October 1520 A.D. Luther Publishes On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church
October 1520 A.D. Luther Publishes On the
Babylonian Captivity of the Church
On the
Babylonian Captivity of the Church
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encyclopedia.
October
1336 A.D. Bull of Benedictus Deus by Benedict XII
Frontispiece
Prelude on the Babylonian
Captivity of the Church (October
1520) was the second of the three major treatises published by Martin Luther in 1520, coming after the Address to the
Christian Nobility of the German Nation (August 1520) and before On the Freedom of a Christian (November 1520). It was a theological treatise, and as such was published in Latin as well as German, the language in which the treatises
were written.
Contents
Content
In
this work Luther examines the seven sacraments of the Catholic
Church in the light of his
interpretation of the Bible. With regard to the Eucharist, he advocates restoring the cup to the laity, dismisses the Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation but affirms the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, and
rejects the teaching that the Mass is a sacrifice offered to God.
With
regard to Baptism, he writes that it brings justification
only if conjoined with saving faith in the recipient; however, it remains the
foundation of salvation even for those who might
later fall[1] and be reclaimed.
As
for penance, its essence consists in the words of promise (absolution) received
by faith. Only these three can be regarded as sacraments because of their divine institution and the divine promises of salvation
connected with them; but strictly speaking, only Baptism and the Eucharist are
sacraments, since only they have "divinely instituted visible
sign[s]": water in Baptism and bread and wine in the Eucharist.[2] Luther claimed that Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction are
not sacraments.
The
titular "captivity" is firstly the withholding the cup in the Lord's
Supper from the laity, the second the doctrine of transubstantiation, and the third, the Roman Catholic Church's teaching
that the Mass was a sacrifice and a good work.[3]
The
work is angry in tone, attacking the papacy. Although Luther had made a link
tentatively in the address To the Christian
Nobility of the German Nation,
this was the first time he forthrightly accused the pope of being the Antichrist. It certainly heralded a radicalisation of Luther's
views — only a year before he had defended the validity of the sacraments, yet
was now attacking them fiercely.
Although
published in Latin, a translation of this work was quickly published in German
by Luther’s opponent, the Strasbourg Franciscan Thomas Murner. He hoped that by making people aware of the radical
nature of Luther’s beliefs, they would realise their foolishness in supporting
him. In fact, the opposite proved true, and Murner’s translation helped to
spread Luther’s views across Germany. The virulence of Luther's language however,
was off-putting to some. After the publication of this work, with its harsh
condemnation of the papacy, the renowned humanist Erasmus, who had previously been cautiously supportive of Luther's
activities, became convinced that he should not support Luther's calls for
reform.
See also
References
·
Pelikan,
Jaroslav and Lehmann, Helmut T, Luther’s Works, 55 vols, (Saint Louis,
Philadelphia, 1955–76), Vol 36
External
links
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