandon the faith of their fathers, while ML rejected their right to keep it and called to convert the Jews by any means, from "love" to violence. I think the word "race" came into the picture as a consolation: for ML supporters to feel better that they are not racists, and for Jews that the pogroms and expulsions were carried out on strictly religious basis. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 20:44, 18 November 2005 (UTC)
The point here is not to argue whether or not a Jewish person ceases to be a Jew when he or she becomes a Christian, the point has to do with what scholarly detrators and supporters of Luther believe. The Lutheran and Protestant defenders of Luther do make this point. The reader is free to make up his/her own mind about the issue. If you can find another way to say this, please feel free to edit it. I don't think it can be done without making their point go away. --CTSWyneken 04:05, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
By the way, I like the last revision; it makes the prose clearer. --CTSWyneken 04:07, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Martin Luther and the Jews - the summary needs rework

The summary needs rework. Here are some points that need to be addressed:

  • Many 21 century scholars accuse... - this sounds like "in the climate of political correctness of the 21st century, they unjustly accuse". Why the 21st century only?
  • (see, Paul Johnson A History of the Jews, 1987, p. 242) - noone is going to "see" that.
  • While Luther's supporters are disheartened... - all of them? Since when? Source please.
  • ...they argue that he was motivated by Judaism's rejection of Christianity rather than hatred of Jews as a race. - see the previous section. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 12:43, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
No, dear Humus, the new article on Luther's relationship with the Jews already has two links to it from this article, making this whole section now redundant and ready for removal, so further work on it will just go to waste. The battleground has been shifted elsewhere, with traffic directed to it, so that's where it makes sense to concentrate your efforts, because this one is going away soon. --StanZegel (talk) 17:44, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
The section is neither redundant nor will it be removed. Sections that are hived off from an article are always summarized in the main article, and the summary that was in there was reasonable and NPOV. This facet of Luther will simply not be censored from the article. Jayjg (talk) 02:01, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
Please see the second comment of Jayg under section The relationship between Luther and the Jewish people is the subject of much controversy above. The words of Luther were largely forgotten until Hitler dreged them up in the Twentieth century. The twenty-first century comment is another way to say: it is being discussed right now. It avoids the need to repeat everything in the subarticle.
For the disheartened comment, see the blow-by-blow in the subarticle. It began with Luther's best friend in 1543 already. Again, the focus is on the contemporary... well, I've been criticised for using controversy... debate. If you want to add many to those who accuse and many to his supporters if you are uncomfortable with this generality. I do not think it necessary, since every Lutheran I know IS disheartened.
Here I agree with Stan that very little should be said at all about the ... discussion of Luther and the Jews. We need enough to direct interested parties to the subarticle and no more. --CTSWyneken 01:13, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
I agree with StanZegel's proposal to provide a cursory summary of the Martin Luther and Antisemitism article here and several links to it, and removing the material that is presently here: it is simply repeated in the Martin Luther and Antisemitism article. There we can work out a proper presentation of this issue. I agree with CTSWyneken that every Lutheran I know is dismayed by this horrible tract of Luther. We speak as insiders of the Lutheran Church. Those who point out that advocating a pogrom against the Jews is antisemitic are correct in my view; hence, I believe that Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies is antisemitic. You can call it antijudaic, but it goes beyond the pale of simply polemicizing in a religious vein. Certainly Luther saw himself in the role of prophet speaking his God's judgment against opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which he believed gave him license to speak as he did. He spoke equally if not more harshly against Roman Catholics, Anabaptists, and Turks. All opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ as he understood it were of the devil. We see that although Luther advocated distinguishing "the kingdom of the left hand" (the state) from "the kingdom of the right hand" (the church) he certainly did not believe in a separation of the two as we do in 21st Century America. Religious pluralism would have been another world to Luther. I believe that Luther could have accomplished more for the gospel as he understood it if he had sought a higher road. We do not want to whitewash, but we want to be fair. We also want to construct an article in keeping with Wikipedia's laudable principles. drboisclair 03:12, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
The point is not to provide several links to the article, the point is to provide a useful enough summary here so that people understand the issue, with a link for people who want more information. Jayjg (talk) 02:01, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
  • Summary -- it is customary for a WP article to have a brief summary of its subarticles. Sure, we should be fair and neutral and express opinions of reputable scholars not our own.
  • "He spoke equally if not more harshly..." -- the following paragraph is from James Carroll's Constantine's Sword, p.426 (the highlight is mine):
Luther's biographer Richard Marius comments on this perception of Auden and others who laid the Nazi pathology at Luther's feet: "Although the Jews for him were only one among many enemies he castigated with equal fervor, although he did not sink to the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition against Jews, and although he was certainly not to blame for Adolf Hitler, Luther's hatred of the Jews is a sad and dishonorable part of his legacy, and it is not a fringe issue. It lay at the center of his concept of religion. He saw in the Jews a continuing moral depravity he did not see in Catholics. He did not accuse papists of the crimes that he laid at the feet of Jews."
  • Disheartened: -- I can provide an evidence that refutes this sentence. To be encyclopedic, I think we should say "most modern supporters..." or something like that.
  • I hope the term "battleground" refers to our collaborative editing and nothing more. As I said elsewhere, my goal is not to mar ML's name or to encourage Jewish internalization of victimhood, but rather to improve encyclopedic coverage for better understanding and mutual reconciliation. Cheers. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 10:37, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
OK, I've made an attempt to compress and copyedit the summary:
  1. replaced "21st century scholars" with "today's scholars"
  2. replaced weird non-quotation of Johnson with an even shorter quote from MacCulloch's 800-page The Reformation
  3. it's OK to say "Jews" instead of "Jewish people"
  4. removed irrelevant "race" remark -- see above
  5. disheartened, but... -- see above
  6. removed "as a response" -- this sounds like a blame game.
  7. final sermon - he argues for their conversion again, so I thought this doesn't add much to the topic. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 12:02, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Well, Humus, you have indeeded shortened it. Somewhat in the same manner as taking out the "N" shortens "NPOV." That is a prime example of why the issue is now a separate article -- so that a fair and balanced presentation can be made -- because there is no way to fairly summarize such a complex topic in only a sentence, and more than a sentence would be disproportionate in this article. This POV "summary" is not helpful. --StanZegel (talk) 14:05, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

The Martin Luther and Antisemitism article deals with more than its present title, and is no longer really a subarticle of this one. It is an article on its own, althought it should be renamed Martin Luther and the Jews, in which Antisemitism and Antijudiasm are topics. --StanZegel (talk) 13:45, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

All articles about Martin Luther are sub-articles of this one, or should be. That's the way Wikipedia works. Jayjg (talk) 02:01, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
I am ready to discuss the edits one by one. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 01:53, 22 November 2005 (UTC)
I think we're getting much closer on this one. I think we should move both quotes to the sub-page, since this is a summary. There may be some room to condense language further, which I could also attempt. I'd keep in mind, of course, trying to summarize both sides of the debate. I'm thinking of also moving the first paragraph to the last, if it will work stylistically. Then I think we should evaluate its placement within the article as a whole. Does this work for everyone? --CTSWyneken 10:41, 23 November 2005 (UTC)
I am strongly against [re]moving the quote. Length-wise, it is nothing to talk about. One short quote makes a very important point much more authoritatively than any editorializing (which does not belong in a serious encyclopedia anyway). ←Humus sapiens←ну? 11:02, 23 November 2005 (UTC)
The problem is that a quote from the other side, then, is needed. I fear that if we go down that path, we end up duplicating the work in the subarticle. This is supposed to be a summary, so I'd like to keep the quotations in the subarticle.
Do you know of other wiki summaries of subarticles that have them. In my experience in the non-electronic world, summaries rarely do. --CTSWyneken 16:32, 23 November 2005 (UTC)
Here are a few good reasons NOT to remove quotes: WP:CITE, WP:NOR and WP:V. Please provide reasons to remove the one-line quote.
Other articles: all over WP. Search for "said" and "writes" in History of England, for example.
I wonder, what "other side" are you talking about? Please note that I left the phrase about "disheartened" Luther's supporters. Frankly, I think we should have mentioned the "disheartened" Jews instead. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 06:32, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
Thanks for the links. I will check them.
The reason for not having the quote in the summary is we have a page full of them on the Martin Luther and the Jews page. It would be good to have this one there as well. It is not the inclusion of citations in an article, per se, that I'm questioning (even though standard encyclopedias do not do this or even so much as footnote) It is in a summary of a subarticle. The point in having a subarticle is to keep main articles to a manageable size.
The "Other Side" is those who see Luther as "anti-Judaic." There's also a book I have yet to read that reexamines Hitler's use and mis-use of Luther. The author may well have a different perspective than the quoted scholar. My point is that, if we start throwing around quotes, this summary will grow, defeating the purpose of a summary and of the subarticle.
I suspect Jews are a great deal more than disheartened about Luther's comments. Perhaps we should say that, and that other Christians are not happy about it either. But then, the text grows...
So, you make my point. In fact, I'd prefer to reduce the size of the summary even further, if we can find a way to do it and remain NPOV. If you can find another way to express the Lutheran reaction to Luther's words and the charge of anti-semitism that fairly relfects their viewpoint, please suggest it.
Please note under topics above that I'm convinced the whole article needs to be reduced. I'm concerned that a casual reader will not bother with it because of its size. So, if this issue can be resolved, I can go back to putting the whole thing on a diet. This is especially critical, since the whole of Luther's story has yet to be resolved.--CTSWyneken 15:04, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
Having checked the History of England, is see only one quote in a in one subarticle summary. There is a precedent, allebeit small, for doing this. Do you know of others?--CTSWyneken 15:14, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
The Wiki policies you've quoted are very interesting. It is comforting to know I've been proceeding in this fashion. On the point of the quotation in the summary: we certainly have all we say documented in the bibliography at the bottom of the page and in the subpage. I'm not saying these quotes are unworthy of being shared, just they should be on the subpage. I'm looking to summarize the content of the subarticle here and roll out the documentation in detail in the subarticle. --CTSWyneken 15:25, 24 November 2005 (UTC)
Perhaps we could remove the sentence about Luther's followers being disheartened or another which would remove the need for the quotation. However, I think that we would need a quotation like that of James Kittelson that in his opinion Luther's writings on the Jews were not Antisemitic. In a way the quotation as it stands piques the reader's interest to read more. The good thing about coming to a common understanding about this article is that once it is formed, then all of us can defend it against mutilation. drboisclair 10:47, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
BTW, should we perhaps change "racial" to "ethnic" in the sentence "In his 1523 essay That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, Luther distinguished between the religious and racial aspects of the Jews, reminding his followers that Jews were related to Jesus by blood." This would be more accurate anthropologically. To say that the Jewish people are a different race than other peoples was a myth spawned by Hitler. Of course, leaving it in speaks to the Antisemitism debate. drboisclair 10:57, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
Let me say that I personally admire ML as a revolutionary who influenced the entire Western civilization for centuries ahead, but he was only a human and a product of his time.
I understand the quote mentioning Kristallnacht makes some uncomfortable. Please reread the quote in question: note its size and substance. It doesn't say anything about Anti-Semitism or Anti-Judaism (have we resolved this already?) The quote is one-line long, it is ludicrous to even talk about the length.
Several similar (if not harsher) opinions by other reputable scholars can be provided by request. We haven't even mentioned the opinions of Jewish historians on the subject. We can compare the events of Kristallnacht against ML's 8-point program. Unless you can prove that many reputable scholars hold an opposite opinion, the quote should stay. You may remove all the editorializing though. See also WP:RS. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 11:50, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
It really isn't relevant whether I'm comfortable with the Kristalnacht quote or whether I think the historian can make the case for the direct connection between Luther's views and the event. I give him the benefit of a doubt on that score until I've examined the evidence. I have no problem with the quote moving to the subarticle, nor with quotations from Jewish historians, Catholic historians, or reputable historians of any type. I'm not trying to dodge this issue and I strongly believe you're not in it to destroy Luther.
My concern is not over a one sentence quote overlenghthening the article. (although, it is amazing how cutting three words here, two there can streamline a piece). My concern is that a summary will begin to lengthen to the extent where it duplicates the subarticle. As the above indicates, we will end up adding at least one more, for I agree with David that counterbalance is needed here. That having been done, your point is well taken that we should quote a Jewish scholar. But, having done that...
The trick, IMHO, is to keep the main article about Luther and the subarticle about the interpretation of his words and their effects to this day.
The purpose of the subarticle is to prevent this issue, loaded with emotion, from overwhelming the whole Luther article. So, I'd still like to move the quote. If you are unwilling to do so, I'd recommend finding a broader quote from the subarticle, adding David's Kittelson quote, or take a counter-quote from this Siemon-Netto passage:
Of course, it was the Jews, not the Germans, who suffered the kind of fate Luther predicted for them—and worse. But does this make him the Nazis’ progenitor, as his detractors assert? Clearly not. Most of Luther’s anti-Jewish diatribes were forgotten until anti-Semites dug them up in the 20th century. To suggest that Lutheran theology turned Germans into Nazis is a false charge that simply cannot be substantiated by the facts..
But I fear the article will start saying: "C'mom and feed me..."--CTSWyneken 13:35, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

I know there is continuing controversy here, over a difficult topic. For what it is worth, the current version (the timestamp of this comment minus two minutes) looks pretty good to me. Personally — I mean, this is not something I would want to get into an argument over — I would delete the sentence about most Lutherans feeling disheartened, which is vague and unsourced. Instead, I would quote one or two official Lutheran statements recanting Luther's anti-Semitism. Recanting or retracting or apologizing is a stronger statement than "disheartened" and in my opinion more meaningful — and of course it can be backed up with a verifiable source.

As to the discussion above: from the point of view of Jews, whether they are persecuted because of their race or their relion may not really matter to them, and I certainly do not think that this is relevant to this article. But whether Luther's antagonism towards Jews is motivated by, or takes the form of criticisms of, their race or their religion does seem to me to be important. This is not an arbitrary distinction and which one Luther appealed to at which time tells us something about the times in which Luther lived and the evolution of his thinking — two topics that are quite relevant to this article.

As to the link between Luther and Nazis, well, I think every scholar studying the Holocaust believes that 19th and 20th century anti-Semitism has roots in Christianity, whether the Gospel according to John or certain writings by Luther — but they also see anti-Semitism as such to be a modern phenomenon with other causes. Put another way, Luther's anti-Semitism (and/or anti/Judaism) was both the reflection or product of his time, and also contributed to the general culture of Protestant Europe (I would say the same about Hitler or Ghandi: their evil (or goodness) was both something they learned from their environment and something they contributed to their environment. In other words, I do not think this is a very controversial claim). The question is, how to express this as succinctly as possible and in accordance with our NPOV policy.

It appears to me that most contributers are differing over matters of degree and wording. In general and in principle I agree with and support everything Jayjg has recently written here. This article must have a summary of the linked article on Luther and the Jews. The summary has to comply with NPOV, and it has to be as brief as possible without sacrificing any major point of the linked article.

Despite weeks of controversy I see a lot of good will on all sides. I am certain that with time, patience to mull over different changes, and open discussion we will end up with a satisfactory summary pretty soon, Slrubenstein | [[User talk:Slrubenstein|Talk]] 00:38, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

I appreciate the sentiment of the above comments. I do think we're now on the same wavelength, more or less.
I still want to ask: do we need any quotes here at all to summarize the subarticle? If so, why? If we take the quote as stands out and the "disheartened" sentence, does it fairly represent the content of the subarticle, or not?
If some folk still think we need a quotation, I'd propose the following changes: Substitute the current quote with one that says: 'Luther was Antisemitic.' Then we'll have Dave Boisclair add the Kittelson quote that says: 'no, he was anti-judaic.' Then we delete the disheartened line and all agree to revert any changes made to the summary unless argeed upon by all on this talk page.
What think ye all?

--CTSWyneken 13:56, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree with Slrubenstein, especially in regard to both the current content and the "disheartened" phrase. The article from 1906 ed. of Jewish Encyclopedia is one example contradicting the statement that "Most of Luther’s anti-Jewish diatribes were forgotten until anti-Semites dug them up in the 20th century." ←Humus sapiens←ну? 08:27, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
I agree with Slrubenstein as well. Jayjg (talk) 06:39, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
I can do without the "disheartened" line, if you all can do without the quotation. This line was intended to provide a transition into the topic when it began with an abrupt launch into the topic. Now that it is at the end, it is no longer necessary. It's intent was to show the view of contemporary view of Lutherans and, if we must keep a quote, is not needed if we have a counter balancing quote.
Re: the article in the Jewish Encyclopedia, please do summarize it in the subarticle. It is an important part of the subject which is to set forth data about Luther's views, its context and the way these comments have been received through history, their influence and their meaning. The article is weak in the times between the end of Luther's life and the Nazi era.
So, to me, the remaining issue is: should we by-pass quotations in the antisemitism vs. antijudaic debate, resulting in the smallest possible summary, or should we put one from each side in?
So, friends, which way do you want to go? --CTSWyneken 14:49, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
I have a feeling we are going in circles. What are you trying to counterbalance? ←Humus sapiens←ну? 22:33, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
No circles at all. In fact, I think we're close to resolution.
What I mean by counterbalance is what I've said earlier -- their is a charge that Luther was antisemitic. There is a reply that he was not, that he was antijudaic.
If we include a quote with the charge, NPOV requires a quote from the other side. So, I'm proposing we cut the quote and the disheartened sentence and let the summary carry the content and the subarticle the detail.
If this is not agreeable among us, I'm proposing trading out the current quote for one that says "Luther was antisemitic" and another that says "no, he was not." We would then kill the disheartened quote. --CTSWyneken 03:25, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
Please correct me if I misunderstand. If you are arguing for the removal of the quote by MacCulloch, I insist that it is tiny and crucially important and therefore should stay. As for AS vs. AJ: why introduce controversy in the summary? I think we should replace the "disheartened" text with a short quote by ELCA and move on. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 04:08, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
Two reasons to remove the quote:
MacCulloch should go because it introduces a new issue. It charges that the Nazis were inspired by Luther's work to Kristallnacht, which is not even in the subarticle. This one is, if possible, even more disputed. To use it alone is to violated clearly NPOV.
By taking up a charge not in the subarticle, it ceases to be a summary.
My proposal is that should we keep quotes, that they address the main issues in the subarticle.
But you still have yet to tell us why it is crucial to add a quote in a summary of a very well documented subarticle. I need something more than It's vital since I can assert it's not I've given reasons having to do with the function of a summary and a subarticle. What reasons do you have?
re the disheartened line, I don't see a purpose in having it anymore at all. If you'd find it important in a historical article to have the opinion of contemporary Lutherans, then the LCMS statement and the WELS statement should be in play. But, in the current form of the article, I don't think we need anything like it at all.
So, in short, I still would like to have a good reason to have a quote at all in the article. If you have none, then I recommend we simply drop quotes here. The subarticle has plenty. If you must have a quote, I'll not go along with MacCulloch for the above reasons. Pick one that summarizes the whole subarticle and let's ask drboisclair to quote Kittelson in reply. --CTSWyneken 11:44, 28 November 2005 (UTC)
Maybe my liking of the MacCulloch quotation is for the wrong reason. It is provocative and to the point. Have it there along with the Kittelson quotation that is also succinct and thought provoking to get the reader reading more on the subject. I must say that this editors' debate has inspired me as well as others to do our research in order to be fair to all concerned. I think that courtesy is much valued and appreciated among scholars and editors. We have enough to deal with with the vandals who like sacking us as they sacked Rome in 455 A.D. Best wishes. drboisclair 19:24, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

The MacCulloch quote is brief and to the point - without it, 2/3 of the paragraph is a defence of Luther's statements about Jews, which is hardly reasonable, given that they are basically indefensible. Jayjg (talk) 21:06, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

MacCulloch introduces a new charge left unanswered in your version. It is very POV. Current edition is to the point, summarizes the subarticle and is balances the main charge with a response from Luther's defenders. I still think the quotes are unneeded. But, if we must have quotes, I cannot accept MacCulloch, for it distorts the whole article, esp. if it is left to stand alone. --CTSWyneken 01:28, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

I have added the Kittelson quotation for balance giving his scholarly view of Luther in this matter too. drboisclair 22:38, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

This section is too long. Please continue at #The way the summary stands. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 01:57, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Recent edits of concepts of indulgences and sacrifice

An editor recently removed "a good deed offered to God" in the discription of the Eucharist as sacrifice. This phrase is precisely what the term "sacrifice" means. The RC Church believes that the Eucharist is something that the church offers to God to propitiate Him for the sins of the living and the dead. In recent years it has clarified itself to point out that the Eucharist is the church's participation in the one sacrifice of Christ, but that was not clearly held at the time of Luther. The phrase is needed to define what "sacrifice" means. Also the editor added the term "forgiven" to sins confessed that are the subject matter of indulgences. This may be a modern view of the RC Church, but it was not the position of the RC Church of Luther's day. "Absolution" or "forgiveness" conferred by the priest on the penitent was merely the reduction of the eternal penalties of his sins into temporal penalties, which were then dealt with either by satisfactions, time in purgatory, or indulgences. Forgiveness was contingent upon the completion of satisfactions for the temporal penalties. The RC Church may have modified their stance in the present day. drboisclair 03:37, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Hi Drboisclair. I'm responsible for those edits. My objection to "a good deed offered to God" was that it seemed to trivialize the Eucharist. A "good deed offered to God" could be Saint Therese of Lisieux giving her best smile to a nun who was getting on her nerves, whereas the teaching of the Catholic Church is that the Mass is Calvary made present in an unbloody manner. I disagree that it wasn't clearly held at the time of Luther. I have the three-volume edition of The Faith of the Early Fathers (William A. Jurgens) in front of me, and there are many early quotations showing that the Eucharist is the sacrifice of Calvary. I'm pretty sure I've also seen that in Saint Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica, and in the two-volume Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, edited by Norman Tanner. (Only Volume One would predate Luther, but still.)
I'm not keen on your recent edit saying that the Eucharist is "something people offer to God rather than something they receive from God". Yes, it's a sacrifice to God, but it is also something that we receive from God. I have removed that part of the sentence.
I've also tried again to clarify indulgence. You said in your edit summary that "forgiveness implies no penalties". I don't think that is the case. A mother can hug a contrite child after telling him that he won't get any pocket money for the next four weeks. Absolution is not just converting eternal punishment into temporal punishment. You can be validly absolved from venial sins, which do not incur eternal punishment. Valid absolution removes guilt, reduces punishment, and brings grace, for example, help in struggling against a particular sin to which one has an inclination. I removed "certificate". It may be true that certificates were issues; nevertheless, the certificate was not the indulgence, and an indulgence can certainly be granted without the certificate.
I hope you found my recent edit clearer. Regards, Ann Heneghan (talk) 13:23, 21 November 2005 (UTC)


Your most recent edits have clarified matters. It is good to get collaboration from all in this project. Of course, you must remember that the Council of Trent was after 1517, and some of the things nailed down in it for Roman Catholics were not nailed down then. When I get a chance I will check my St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica out of interest and my personal reference. Please, when you want to make major changes, though, (which you haven't) you might share them with the rest of us before making them. Thank you and blessings, D. Boisclair drboisclair 15:47, 21 November 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Streamlining, Checking

I vaguely remember this comment being challenged as authentic:

After disregarding Luther as "a drunken German who wrote the Theses" who "when sober will change his mind,"

and also one not in the article by Elector Frederick:

"You will see that the Pope will not like this"

Does anyone have a source for them?

I'd also like to delete, if there are no objects, the details below, in interest of saving space:

and he even began to think that Antichrist ruled the Curia. He had already asserted at least the potential fallibility of a council representing the Church, and repudiating what he held to be the abuse of the practice of excommunication on the part of the pope, he was led by his concept of the way of salvation to hold that the Church in essence is the congregation of the faithful, a view foreshadowed in the thought and writings of John Wycliffe, Pierre d'Ailly, and Jan Hus.
interpreting the transubstantiation of the bread as the transformation of the faithful into the spiritual body of Christ, that is, into fellowship with Christ and the Saints through the reception of the True Body and Blood of Christ Jesus Himself. The Eucharist is, moreover, for the forgiveness of sins. Christ is known to be found in the elements of bread and wine in this meal because he has promised to be there; the words "This is my body" are spoken by the Lord, and what God says happens, just as light came to be when God pronounced his fiat in Genesis. Because of this understanding of the Eucharist,

Enough for now. 8-) --CTSWyneken 14:24, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Would also like to delete the following:

However, looting expeditions and outrages against the Church on the part of armed bands of noblemen and their henchmen continued, motivated by greed and a desire not to pay debts incurred by borrowing from the Church. One such was led by Nickel von Minkwitz against the Bishop of Lebus, Georg von Blumenthal. Minkwitz stormed the episcopal residence at Fürstenwalde, and the Bishop had to escape in disguise.
A similar attempt to kidnap the same bishop was perpetrated in his other See at Ratzeburg.
Luther resented Germany's domination by the Catholic Church, and these nationalist feelings may have motivated the Reformation to some extent. During the Peasants' War, Luther continued to stress obedience to secular authority; many may have interpreted this doctrine as endorsement of absolute rulers, leading to acceptance of monarchs and dictators in German history. --CTSWyneken 14:06, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The way the summary stands

I commend the editors who have constructed the paragraph on Martin Luther and the Jews in this article. I think that a consensus has been achieved that satisfies the NPOV, etc. I congratulate you, gentlemen and ladies, for your good editing. The article is doing well on its diet. Now, of course, we must have eternal vigilance against all those Vandals. We will not sleep, Vandals! drboisclair 19:30, 28 November 2005 (UTC)

Sorry, I can not promise not to sleep.
On the serious note, with all due respect I strongly object to CTSWyneken's latest changes. One thing is to quote a Christian scholar's uncontroversial passage from a 800-page monograph. Yes, uncontroversial: did any serious historian object that LM's 8-point plan was a blueprint for the Kristallnacht? I hoped to avoid this but if you still insist that it is controversial, here is a reminder what we are talking about:
  1. Burn synagogues
  2. Destroy Jewish homes
  3. Take away Jewish holy books
  4. Forbid rabbis to teach
  5. Forbid Jews from traveling
  6. Restrict occupations available to Jews
  7. Forced labor
  8. If the above fails (Jews do not convert = won't disappear), expel them
OTOH, Telushkin's "the most anti-semitic writings produced in Germany until the time of Hitler" may be discarded as a strawman, because there were Adolf Stoecker, Heinrich von Treitschke, Wilhelm Marr, etc. The quote is from a book popularizing history and literacy, and naturally it contains some shortcuts.
Do you remember why the Johnson's quote was moved away from main article? This entire quote shuffling is disturbing. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 02:13, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
My question, Humus, is: Is the paragraph as it stands at the time of this post that I am posting now OK? I would urge you to put more information about this in the Martin Luther and the Jews article. We should really in extenso deal with the issue there. My proposal would be to leave the summary as it is at this very moment. What is your view? Having both quotations piques the readers interest to look at Martin Luther and the Jews. There, we need as much material on this as we can reasonably put into it. drboisclair 02:37, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
Yes (thanks for asking, David); I would add a short quote from ELCA or some such source of your choice. The ML&J needs additional info and some rewriting. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 02:56, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
Would such a quotation be necessary in your opinion, considering the putative design to put the article "on a diet" figuratively speaking? drboisclair 03:27, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
I could live without it. In general, I prefer quotes of reputable mainstream views, tables, numbers and bulletpoints. I hope my efforts are taken as intended, in good faith. Thank you. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 04:15, 29 November 2005 (UTC)


First, let me say, that I'm unhappy that Jayjg began editing this section without finishing our dialog. I felt that the only option left was to edit out the quotes. He restored them. At that point, the quotes were unbalanced. So I fixed them. Now you have restored them, again, without discussing them. While you have a right to do so, I find this bad form.
You may recall that I've been arguing for no quotes. This is a summary. You are welcome to add the quotes to the subpage. Tables, graphs, etc.
Next, you seem to have missed my point about MacCulloch. The quote does not reflect the substance of the article. This is supposed to be a summary. The Telushkin quote was the best I could do in a hurry. This is a very busy time at a graduate school library. If you'll check, you'll notice I never had trouble with the Johnson quote per se.
On the content of the quote, I have a lot to say about it, but, frankly, it is not my place or yours to argue the merit of a scholar's opinion or to promote one over the other in this encyclopedia. We are to present both sides. If you wish to see just the beginning of what scholars say in reply, see the subarticle, where some of the counter argument is made. Read the Siemon-Netto article also for a summary of his book The Fabricated Luther. There are many others on both sides. Remember my fears about the summary growing? Here we are.
My agrument has always been there should be no quotes at all in the summary. I've given endless reasons for this. On the other side, I have not seen any reason given other than because I say so.
Why must there be quotes in a summary at all? --CTSWyneken 12:17, 29 November 2005 (UTC)
Here are a few reasons: WP policies of WP:CITE, WP:V, WP:RS, WP:NOR.
Need more? Whether it is your intention or not, uncorroborated editorializing is not as convincing as a quotation from a reputable Christian scholar. The content of MacCulloch's quote is very much mainstream. Moreover, since it states plain fact, why does it even need "counterbalancing"? Of course there were plenty of ML's apologists in the last 550+ years (and clearly not enough critics of his "tolerance" of the Jews for 490 years), but to present their views as neutral in 2005 would be a violation of NPOV.
Siemon-Netto ("Anti-Semites are racists..." is just another self-serving and self-consoling apologist, though mild. Here are a few of the strawmans he sets:
  • "the Nazis’ progenitor..." - One thing is indirect influence and another to be a the progenitor.
  • "Most of Luther’s anti-Jewish diatribes were forgotten until anti-Semites dug them up in the 20th century." - wrong, c.f. Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906.
  • "To suggest that Lutheran theology turned Germans into Nazis is a false charge..." - of course it is a false charge, that is how strawman works.
To reiterate: ML advocated violent destruction/expulsion of entire communities, he was not interested in intricacies of Judaism, so when ML is called merely anti-Judaic, a source must be weighed.
Yes, this is a summary section. It doesn't mean that a tiny but authoritative quote must be whisked away.
The subarticle will be edited/expanded. As you know, WP aricles are not set in stone, they are open and evolving, so "does not reflect the substance" is another ridiculous argument. I hope my latest edits of the subarticle made the relevancy a little clearer.
I must note with irony that the initial reaction of some editors here, as well as repeated attempts to sweep facts and quotes under the rug, whitewash or set a strawman arguments are disheartening. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 03:30, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
The policies you quote are not relevant to a summary. A summary, at least in the real world, sum up the main points of what is summarizes. I don't think that wikipedia has changed the meaning of that word, has it? The point is to give enough of the content so that the reader knows if they want to read the subarticle.
Please note that all of the quotations you've all suggested are now in the subarticle. I will expand with opposing views as time permits. When the article grows, the summary can grow. We still do not need quotes here. THe section is dependent on the subarticle.
It is your point of view that MacCulloch is plain fact. Siemon-Netto, also a Ph. D. in History, who studied under Peter Berger (not exactly a conservative) and under many of the leading scholars in Luther studies, who also is a journalist who covered the building and the falling of the Berlin Wall, the Viet Nam war and many of the events of the Cold War and the years following, thinks otherwise. His book details this with full documentation. The article is cited because it is online and the book is not. The article, therefore is a summary. The documentation is in the book. Who are you or I to judge in an encyclopedia who is mainstram. To flat out pre-judge anothers views and to slander them in not NPOV at all. I did not slander MacCulloch. I suggest you do not slander Siemon-Netto, whose family resisted the Nazis.
Note that I did not say that Siemon-Netto's comments are neutral. They take a side in a debate, just as MacCulloch does. If MacCulloch goes in, then I'll insist so does Siemon-Netto. If you, then, insist on another quote, in goes one from the other side. What then becomes of the summary?
There is no whitewash here. Everything that has ever been in the main article is now in the subarticle and more. Since you have just dropped by here, you may not have noticed that I have been editing this article for over a year. I did not touch a word in the section other than to prevent promotion of a copyright violation.
I also expect civility from you. I have not belittled your arguments, questioned your motives, called you or others names. I expect the same respect from you that I have shown you.
So, in short, I do not accept your argument that MacCulloch is NPOV. He is most certainly POV. Do you have something else? --CTSWyneken 03:42, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
  • The policies you quote are not relevant to a summary. - is this a new policy? Proof please.
  • are now in the subarticle - as we both know, the majority of our readers won't bother to open it. Especially with such a favorable summary.
  • When the article grows, the summary can grow. - sorry, that is not how WP works.
  • I do not accept your argument that MacCulloch is NPOV. He is most certainly POV - I challenge you to compare the 8-point plan and what happened on Nov. 10, 1938. Please do tell us the result.
  • you have just dropped by here, etc. - Please refrain from personal attacks and focus on an argument not a person. Regards. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 06:09, 30 November 2005 (UTC)
I will examine a wide range of articles, when time permits, looking for evidence of quotes in summaries, so far, with your help or that of others, I've seen only one in one of several in the History of England article, I believe. I will also look for the policies on summaries and subarticles. Can you demonstate a policy that says quotes must or should or even are good to include in summaries.
How do you know that people will not click through? In my general experiece with links on the net, people do click through. The email I've received over twelve years of offering text on the internet demonstrates they do this in general. I do not know that this pattern does or does not continue here, but I think we can expect that those interested in the topic will do so. In addition the general wiki philosophy that this is not a paper encyclopedia encourages as many articles and, I believe, subarticles as well.
My view or yours on the facts do not matter, as you have repeatedly argued by citing policies on quoting. If someone charges Luther with causing the Holocaust or making it possible, and other scholars dispute that conclusion, by definition both are POVs. In this case, NPOV is to quote or summarize both.
If you took the just dropped by here note as a personal attack, I apologize. It was intended to point out that your attack on my character, that of a scholar and other wikipedians was not true. So, I'd ask you to refrain from personal attacks as well. --CTSWyneken 11:55, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

I'll get back into this later when I have some time, but I think it is important to remember that while some may want to go out of their way to force into the reader's mind at every opportunity that Luther had to be a horrible person because of some remarks about Jews, the place to tar and feather him is in the article on that subject. As long as there are links (and there are now three links from this article to Martin Luther and the Jews), there is no need to start the attack here. Readers more interested in Luther's thoughts about the Jews than his work in translating the Bible will easily be able to find the red carpet to that article. As for Luther, he spent less time thinking about Jews than he did about Christ, the Bible, Theology and other things more important to him. This redundant summary of another article is already about as long as the section on his translations of the Bible. I think even the shortened version by CTSWyneken is too detailed, and I wonder why there is even (other than advocacy for a POV) a "summary" on this topic at all, when there is none on any of the other See Also entries. This topic should be no different. --StanZegel (talk) 13:24, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

I want to urge brevity in the summary. Wouldn't it be in line with NPOV simply to state the thesis (some scholars accuse Luther of Antisemitism in his relations with Jewish people) and the antithesis (other scholars disagree) and have them go to Martin Luther and the Jews for the full presentation with extensive quotes? The less said, the more people will want to look at the other article. Please let us come to a consensus here. Perhaps the answer here is simply to provide links in this article to the other article without the summary. I think that the summary is helpful. Doesn't the summary as it now stands present enough of the material pro and con to obviate the need to expand it? drboisclair 15:59, 30 November 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Why MacCulloch quote is important

Perhaps I should explain why I consider the quote by MacCulloch so important to be in the summary.

  • If there is some special exemption policy for summaries, I'd like to know it. Our guide is WP:RULES.
Nothing on this page refers to quotations, or any of its subpages refer to quotations. It mentions and encourages citation, but even at that does not insist on it. Is there a policy that requires quotations?
Please note the section above on data from articles with subarticles and summaries. I intend to expand them. So far, the evidence is that the prevailing practice is not to include quotations in summaries. --CTSWyneken 04:25, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
  • Coming from an authoritative Christian scholar, a brief quote is much more convincing than editorializing or a reference.
I will do a little research on MacCulloch. I have only your word that he is a reputable scholar and that this work is well-regarded. I'd give you the benefit of a doubt, were that you were not staking so much on it. --CTSWyneken 04:25, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
  • I agree with those who consider the quote "to the point": in one short line it gives the essense of ML's 8 policies, avoiding superfluous accusations or excuses.
Without the quotations, we avoid these problems. --CTSWyneken 13:41, 1 December 2005 (UTC)


  • You may consider this issue minor or unimportant. IMHO, a serious encyclopedic article on Luther is incomplete without outlining the 8-pt plan.
The Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia Vol. 16, 261-264, includes only the following words on Luther and the Jews: "he felt burdened by the resurgence of the papacy and by what he preceived as an attempt by the Jews to take advantage of the confusion among Christians and reopen the question of Jesus' messaihship. Apprehensive about his own responsibility for this situation, he wrote a violent polemic against the Jews, as well as polemics against the papacy and the radical wing of the reformers" --CTSWyneken 04:25, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
  • I insist on mentioning an indirect relation between the 8-pt plan and the Kristallnacht in the article (a subarticle can go deeper). Nowadays, people are busy, they won't click on (or print out) most links.
Why? The charge is not outlined in the Holocaust article at all. It is a highly contested conclusion, as the subarticle points out. --CTSWyneken 04:25, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
  • The subject of this discussion reminds me of the importance of the printed word. Despite of our minor differences here, I strongly believe in good faith. We should preach/practice tolerance toward the other as a part of education and reconciliation. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 00:00, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
Exactly why I'm not trying to hide Luther's very violent, unacceptible rhetoric. Also why I've promoted a subarticle to do the conversation and its related debates justice. --CTSWyneken 13:42, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

Dear Humus, don't you think that the MacCullouch quotation gives the impression that Luther is directly responsible for the Kristallnacht and the Nazis? Why not the Johnson quotation or the Telushkin quotation? Quoting it in that succinct manner may give the reader the impression that Luther wanted such a manifestation like the Third Reich. His program in "Von den Jueden ..." was used by others over 400 years after it was written. Quoting from MacCulloch obscures the fact that others 400 years later used Luther's writings. It must be put in context, which is done in the ML and the Jews article. drboisclair 00:40, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

No, I don't think "a blueprint" implies direct responsibility. I don't think that today's Lutherans should feel responsible for his plan at all, as long as they denounce it as a part of his legacy. We should point out that ML was a medieval man who lived 400 years before 1938.
I think it is important to briefly outline the substance of his plan: it was not an abstract hatred but a detailed plan of actions. We all (the humanity) are hurt because such a plan (not necessarily his, but similar) was indeed implemented. Had we (the humanity) raised the awareness of (and stood against) the hate speech earlier, numerous lives would have been spared. I strongly feel it is our common responsibility today. The Johnson's quote works also but I think it is not as precise. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 01:22, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
Wanting to make a charge or accusation in a prominent place, afraid that the spin will be missed because "people are busy, they won't click on (or print out) most links" and thus see it in its proper place, is a misuse of Wikipedia. Such an argument is a confession of trying to push a POV. Whether Luther liked or disliked Jews really doesn't matter very much in the big picture, but if you want to wallow in it, the subarticle is the place to fight it out, where the battle of scholarly quotations can take place. If you are afraid that people reading this article won't be as interested as you seem to be in your contention, well, too bad. But this is not the place to try to prove your point. There are plenty of places in this article that give anyone who cares about it a chance to go to Martin Luther and the Jews, and for those who just don't care to do so, that is their choice. No one is suppressing the three links that are already here to the topic, but we don't need to repeat the arguments here because every point you try to raise here to push your POV then requires a counter-point. That's why we have the other article, and this summary is already too detailed. If one is working on the Martin Luther article in good faith, then I would expect to see entries in other parts of the article too: expanding info on his translation of the Bible, more about the Catechisms, his theology. If one spends all of his time on only one aspect, then that seem to me prima facie evidence of a POV agenda, and the bad faith that such an editor exhibits, in my opinion, needs to be dealt with in an appropriate manner. --StanZegel (talk) 02:54, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

One other argument against the inclusion of the MacCulloch quotation is that it is irrelevant to Luther himself, which is the subject of the article. MacCulloch is giving his own POV as to the 20th Century use of Luther's treatise. It would be similar to putting a quotation in the article about Niccolò Machiavelli about the manner his work "The Prince" was used, for example, by Benito Mussolini. Luther's work "On the Jews ..." was used by the Nazis as their blueprint of the Krystallnacht. Luther did not conceive of a Krystallnacht. To accuse Luther of coming up with the "blueprint of the Krystallnacht" is a gross anachronism. Whether or not any of his writings were used by persons in the 20th Century is irrelevant to this article. It might be relevant to an article on Antisemitism, Nazism, or Medieval Antisemitism. It would be germane to the ML and the Jews article or an article on the treatise in question, but not this article. The quotation also intrudes another topic into the summary, which makes for further point counterpoint as Stanley Zegel has pointed out above. Besides, the summary by its nature should be of a general character. It would be redundant to place the quotation here and in the ML & t J article. For these reasons and for the reasons that CTSWyneken and Stanley Zegel have adduced I oppose inclusion of the MacCulloch quotation here. Please think about these valid reasons against inclusion. Let the debate be joined where it needs to be: in the Martin Luther and the Jews article. Respectfully submitted, drboisclair 05:17, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

I am sorry to find this discussion deteriorate. I find SZ's comments unacceptable ("wallow", "afraid", "spin", etc.) The absence of calls to civility is duly noted.

  • Luther's biographer Richard Marius (already quoted above): "Luther's hatred of the Jews is a sad and dishonorable part of his legacy, and it is not a fringe issue. It lay at the center of his concept of religion. (the highlight is mine)
  • Why would Church bodies explicitly repudiate it if it wasn't a part of his legacy?
  • Practically every biography article includes the person's influences, and properly so. We can't cherrypick only those we like. Sorry, "20th Century is irrelevant to this article." is original research.
  • Of course there is no need to repeat the same link 3 times. Assume good faith and click Edit.
  • Let's try to collaborate and find a creative way out. I would get rid of some text (the word pogrom does not reflect the substance exactly) in favor of the quote I consider important. CTSW, could we try 2 short quotes (MacCulloch and Nietto?) as you offered earlier. Regards. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 12:23, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
Humus, you did not quote the full sentence I wrote: "Whether or not any of his writings were used by persons in the 20th Century is irrelevant to this article." This is a correct logical deduction. If it is original research, then it betrays the fact that you cannot compose something like Wikipedia totally devoid of original work or research. I would imagine that it would be original research to make judgments about material to include and not include in an article, yet if you did not make those judgments the article could be a million megabytes long. We are talking about who Luther was and what Luther did, not what 20th Century people did with what he did, especially if they did something new or novel with his works. You pointed out that the use of the word pogrom might not be appropriate. Well, the use of the MacColluch quotation would not be appropriate because it presents his POV about what 20th Century people used Luther's writings for: that is not relevant to this article, and it can be misconstrued as saying that Luther planned the Krystallnacht and provided its blueprint. This is contrary to the clear understanding that Wikipedia wishes to foster IMHO. It is also not a general statement that would be appropriate to this summary. It offers one specific POV that defeats the purpose of the summary. In my opinion the other quotes in this summary do the same thing. Why not leave the summary as it is and be done with it? Let's work on the Martin Luther and the Jews article. Respectfully submitted, drboisclair 14:26, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed Resolution of Martin Luther and the Jews Summary Debate

There has been quite a bit of passion here, making it hard to come to some sort of resolution. We have all been at least somewhat jumping to conclusions, even while responding to the other sides' attacks on our own character. So, I'd like to propose a way to get us to a resolution:
* We freeze the version of the article in the form it was in yesterday.
* We all cease using inflamitory rhetoric. Any such language will be ignored and no reply given at all to the arguments in that paragraph.
* We archive the discussion of this subject from this point backwards to its beginning. (please, no one do this until at least all of Humus, drboisclair and SZagel weigh in here)
* It would help if everyone identify their credentials on their user pages, so we know whom we are working with.
* I believe precedent in and outside of Wikipedia are important. Let's see what the lay of the land is.
* We take a time out from the discussion of the issue itself and use the time to do research. I've gathered together below what I've done over the past few days. Please feel free to add categories and accumulate data. I'd especially appreciate brief quotations from the guidelines, rules and policies of Wikipedia as they apply to the matter of creating subarticles, summaries and the inclusion of quotations.
* I will draw no conclusions from this data here for a week or so and request you all do the same.
* When we come back to it, I'd like to start with the issue of why or why not we should include quotations in this summary? Then we can see if we can come to a consensus as to whether or not quotations should go into this summary. Then we go on to which details summarize the issues involved fairly. If we've decided to quote, which ones are the best at conveying this? If not, we edit the language of the paragraph to express both viewpoints.
So, fellow editors... Is this a good plan? --CTSWyneken 14:43, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
I feel that it is a good plan. I wonder if we should perhaps delete the entire summary until then and just have the caption and the link to the Martin Luther and the Jews article. As it stands the summary will draw fire, so until we have done some thinking as CTSWyneken has suggested let's leave it completely blank. drboisclair 15:30, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
A pause is agreeble to me, and I concur with drboisclair's thoughts on elimating the summary in the interim. --StanZegel (talk) 20:04, 1 December 2005 (UTC)
We may self-impose a moratorium (a week of reflection is fine with me). WP is open and collaborative project (unfortunately, still many substandard articles) and our only guide is WP:RULES. If we are unable to resolve a conflict here, we should follow WP:DR. As others said earlier, the summary doesn't go anywhere. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 09:57, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
Good then! Would someone archive this discussion above this proposal? As far as the rules go, of course. Please add any paragraphs you find relevant from the rules to the data section on rules and guidelines below. I also think that we can resolve these issues to a satisfactory place if we consider each issue objectively. If you don't mind, I'd like us to consider one issue at a time. If we do this, at the very least we will understand each other. --CTSWyneken 16:56, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Research Relevant to the Summary of Martin Luther and the Jews

[edit] Wikipedia Policies, Guidelines and Suggestions

[edit] WP:RULES

Excerpts

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Its goals go no further.

Avoid bias. Articles should be written from a neutral point of view, representing differing views on a subject factually and objectively.

Respect other contributors

[edit] NPOV

Excerpts

Articles should be written without bias, representing all majority and significant minority views fairly. This is the neutral point of view policy.

Fairly represent all sides of a dispute by not making articles state, imply, or insinuate that only one side is correct.

Articles without bias describe debates fairly instead of advocating any side of the debate. Since all articles are edited by people, this is difficult, as people are inherently biased.

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A good way to help building a neutral point of view is to find a reputable source for the piece of information you want to add to wikipedia, and then cite that source. This is an easy way to characterize a side of a debate without excluding that the debate has other sides. The trick is to find the best and most reputable sources you can. Try the library for good books and journal articles, and look for the most reliable online resources. A little bit of ground work can save a lot of time in trying to justify a point later.

The only other important consideration is that sources of comparable reputability might contradict. In that case the core of the NPOV policy is to let competing approaches of the same topic exist on the same page: work for balance, that is: divide space describing the opposing viewpoints according to reputability of the sources. And, when available, give precedence to those sources that have been the most successful in presenting facts in an equally balanced manner.

Karada offered the following advice in the context of the Saddam Hussein article:

You won't even need to say he was evil. That's why the article on Hitler does not start with "Hitler was a bad man" — we don't need to, his deeds convict him a thousand times over. We just list the facts of the Holocaust dispassionately, and the voices of the dead cry out afresh in a way that makes name-calling both pointless and unnecessary. Please do the same: list Saddam's crimes, and cite your sources.


[edit] WP:RS

What follows is a description of Wikipedia's best practises. Many articles may fall short of this standard until one or more editors devote time and effort to fact-checking and reference-running. (See efforts to identify reliable sources.) In the meantime, readers can still benefit from your contributions, bearing in mind that unsourced edits, or edits relying on inappropriate sources, may be challenged at any time.

There are many ways in which factual errors can be introduced into reports. Keep in mind that some articles are about characterizing the various factions in a dispute. This means that you will be looking for reliable published reports of people's opinions.

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When reporting facts, Wikipedia articles should cite sources. Tertiary sources like reputable encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopædia Britannica, as well as reputable specialized encyclopedias such as the New Grove and the Dictionary of National Biography, contain a wealth of reliable information. Older editions such as the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica often have fuller articles than current editions on some subjects, though there is always the danger that the information is outdated.

If suspect sources have references, follow them. If there are no references, or if the references provided are insufficient, you may need to do additional research, or reconsider the reliability of the report.

When reporting that an opinion is held by a particular individual or group, the best citation will be to a direct quote, citing the source of the quote in full after the sentence (see Harvard referencing) or using a footnote. If there is text, audio, or video available of someone expressing the opinion directly, it is preferable to include or transcribe an excerpt, which is allowed under fair use.

Evaluating sources

  • Do they have an agenda or conflict of interest, strong views, or other bias which may color their report? Remember that conflicts of interest are not always explicitly exposed and bias is not always self-evident. However, that a source has strong views is not necessarily a reason not to use it, although editors should avoid using political groups with widely acknowledged extremist views, like Stormfront.org or the Socialist Workers Party. Groups like these may be used as primary sources only i.e. as sources about themselves, and even then with caution and sparingly.
  • Were they actually there? Be careful to distinguish between descriptions of events by eyewitnesses and by commentators. The former are primary sources; the latter secondary. Both can be reliable.
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Evaluating secondary sources

  • Have they used multiple independent primary sources?

History

Historical events are difficult to verify. We must rely on people's memories, recorded accounts, and physical evidence to reconstruct it. Evidence and factual accounts contemporary with the events are valuable because there are fewer steps separating them from reality. On the other hand, their authors are more likely to have been involved in the events, and therefore to have a particular point of view. Indeed, the evaluation and judicious use of primary sources is a major part of the craft of history.

Summaries and overviews of history require interpretation and analysis, finding patterns and attributing causes. Sometimes later historical analyses of this kind are more reliable, because the passage of time allows more scholarly debate, more reflection, and decreases the likelihood that the historian was personally involved in or attached to the events that he or she is analyzing.

Sometimes, historians try to discern the reasons why such or such decision was taken, or the real intents of such or such leader. While there may be some material clues supporting such claims, in general, they should be considered as speculation, not as fact.

Beware false authority

Would you trust a plumber to fill your cavities? Likewise, you should probably not trust someone who has a Ph.D. in plant biology to tell you about quantum mechanics. Just as actors in TV commercials don white lab coats to make viewers think they are serious scientists, people with degrees in one field are not necessarily experts in any other. Watch out for false claims of authority.

Try to use sources who have degrees in the field they are discussing. The more reputable ones are affiliated with academic institutions. The most reputable have written textbooks in their field for the undergraduate level or higher: these authors can be expected to have a broad, authoritative grasp of their subject.

[edit] Biographical Articles that analyze the significance of their subjects

Petrarch No mention of how his works are used in the present.

Erasmus Although there is mention of the RCC’s disappointment with him, there is nothing about his works being used by present day activists (Much about legacy)

Thomas More Point of interest: Marius considered him a fanatic. There is nothing that speaks of a writing of his used by a present day group. (Much about legacy)

William Tyndale There is much about his legacy, but nothing about a contemporary use of his works.

John Colet a little on his legacy, but nothing about his works being used by contemporaries to further their ends.

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer before 1543 had written a derogatory book ‘’On the Jews’’ in 1539, which had caused him to be regarded by the Jews as their chief antagonist among the Protestant Reformers up to 1542. Nothing in his article about this work or about its use in modern times.

Johann Eck He wrote a book against the Jews known as Refutation of a Jew-Book (Ains Juden-buechlins Verlegung), but there is nothing about his antijudaism let alone no mention of the use made of his works in the modern day.

John Calvin mention is made of a discussion of his doctrine of double predestination in a movie “Hardcore” but nothing about the use of his works in the modern day.

Huldrych Zwingli Nothing on any of his writings being used in the modern day

Nostradamus notable exception: the use of his works is noted in the article.

William Farel Nothing about his writings being used in the modern day.

William Shakespeare As you might guess, the information on him is so vast that other articles are referenced that discuss modern use of his work. Luther should be a parallel to Shakespeare in the manner in which his article is set up. We could use the Shakespeare article as a guide in setting up the main Luther article. Shakespeare's article is brief and loaded with internal links. drboisclair 20:00, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

I consider ML to be one of the most influential figures in the history of humanity, on par with Kant, Marx and Paul of Tarsus. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 10:21, 2 December 2005 (UTC)
Dave, Humus, I'm glad you are benefitting from this exercise. However, please do not analyze at this stage. If we stop data gathering to weigh all this, then we will be drawn into debating the final form. In other words, the sooner we analyze, the more likely we are to engage emotionally again. What I'm looking for is data on what other articles do. That way, we can consider what the rest of the encyclopedia is doing. Please feel free to add other articles to this list. What I'm looking for is to have you ask: does it consider the significance for the figure it writes about? If so, does it weigh the signficance of the subject's writings? Feel free to include other questions, too... --CTSWyneken 16:26, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and the Jews in Encyclopedias

Collier's Encyclopedia, Academic American Encyclopedia, World Book Encyclpedia do not mention Luther's views of the Jews at all.

The Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia Vol. 16, 261-264, includes the following words on Luther and the Jews: "he felt burdened by the resurgence of the papacy and by what he preceived as an attempt by the Jews to take advantage of the confusion among Christians and reopen the question of Jesus' messaihship. Apprehensive about his own responsibility for this situation, he wrote a violent polemic against the Jews, as well as polemics against the papacy and the radical wing of the reformers" --CTSWyneken 04:25, 1 December 2005 (UTC)

Encyclopedia Americana has the following on the subject: "Luther's later life was fraught with unending controversies with the Catholics and with the radicals in his own camp. He grew more harsh toward the Papists, the Jews, and the "fanatics." 17:859-862.

Encyclopedia Britannica, with the longest article, says the following: "Among his last writings, Against the Anabaptists, Against the Jews, Against the Papacy at Rome, Founded by the Devil, the most violent is the last, coarse and angry, but sitll defiant." Macropedia vol. 23:305-313.

[edit] Survey of articles with summaries of sub-articles

The article United States has 30 subarticles, 29 of which have summaries, one of which does not. No quotations are made in these summaries.

The article History of England has 12 subarticles, 12 summaries, in which there is one quotation and one citation.

The article Judaism has 21 subarticles, depending on how you count it, all have some summary, in which there is one citation.

The article Christianity has 2 subarticles, 3 summaries and no quotations or citations in them.

The article Islam has eight subarticles, eight summaries, three quotes from the Quran in the Allah summary and three citations in the demographics summary.

The article Holocaust has ten subarticles, ten summaries and three quotes in two summaries. --CTSWyneken 21:08, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Scholarship of Richard Marius

[edit] Biography

Obituary [3]

[edit] Luther (Lippencott, 1974)

Page number where Luther's views on the Jews are discussed: 233-243

Evidence given to support opinion:: None. The book is not documented beyond an extensive bibliography at the end of the work.

Counter arguments cited and addressed: fair representation of other side and reasoned replies to those positions.

[edit] Martin Luther: The Christian Between God and Death (Harvard Univ. Press, 1999)

Quote found at: 482

Evidence given to support opinion:: None. This book, unlike his first, is documented extensively, however.

Counter arguments cited and addressed: None to this particular point, although he does cite and fairly address other viewpoints in an earlier chapter.

Notes: Differs with MacCulloch on Luther's responsibility for the Holocaust. "Luther never organized any campaign against the Jews, and, as Heiko Oberman has said, despite the ferocity of his tirades against them he never renounced the notion of coexistence between Jews and Christians. But the fact that Luther's hostility to Jews was not the same as modern anti-Semitism does not excuse it." p. 380

[edit] Scholarship of Siemon-Netto

[edit] Biographical details

UPI Religion Editor. [4]

Interview with Christianity Today [5]

Vitae [6]

[edit] Fabricated Luther

In the Bibliography of Carter Lindberg, The European Reformations Blackwell, 1996, p. 430.

Cited as authority in Mark C. Mattes. Role of Justification in Contemporary Theology Eerdmans, 2004, p. 90, note 20.

Review in First Things [7]--CTSWyneken 22:15, 30 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Scholarship of Diarmaid MacCulloch

[edit] Biography

Professor at Oxford [8][9] [10]

[edit] The Reformation: a History

National Review [11]

About.com Agnostism/Atheism group [12]

Page number where quotes are located: 666-667

Evidence given to support opinion:: None

Counter arguments cited and addressed: None

[edit] It is more dreary than I thought

Folks, we were going to return to this discussion after a week. I realize it is only a couple of weeks till Christmas so if you are taking a vacation, I understand. Meanwhile I did a little homework. I must confess, the result (follows below) is even more upsetting than I expected. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 12:54, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

ML's influence on the Holocaust
  • Samuel W. Mitcham: Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich ISBN 0275954854, 1996
    • (p.81) "Martin Luther... has been called the spiritual godfather of Nazism."
  • Michael Burleigh : Ethics and Extermination : Reflections on Nazi Genocide
    • (p.172) "[Goetz] Aly and [Susanne] Heim... concluded 'accepting insanity or hatred of the Jews going back to Martin Luther as grounds for the Holocaust is less disturbing than such as coolly thought out justification of genocide'" (referring to Helmut Meinhold)
  • James Carroll: Constantine's Sword
    • (p.366) "Any examination of the civilizational roots of the Holocaust must take into account the impact of the Reformation, and of Martin Luther's own attitude..."
Kristallnacht
  • Martin Luther 2002 DVD from the Lion TV/PBS Empires: feature "Luther the Villain" (I can provide the sound file upon request - 1.2MB OGG)
  • Mark Edwards. Pres. Emeritus, St. Olaf College
    • "... Luther is implicated in the Holocaust, even though he was not a racial antisemite; he was a Christian antisemite, and his anti-Jewish writings are reproduced by the Nazis right on the Kristallnacht... Luther represents the best of the Christian tradition and the worst."
  • Michael A. Mullett, U of Lancaster
    • "... Luther's anti-Judaism had crossed over into kind of proto-antisemitism... he's not now opposing just the Jewish religion, but the Jewish people as the bearers of the Jewish religion. He is blaming the Jews for being Jews."
"Die Juden sind unser Unglück"
  • Randall L. Bytwerk: Julius Streicher: Nazi Editor of the Notorious Anti-Semitic Newspaper Der Sturmer ISBN 0815411561, 2001
    • (p.65) Quoting Heirich von Treitschke: "Even in the most educated circles... One hears as if from a single mouth: The Jews are our misfortune". Von Treitschke's words, echoing similar comments of Martin Luther three centuries earlier, were to become Julius Streicher's motto, gracing the bottom of nearly every front page of the Sturmer."
Jews have had no more future as Jews
  • Heiko Oberman: The Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Age of Renaissance and Reformation, 1984
    • (p.46) "The basis of Luther's anti-Judaism was the conviction that ever since Christ's appearance on earth, the Jews have had no more future as Jews."
  • Erwin W. Lutzer: Hitler's Cross: The Revealing Story of How the Cross of Christ Was Used As a Symbol of the Nazi Agenda 1998, ISBN 0802435831
    • (p.137) (A letter from pastor Riechelmann to a newsapaper editor): "We will fight alongside of you and we will not give up until the struggle against all Jewry... had been brought to the victorious end, in the Spirit of Christ and of Martin Luther."
Luthertag
  • Richard Steigmann-Gall: The Holy Reich : Nazi Conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945 ISBN 0521823714, 2003
    • (p.138-139) "Nazis commonly cast themselves as both revolutionary and an extension of the German past: The Luther Day celebrations provided a perfect platform through which to communicate this dual message. The Nazi involvement in the Luther Day was certainly an act of political appropriation, but it would be a mistake to explain it away as a misappropriation or a feigned affection for a historical personality for whom they had no real feeling. As Heiko Oberman points out, "The Nazis did not have to discover or create Luther as a German national reformer - he was already there, rifle at the ready.""' Protestants as well had long made Luther into both a religious revolutionary and nationalist hero, as both a guarantor of German heritage and beacon for Germany's future. During the festivities, a great many people spoke with a rhetoric almost identical to the Nazis'. A typical example was an article in the Chemnitzer Tageblatt, which stated: "The German Volk are united not only in loyalty and love for the Fatherland, but also once more in the old German beliefs of Luther [Lutherglauben]; a new epoch of strong, conscious religious life has dawned in Germany." The leadership of the Protestant League espoused a similar view. Fahrenhorst, who was on the planning committee of the Luthertag, called Luther "the first German spiritual Fuhrer" who spoke to all Germans regardless of clamor confession. In a letter to Hitler, Fahrenhorst reminded him that his "Old Fighters" were mostly Protestants and that it was precisely in the Protestant regions of our Fatherland" in which Nazism found its greatest strength. Promising that the celebration of Luther's birthday would not turn into a confessional affair, Fahrenhorst invited Hitler to become the official patron of the Luthertag. In subsequent correspondence, Fahrenhorst again voiced the notion that reverence for Luther could somehow cross confessional boundaries: "Luther is truly not only the founder of a Christian confession; much more, his ideas had a fruitful impact on all Christianity in Germany." Precisely because of Luther's political as well as religious significance, the Luthertag would serve as a confession both "to church and Volk."
    • (p.185-186) "...official statement issued by seven Lutheran state churches in December 1941, which flatly rejected those "Protestant Jews" who had been at the heart of the doctrinal dispute between Confessing Christians and DC. Fondly recalling Luther's command that Jews should be banished from German lands, the statement went on to claim that 'From Christ's crucifiction to the present day, the Jews have fought against Christianity...'"
ELCA's declaration
  • "Lutherans belonging to the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America feel a special burden in this regard because of certain elements in the legacy of the reformer Martin Luther and the catastrophes, including the Holocaust of the twentieth century, suffered by Jews in places where the Lutheran churches were strongly represented."
Notes

I think a part of the problem is that books/encylopedias, etc. older than 1983 do not mention the problem. So far, I tried to rely on non-Jewish sources. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 12:50, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

Thank you, Humus! I appreciate the notes and will check the sources to see what we can make of their scholarship. Some names, like Obermann, are respected, so there's hope we might get some actual evidence cited. My time opens up a bit next week to New Years.' I'll also find the date of the above Encyclopedias. Almost all are no older than the 1990s, I believe.
Would you do me a favor and look for in the Wiki rules to subarticles and summaries? I'd like to have quotes from them in front of us when we begin to discuss what to do with this section. I haven't stumbled on to them yet.
I understand that Hanukkah begins also December 25th this year. Have a joyful celebration this year! --CTSWyneken 16:53, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
Thank you, all the best to you and yours as well.
As I said earlier, the WP:RULES is our only guide and if there are special rules for summaries, I'd like to know them. Here are a couple more quotes as if we need more. ←Humus sapiens←ну? 09:12, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
  • William L. Shirer: Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich (ISBN 0671728687, 1990)
    • (p.236) "It is difficult to understand the behavior of most German Protestants in the first Nazi years unless one is aware of two things: their history and the influence of Martin Luther. The great founder of Protestantism was both a passionate anti-Semite and a ferocious believer in absolute obedience to political authority. He wanted Germany rid of the Jews and when they were sent away he advised that they be deprived of "all their cash and jewels and silver and gold" and, furthermore, "that their synagogues or schools be set on fire, that their houses be broken up and destroyed... and they be put under a roof or stable, like the gypsies... in misery and captivity as they incessantly lament and complain to God about us" - advice that was literally followed four centuries later by Hitler, Goering and Himmler." (the footnote disclaims that the author is a Protestant)
  • The Holocaust : Origins, Implementation and Aftermath (ISBN 0415150361, 2000, edited by Omer Bartov) - Raul Hilberg: The destruction of the European Jews
    • (p.31) "The picture of the Jew we encounter in Nazi propaganda and Nazi correspondence had been drawn several hundred years before. Martin Luther had already sketched the main outlines of that portrait, and the Nazis, in their time, had little to add to it. We shall look here at a few excerpts from Luther's book About the Jews and Their Lies. In doing so, let it be stressed that Luther's ideas were shared by others in his century, and that the mode of his expression was the style of his times. His work is cited here only because he was a towering figure in the development of German thought, and the writing of such a man is not to be forgotten in the unearthing of so crucial a conceptualization as this. Luther's treatise about the Jews was addressed to the public directly, and, in that pouring recital, sentences descended upon the audience in a veritable cascade. Thus the passage:
Herewith you can readily see how they understand and obey the fifth commendment of God, namely, that they are thirsty bloodhounds and murderers of all Christendom, with full intent, now for more than fourteen hundred years, and indeed they were often burned to death upon the accusation that they had poisoned water and wells, stolen children, and torn and hacked them apart, in order to cool their temper secretly with Christian blood."

[edit] Appearance problem with article

We need technical assistance to help the article as it appears. There is an enormous space that appears after the caption "Luther's early life". As you can see I have been trying different formatting changes without changing the text, but to no avail. There is still a large space that occurs after "Luther's early life" caption. Please help! drboisclair 23:58, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I have made the first portrait, the coat of arms, and the picture of Luther's birthplace smaller, and that has seemed to help the "space" or lacuna problem after the first caption: "Luther's early life"; however, this may not be acceptable, so assistance on this would be appreciated. drboisclair 00:04, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

I guess that it is back to normal now. Maybe it was a glitch in my computer. drboisclair 00:34, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Streamlining, Checking Redux

Does anyone mind if I execute the edits listed under the section labeled Streamlining... above? --CTSWyneken 10:32, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

I have no objections. drboisclair 16:12, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Martin Luther: Humanist?

I saw that somebody listed Martin Luther under the category "Humanists." Was Martin Luther a Humanist? I don't think so. Comments? -- Jbull 22:38, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

Some argue yes, others no. Early on, Luther adopted a lot of humanist (in the sixteenth century sense) philosophy. He came to part company with many, who didn't want to go as far as he did and who had a anthropocentric view of life, while his view was firmly theocentric. Does that help? --CTSWyneken 03:00, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
Can a theocentric leader with no notable interest in non-religious ethics or pre-Christian philosophy really be considered a Renaissance humanist? Certainly Luther was an admirer of Erasmus' early work, which attacked the Catholic Church's rituals and peasant superstition, but I am not aware of Luther going beyond that to an overt humanism. In fact, Luther's faith in personal divine inspiration and his rigid theological interpretations are almost anti-humanist, aren't they? -- Jbull 03:12, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
Not in the 16th Century sense of the term. For the most part, early Humanists had a firm belief in "ad fontes," return to the sources. In religious matters, they gravitated to Luther's emphasis on the return to Scripture. The came to respect such sourses as revealing God's will. It is the age of the Enlightenment with its rationalist creed to reject all that did not make sense to them, that began a rejection of theocentrism. --CTSWyneken 00:14, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
The fact that 16th century humanists were attracted to Luther's interpretation of scripture does not mean that Luther was himself a humanist, does it? --Jbull 01:22, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
No, it demonstrates that Luther's theology was not anti-16th century German humanism. What makes Luther, at least early on, a humanist of this sort was that he employed humanist methods, gave greater respect to common people, spoke much of the dignity of individuals, spoke like a humanist, acted like one, used their tools, etc. Much of this remained in common with them, even thougth he went further than they did in many respects. Without study, I can't make the argument much better; it's been awhile since I visited this question.
What makes you think he wasn't a humanist? --CTSWyneken 16:42, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
I guess I'm using a stricter definition of humanist than you are. Luther did go back to Greek and Latin sources in his translations of the Bible, which I admit is in line with the humanist ad fontes ethos. But I thought that huanists also showed an affinity for classical literature and philosphy, embraced intellectual freedom and focused on maximizing human happiness rather than the hereafter. The doctrinare, intolerant, provincial Luther showed none of these traits. You cite his "greater respect to common people." Greater than what? Greater respect how? When did Luther speak of the dignity of individuals outside of his polemics against the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy? How did he act like a humanist? Besides his translations of the Bible, what Humanist tools did he use? --Jbull 22:03, 11 December 2005 (UTC)
Luther also showed quite an affinity for classical literature, Roman, Greek and Christian. Early on, he also expressed an appreciation of intellectual freedom. While you have a right to your opinion, I see Luther quite a bit differently than "doctrinare, intolerant and provincial" Probably the quickest way to demonstrate this is to refer you to Luther's words themselves: especially "Freedom of a Christian," "to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation," and "A Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church." I also can recommend to you several books on the subject of Luther and Humanism, if you'd like. --CTSWyneken 02:23, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
The young Luther may have appreciated intellectual freedom (especially when he was challenging the prevailing orthodoxy himself), but he also supported the execution of blasphemers and "heretics" who disagreed with him and encouraged the banning of books like Esmer's translation of the Bible. Far from supporting intellectual inquiry, Luther held that "Reason is the whore of the devil." Though he came to prominence at the same time as scholars like Erasmus and More who studied classical literature, I have seen no evidence that Luther did the same.
Luther was a powerful advocate and a brilliant theologian, but he was no supporter of free speech. Recommendations of books on the subject of Luther as a Humanist would be welcome. Thank you. -- Jbull 03:56, 12 December 2005 (UTC)
I'll look for a few for you. Re: Emser -- Luther charged that the man had more or less reprinted Luther's Bible, altering only the places that departed from Papal orthodoxy, changed the glosses and reprinted it under his own name. If I thought that to be true of a book I wrote, I'd want it burned, too.
On the execution of heretics, etc. note that over the top rhetoric was a part of 16th century debate. Most of Luther's opponents had language that called for the same. Unlike Luther, some actually carried it out. No doubt Luther himself would be burned at the stake, had a Papal emissary gotten hands on him.
On "Reason is the whore" line, you can find also statements of highest praise for reason in Luther. Just about every word he wrote or said was written down, quoted and published during his life time. To understand what he was trying to say and the point his students took from it, you need to go beyond the rhetoric.--CTSWyneken 11:45, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and Humanism Works

Spitz, Lewis William, 1922- Luther and German humanism. Aldershot, Great Britain ; Brookfield, Vt., USA : Variorum, 1996.

Junghans, Helmar. Der junge Luther und die Humanisten. Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1985.

Tracy, James D."Humanism and the Reformation" in Reformation Europe : a guide to research St. Louis : Center for Reformation Research, c1982.

Grossmann, Maria. Humanism in Wittenberg, 1485-1517 Nieuwkoop : De Graaf, 1975.--CTSWyneken 14:20, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Thank you very much for the recommendations. -- Jbull 15:48, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Admin warning

No one is allowed to censor Wikipedia. Do not remove "scatological quotes" from the article on the grounds that modern readers wouldn t understand the context. If these quotes prove that Luther was a vulgarian, so be it.

Wikipedia should not endorse or opposed any Point Of View, so we should balance these vulgarisms with scholarly analysys which denies that Luther was a vulgarian, if that's the problem.

And all the other lengthy policy quotes are not necessary. I've been here 4 years, I know the policies fairly well by now. Just follow them, and help each other make an accurate and neutral article, please. Uncle Ed 23:46, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what you are talking about. Could you please give an example?
As far as I know, no one has suggested that Luther was not vulgar. The issue at hand is summarizing a sub-article on Luther's attitude towards the Jews. The goal is to keep it short in the main article and expand in the subarticle with all points of view.
It is exactly to write a balanced, accurate and NPOV article that we are gathering the information above. While you may be familar with all the policies, some of us are not. Having extracts from them will help when we turn to the matter of writing well. Is that against policy? --CTSWyneken 01:47, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Admin warning unheeded Censorship Continues

Working as a team, censorship by CTSWyneken, Drboisclair, StanZegel continues with increasing boldness. What can be done to limit this conduct? Repeated misconduct has been documented. For example, here. [[13]]. They even stalk me to ensure their censoring is complete. For example, here. Whitewashing when they entirely delete the example of historical whitewashing given by Dr. Robert Michael who is a 1997 recipient of the American Historical Association's James Harvey Robinson Prize for the "most outstanding contribution to the teaching and learning of history" [[14]].

[edit] favor

I have just added a new section to Judaism and Christianity on "love." It is just a stub of a section, hopefully others will add more about the Jewish notion. But I know that my characterization of the Christian notion is at best wildly incomplete. Perhaps among the contributors to this page there are some who could go over it and add whatever additional material, detail, nuance, explanation they think necessary. I am very concerned about not misrepresenting, or doing justice to, the Christian point of view. I also added a long quote from Maimonides to the section on Heaven and Hell; in fact, I did a rewrite a week or two ago. I know the Jewish position is well-represented but again I am concerned that in the process the Christian view may appear misrepresented or at least underrepresented. So, I'd be grateful if someone checked and made sure the Christian view(s) are accurately and sufficiently represented. Thanks, Slrubenstein | Talk 20:44, 12 December 2005 (UTC)


Thanks for the invite, SL. I'll take a look if time permits. (something it doesn't often do in December!) --CTSWyneken 11:35, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. I want to make sure the article is NPOV compliant. Slrubenstein | Talk 17:10, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
At this moment, it is admirably so. --CTSWyneken 19:47, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Luther and Salvation by Grace

"Luther began to teach that salvation is completely a gift of God's grace through Christ received by faith."

Last time I looked, the Catholic Church taught "that salvation is completely a gift of God's grace through Christ received by faith" too.

...?

To the anonymous commentator. It would be helpful if you would sign your contributions. Also, could you provide a quotation from the 16th Century church that demonstrates that Luther's opponents taught this? --CTSWyneken 21:32, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
Not to speak for the anonymous commentator, but didn't the Council of Trent deal with the issues of grace and justification in 1547, in Canon I of its Sixth Session?
CANON I.-If any one saith, that man may be justified before God by his own works, whether done through the teaching of human nature, or that of the law, without the grace of God through Jesus Christ; let him be anathema.
Jbull 22:10, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


Ah, the infamous Canons of the Sixth Session. The later Canons negate that it is by grace (given) through Christ received by faith:
CANON XII.-If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema.
This is not the only one which is antithetical to the claim of salvation "by grace, (received) through faith (given) for Christ's sake". -- EmperorBMA|話す 09:24, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
Canon XII was just defining "justifying faith," to make it clear that mere confidence that one was justified was not sufficient, as discussed further in Chapter IX of the Sixth Session:
But neither is this to be asserted,-that they who are truly justified must needs, without any doubting whatever, settle within themselves that they are justified, and that no one is absolved from sins and justified, but he that believes for certain that he is absolved and justified; and that absolution and justification are effected by this faith alone: as though whoso has not this belief, doubts of the promises of God, and of the efficacy of the death and resurrection of Christ. For even as no pious person ought to doubt of the mercy of God, of the merit of Christ, and of the virtue and efficacy of the sacraments, even so each one, when he regards himself, and his own weakness and indisposition, may have fear and apprehension touching his own grace; seeing that no one can know with a certainty of faith, which cannot be subject to error, that he has obtained the grace of God.
A more thorough treatment of faith and justification is given in Chapter VIII of the Sixth Session:
And whereas the Apostle saith, that man is justified by faith and freely, those words are to be understood in that sense which the perpetual consent of the Catholic Church hath held and expressed; to wit, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation, and the root of all Justification; without which it is impossible to please God, and to come unto the fellowship of His sons: but we are therefore said to be justified freely, because that none of those things which precede justification-whether faith or works-merit the grace itself of justification. For, if it be a grace, it is not now by works, otherwise, as the same Apostle says, grace is no more grace.
Jbull 17:22, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
A distinction can still be viewed. From Luther's definition of faith:
Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. "Faith is not enough," they say, "You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved." They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, "I believe." That is what they think true faith is. But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn't come from this `faith,' either.
Instead, faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn't stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.
Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they're smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do.
If one is to trust in God's grace, God's grace cannot be removed. When one sins, it is not grace, but faith which is damaged. If it is grace which provides faith and grace which works salvation in man, then God cannot remove grace, but rather it is faith which man removes from himself. Faith is upheld and strengthened by the means of grace of the Word and Sacrament, means by which faith receives God's grace. Therefore, returning to the original quote, Luther teaches salvation is completely a gift of God's grace through Christ received by faith. The above Canons can be roughly equated to saying "you can be saved by grace through Christ by faith, but you can't know about it, even if you have faith". That is expressly contradictory to saying that salvation is by grace through faith completely because it claims "you can't be sure..." Doubt cannot be construed as faith, nor trust in God's unction grace. -- EmperorBMA|話す 19:51, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
There are a few observations I'd like to make. First of all, is the article is about Luther, and, in this case, what he taught, not directly about what the Catholic Church teaches today, or what it taught at the Council of Trent, although it is close to his lifetime.
I'd have to review the scholarly literature and primary resources again, so correct me if I'm wrong. What I've understood is that the Roman Church taught that salvation comes to those who combine faith and works. For Luther, it comes from faith alone, which holds on to God's grace alone for the sake of Christ's merit alone. The conflict between these views is why there was an irrepairable breech between Luther and Rome. --CTSWyneken 20:28, 22 December 2005 (UTC)
CTSWyenken--I only cited Trent to provide a 16th Century source of Catholic doctrine as you asked for earlier. (Though, of course, Trent was a reaction to Luther.) I defer to your description of Luther's beliefs.--Jbull 20:36, 22 December 2005 (UTC)


Thank you, Jbull. There was no offense taken here. I hope that my comments were taken as simply informational, not even defensive, really. I've been working on getting my tone of voice into these posts, but all I get is a clack with I push the keys! 8-) --CTSWyneken 01:08, 23 December 2005 (UTC)
CTSWyenken--I took your comments as you being helpful and informational, as you have been consistently. Merry Christmas!--Jbull 17:14, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Appreciation for Humus edits

I want to express my appreciation for the edits of the Luther and the Jews paragraph on the part of user:Humus_sapiens. It is very helpful. drboisclair 21:09, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Need for the removal of the subcategory:Revolutionaries

Luther was not a political revolutionary. I believe that including him in this subcategory is misleading and should be removed, and I have done it. Labeling Luther a "revolutionary" betrays a cursory knowledge of him and his writings. drboisclair 13:08, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

I believe Luther was a revolutionary in the best sense of that term. If every self-styled revolutionary had Luther's success, they'd be thrilled! Luther revolutionized the Church and the approach Christians should take to Scripture. While his "revolution" (granted, "reformation" is indeed the better word) was first theological, and only secondarily (or maybe peripherally) political, he certain revolutionized the Church and the world, like few others in all of history. I will defer to my Lutheran brethren, but I really think that Luther was a great revolutionary...again, in the best, truest sense of the word. KHM03 15:22, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
Would it be possible to establish a Reformer catagory? --CTSWyneken 15:24, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
Category:Protestant Reformers...Luther's already there. KHM03 16:06, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Copyright of Luther's Works Topic Updated

Fellow editors:

I've put all the current information on the copyright of Martin's Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies into the copyright topic page. For future reference, I'll put anything new I discover there and will answer questions about the status of this and other works at that location. --CTSWyneken 16:02, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

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