Thursday, January 20, 2011

Martin Luther's Agenda to Re-write the Rules

I just noticed that you posted for me the introduction- James Atkinson writes in his introduction to "Martin Luther's Judgment on Monastic Vows" - sometimes I don't always see all these posts unless I come back to a thread, but I will be re-reading this thread.  Now one point I often like to make is that in the first 2 centuries of Christianity MANY men (and some women) fled to the deserts and left the cities and took up monastic life as hermits, or in small groups. Now IF the essential message of Christianity were sola fides salvation by faith alone without works then WHY would those early Christians have become the so-called "Desert Fathers?" Why would one of the most powerful wonder-working figures of the Old Testament, prophet Elijah, been portrayed as an ascetic celibate, and one of the most powerful figures of the New Testament be John the Baptist, also portrayed as a celibate ascetic?  Now it is true that Augustine in a sense laid down the foundations for the Reformation in his writings, and no one really noticed until Luther came along. During the Roman Catholic counter reformation which was conducted I believe by the Jesuits, they began to take a closer look at Augustine. By the way, the Greeks have always considered Augustine to be heretical, whereas the Russian Orthodox who have always had leanings towards the West and Rome refer to Augustine with the lesser title of BLESSED but do not call Augustine SAINT.

As I quickly review the introduction to Luther on monastic vows it seems obvious to me that Luther is re-designing Christian theology and expressing things that were not expressed for the first 1500 years of Christianity.  Obviously Luther has a personal vested interest in re-writing the rules of the game because he was greatly plagued with lust. In fact, a few of his sermons which speak of the Virgin Mary dwell in an unhealthy fashion upon her suckling infant Jesus with her breasts. 

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