THE REV. R. B. PAUL'S LECTURE ON THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 86, 28 August 1852, Page 8

THE REV. R. B. PAUL'S LECTURE ON THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY.

( Concluded from our last.) But there were many others who drove quite as shameless a trade as Tetzel, although his name is more familiar to us from his having been the first whom Luther attacked. One Iselin, for instance, a Swabian monk, used to carry about with him a feather, which, as he declared, had been moulted from the wing of the Archangel Michael. Happening by accident to lose his feather, and being obliged to find a substitute for it on the moment, he procured a truss of hay from the stable, and presented it to the crowd as some of the hay on which the infant Saviour had rested in the manger at Bethleham. It must not, however, be imagined that this sort of jugglery imposed universally either on the secular clergy or the people ; for hundreds were aware of its absurdity, who chose rather to acquiesce in what the pardon-mongers said, than run the risk of incurring the Pope's displeasure. The crisis would probably have been delayed, but for the audacious attempt of Tetzel to practise his arts at Wittemberg, where Luther was one of the professors of the University. The cup indeed was brimful, but a steady hand might have carried it in safety for some time longer, had not this additional drop of bitterness caused it to overflow. On the 31st October, 1517, Martin Luther declared war against the sale of indulgences by affixing to the great door of one of the Churches at Wittemberg a challenge to all comers to dispute with him on 95 different theses, in which he pledged himself to prove that the pardon of sins was to be obtained only by contrition and penance, and not to be bought with money. This bold challenge of Luther fell like a spark on matter prepared for explosion. What thousands had thought in secret he had dared to express—what hundreds of thousands had suspected they now felt to be true. A hundred years before, John Huss, a disciple of our English Reformer, Wicliffe, had propagated similar doctrines, but his voice had been stifled in the flames which consumed his body at Constance, and since that time few had ventured to raise their voices against the abuses of the Papal See—-but now the theses of Luther were eagerly read in every part of Germany, and people began to speak openly of that formidable power, to which they had hitherto submitted in silence. Yet the Pope and his advisers looked on the affair as merely a dispute between the Augustine and Dominican monks, and commissioned the Cardinal Tommaso di Gaeta (Caietanus, as he is called in Latin) to inquire into the circumstances of the case. Luther was accordingly summoned to appear at Rome, but the Emperor Maximilian, deeming this a fit opportunity for humbling the arrogant pretensions of the Pope, informed Frederick, Duke of Saxony, that the monk must be spared ; and Frederick, proud of the reputation which the newly founded university of Wittemberg had acquired through Luther's exertions, willingly assented. Luther, therefore, instead of being given up to the Pope, was permitted to meet Caietanus at Augsburg, where the Diet Was then sitting, and to discuss with him the subject of his theses. At this period nothing seems to have been further from the Reformer's wishes than a separation from the church; but his opponent was an intemperate man, who required an unqualified retraction of all that Luther had advanced—and this being refused, he rose in great wrath, and dismissed the assembly with these violent words : " I will have nothing more to say to that beast, for he hath deep-seeing eyes and strange speculations in his head." Luther at length appealed to the Pope: but his attempts at reconciliation only drew on further discussions, in which he found it necessary to combat the principal errors of the Church of Rome, and thus to widen hopelessly the breach between the Pope and the Reformers. Circumstances at this time greatly favoured Luther. By the death of Maximilian the imperial crown had become vacant, and the Pope, willing to conciliate Frederick of Saxony (who administered the affairs of the empire during the interregnum) proposed a friendly discussion to be held at Leipsic between Luther and...his Wittemberg friends Carlstadt and Melancthon on the one side, and the famous logician Dr. Eck on the other. Had this conference taken place before the angry discussion with Cardinal Caietanus, a compromise might perhaps have been effected; but Luther had now, as he conceived, gone too far

to retract any thing; and when in the year 1520, the famous papal bull entitled Exurge Domine (Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered), in which Luther and his doctrine were denounced, was sent into Germany, he publicly burnt it in presence of all the professors and students of Wittemberg.

In the following year a diet of the Empire was held atWorms, at which the new Emperor Charles V. presided. A letter had been addressed to him by Luther, couched in the most respectful terms, urging on him the necessity of lending his powerful aid to the mighty work of purifying the church from her abuses ; but Charles, whose great object was to acquire popularity and remove the objections which many of the Princes of the empire had entertained to his election, made no reply to his letter. Willing, however, to oblige Luther's patron, the Elector of Saxony, and never doubting that the effect of a public discussion would be favourable to the existing order of things, Charles summoned the Reformer to appear at the diet and defend his doctrines, As soon as Luther received this invitation he set out for the city of Worms, having first obtained a safe conduct ffrora the Emperor. To those who strove to dissuade him from the journey, by citing the example of John Huss, who a hundred years before had been burned in violation of a safe conduct granted by the Emperor Sigismund—Luther replied, "If it please God I am willing to be burnt to death, even as Huss was; but forth I shall go in the name of the Lord, were there a fire blazing as high as the heavens all the way between Wittemberg and Worms." To a friend who met him at Oppenhehn, and tried to turn him back, he said, " An there were as many devils in Worms as there are tiles upon the roofs of houses, thither nevertheless would I go." His entry into Worms is described in his own quaint style—" I rid into the city in a little close carriage, my face covered with my hood, and all the folk came together to see the monk, Dr. Martin ; and so I came unto Duke Frederick's lodging, and thereby was Duke Frederick mighty sorry that I had come to Worms at all." On the following afternoon Luther appeared before the Diet. As he entered the great hall in which the assembly sat, George of Frundsberg, one of the barons favourable to the Reformation, tapped him on the shoulder and said, " Monkikin, thou art on thy way to make such a stand as neither I nor many a captain besides ever made in the field of battle. If thou meanest honestly, and art sure of thy ground, go forward in God's name, and be of good cheer— He will not forsake thee." Many other members of the diet addressed words of encouragement to him. One recalled to his remembrance the words of Christ—"When they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate ; but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that speak." Others called out to him not to fear those that kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. The proceedings were then opened by the commissary of the Archbishop of Treves asking Luther whether he acknowledged a pile of books to behis —and whether he would retract their contents. Luther, in the straightforward simplicity of his heart would at once have answered " Yes," to the first question, had not his counsel, Schurf, stopped him, and requested that the titles of the books might be read singly. This being I done, Luther acknowledged them to be all his. To the .second question he replied, "Since | here is a question concerning faith, and the salvation of the soul, which is the greatest treasure in heaven and on earth: and lest I should for want of consideration say more than the subject requireth or less than it deserveth, I humbly pray your imperial Majesty therefore for some short space of time, that I may do no wrong to God's word, nor bring danger to my soul through want of preparation." This request being granted, the assembly was adjourned. It is said that on this occasion nearly five thousand persons were collected in the hall and round the windows. On the 28th April, the council reassembled,and the same qusstion was put to Luther, who stated in reply that many of his books had been pronounced useful and innocent even by his adversaries. These he could not renounce without renouncing the truth of the gospel. Another portion of his writings was directed against the papacy, which by evil example and false teaching had made the world a howling wilderness. Should he abandon these, it would be to confirm this unrighteous power in its despotism, and open

the doors of ungodliness and sin. He then called on all, high as well as low, to confute him out of the gospels or the prophetic writin<>s • and if they proved him to be in error, he would himself throw every one of his books into the fire. Thus far Luther had spoken in German but he was now requested to speak in Latin. " I sweat sore," he says in one of his letters' " being mighty hot through the turmoil I was' in and the standing before princes; and the Lord Frederick of Thuringia said unto me, " If you cannot do it, that is enough, Master Luther." But I repeated all that i had said over again, which pleased Duke Frederick migtilv." He was then called on a second time to answer "Aye," or "No," would he recall what he had written or would he not? Luther replied " Since you desire a short and simple answer you shall have one. I will not recall what I have written, so help me God, Amen." The next day the question is said to have been agitated, as to the lawfulness and expediency of treating Luther as John Huss had been treated at Constance ; but the majority, including the Emperor himself, were in favour of respecting the safe conduct, which was to continue in force, provided he quitted the town within twenty-one days and abstained from preaching on the road. Luther then took leave of his opponents, using the words of Gamaliel (Acts V.) " If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. I will soon9r give up body and life, trunk and limb, than surrender God;s true and holy word." On the road between Worms and Wittemberg, Luther was surrounded by a body of friends in the disguise of robbers, who carried him off to the Wartburg, a mountain fortress near Eisenach, belonging to his friend Duke Frederick of Saxony. Here under the feigned name of Yunker Georg (Squire George) he employed himself in translating the Scriptures into German, and produced a work which ranks next to our English Bible, for the fidelity with which the language of the sacred writers is rendered. During his absence, scenes of a violent and mdst unedifying character were enacted at Wittemberg. A professor of that university, Andrew Bodenstein, (generally called Carlostadius, or Carlstadt, from the place of his birth) a man full of zeal for the Reformation, but rash and intemperate in the extreme, had been displaying his zeal by demolishing altars, crosses, and every ornament, whether objectionable or not, which had any connection with the Romish ritual. He was rapidly undoing all that Luther had perilled his life to effect, when the great reformer suddenly re-appeared at Wittemberg, thundered for eight days from the pulpit, and secured for the moderate party the influence which they were on the point of losing. Hitherto the princes of Germany had suspected Luther, but the energy which he about this time displayed in denouncing the serfs of Thuringia and Saxony who had risen against their rulers, led them now to look on him as a powerful auxiliary in emancipating themselves from the Pope as" well as the Emperor. From this moment the Reformation in Germany assumed the form of a struggle for political power rather than an attempt to deliver men from spiritual bondage. Albert, of Prussia, embraced Protestantism for the sake of making the Grand Mastership of the Teutonic order hereditary in his family. Some of the German princes were perhaps influenced by motives less objectionable, but it is worthy of remark, that the more distant a country was from the residence of the Emperor, the more readily did its rulers embrace the doctrines of the Reformation. Meanwhile, there had arisen a sect termed Anabaptists, headed by one Klans S torch, a weaver, who went about attended by twelve Apostles and seventy-two disciples. As their name imports, they taught that those who had been baptized in infancy, must go through the rite again when they arrived at years of discretion, the baptism of infants being an unscriptural practice. One of this man's disciples, named Thomas Miinzer, preached vehemently not only against the Pope, but against Luther himself, whom he denounced as a "fellow who extracted the word of God out of books, and then swallowed the dead letter." At Miilhausen, in Saxony, he plundered the monasteries and houses of the rich, and proclaimed the doctrine condemned by our 38th article, " that Christian men's goods are common." In the year, 1529, these Anabaptists

committed the wildest excesses. At Erfurt, they used to ask every man whom they met in the streets " whose coat is that ?" " mine," the unsuspecting victim would naturally reply—■ upon which the fanatics used to knock him down and, stripping him of his coat, shouted out— " you lie, you thief, it is mine." In some places these crazy enthusiasts believed themselves in Paradise, and threw off their clothes as superfluous encumbrances. Others thought that they had actually become little children, and rode about on broomsticks and hobby horses. At length, one John Bockelson, of Leyden, and his lieutenant Knipperdolling entered the city of Minister, at the head of a considerable army. Here, John, of Leyden, commenced operations by running stark naked about the streets, screaming " the Ring of Zion is come," whilst his lieutenant, not willing to be outdone, shouted out " Every high place shall bebrought low," and instantly the mob pulled down all the steeples of the city. John, of Leyden, next proposed a plurality of wives, and set the example himself by marrying seventeen. At length the city was stormed, most of the Anabaptists slain, and the two leaders hung up in cages on the walls, where they perished miserably. Such outbreaks as these, however revolting, need hardly excite our surprise, when we remember the sudden change which had taken place from spiritual despotism to the most unbounded liberty of thought and speech. Like one who throws open the doors of a prison in the days of religious persecution, Luther had not only struck the fetters from the limbs of those who were suffering for righteousness sake, but had let loose on the world the very dregs and refuse of society. Yet manifold as the evils were, which arose from the abuse of the right of private judgment, much was also gained by the assertion of this right: for men were now taught that neither on priests, nor bishops, nor even on the Pope himself could be laid the burden of another man's responsibility; but that each individual being answerable to God for his own actions, was bound (as he valued the eternal welfare of his soul) to ascertain for himself the conditions on which salvation is promised to mankind. Thus, the study of the Scriptures was urged on all: and men were taught to seek in prayer for the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, that they might understand what they read. Yet, as far as man can see, most of what had been attempted must have fallen to the ground, but for the invention of an art, to which more than to all other causes combined, we owe that general acquaintance with the Word of God, which is the glory, as it is the defence, of the Reformed Faith.

As early as the commencement of the fifteenth century, it had been the practice of certain monks at Harlem, in Holland, to print rude representations of saints as well as short elementary school books from wooden |blocks; but it was not until the year, 1440, that John Gutemberg exchanged the rude stereotype hitherto in use for moveable types similar to those employed in the present day. The first printed book, bearing a date, is an impression of the Psalms, which appeared in 1457, but many works had, we are told, been published by Gutemberg before that time. What the effect of this invention was on the circulation of the Scriptures may be gathered from the fact that a complete copy of the Bible, which in M.S. used to cost from 400 to 500 gold florins, was sold in the year, 1462, for thirty. Supported by this powerful auxiliary, Luther, under the auspices of the Elector of Saxony, set himself in good earnest to carry out the work of reform in that country. All ecclesiastical foundations became the property of the state, but a great :sart of their income was devoted to purposes of public education. Monks and nuns were absolved from their vows and allowed to marry, if their consciences would permit them. Luther himself set the example by marrying a handsome young nun, named Catherine, of Bora. The monastic orders were entirely suppressed, and the secular clergy placed on a different footing. Wishing to conciliate the temporal authorities, Luther taught that to them belonged the decision of questions both of discipline and faith ; and suppressing all the bishoprics, he transferred their authorily to a sort of mixed commission, called a consistorium, composed of himself, the other leading reformers and certain lay counsellors appointed by the Elector. Melancthon, indeed, the most single-hearted of all the reformers, tried to establish a modified

form of episcopacy—but Luther, afraid of losing the support of the German Princes, gave him little encouragement, although he afterwards bitterly lamented that the church should have been thus subjected to the temporal power. In each congregation one priest was retained, who was called a " preacher" or " pastor." The service was entirely purified from the corruptions of the Romish ritual, and was performed entirely in German, and hymns, most of which were written and composed by Luther himself, were sung by the whole congregation. At the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the cup, which the Church of Rome had for centuries withheld from the laity, was again restored to them. The dress of the pastor was the black robe of the Augustines, over which, when engaged at the altar, he wore a white surplus with a stole or cope. All the altars were demolished except the high altar, the arrangement of which underwent no alteration, except the withdrawal of the pyx, or vessel in which, in the days of Romanism, the consecrated wafer was offered to the adoration of the people. In the year, 1529, a diet assembled at Spiers, where a majority of the Princes of the Empire decided that Church affairs should remain as they were, until a General Council could be held. The Lutheran Princes immediately drew up and forwarded to the Emperor a protest, from which circumstance the Lutheran party were thenceforth called Protestants, a name subsequently used to designate all Christians, who, however, they may differ from one another in other points, agree in the single particular of not being members either of any of the Eastern Churches, or of the Church of Rome. In the month of June, 1530, a diet was held at Augsburg, at which 28 articles of religion, drawn up by Schwazerd, (or Melancthon, as his name, (Black earth) has been rendered into Greek), were pressnted to the Assembly. These articles, which differ very little from those of our own Church, are still the rule of faith among the Lutherans. The Church of Rome was now fully aware of its danger, and eagerly availed itself of the services of a Society founded by Ignatius Loyala, in 1539. In addition to the usual vows, these Jesuits, or members of the Society of Jesus, as it was called,. swore that they would do their utmost to forward the interests of Romauism, a vow which they have undoubtedly kept with fidelity, however exceptionable the means which they are reported to have employed. In the year, 1532, the Emperor, being anxious to obtain assistance against the Turks, concluded a peace (called the Religious Peace) with the leaders of the Protestant party. It was now proposed that the final settlement of all disputes should be referred to a General Council, but this plan was frustrated by the Protestants refusing to meet at all, unless the Council were held on their own side the Alps, and the Pope appeared, not as a judge, but as one of the contending parties. This being refused, a Council composed entirely of Romanists, was solemnly opened at Trent, in the Tyrol, in the month of December, 1545. The following year Luther died, > and was buried at Wittemberg. "In every village," says an eyewitness, " through which the funeral procession passed on its way from Eisleben, where he died —the bells were tolled, and men, women, and children flocked around it with tears and lamentations. So great was the throng that the funeral-train was often obliged to halt. On arriving at Halle, we tried to raise the funeral psahn " De profundis," but so heavy was our grief, that the words were wept rather than sung." On the 22nd February, the body arrived at Wittemberg, where Melancthon delivered a funeral oration concluding with these remarkable words, "We are threatened by enemies from without—and within are unquiet spirits at work seeking to corrupt the purity of our faith. That God may avert these evils from us, let us fashion our lives and studies the more carefully ; remembering that as long as we hold the evangelical faith in its purity, hear, learn and love, we shall remain the temples and dwellings of the living God." At this distance of time it may not perhaps be so very difficult to form a just estimate of the character of Martin Luther, if Aye take the middle course between Romish historians, who have condemned him as a monster undeserving the name of man, and some Protestant writers, by whom he is extolled as uniting in his own person all the virtues of the primitive martyrs and confessors. We

shall, perhaps, be not far from the truth, if we pronounce him worthy of all praise for his fervent zeal and courage, his industry and purity of life; whilst we pass a sentence of condemnation on his inordinate lust of power, his fierce persecution of those who ventured to oppose him, and the meanness sometimes verging on dishonesty with which he courted the ruling powers of his native land. Much has been said of his coarseness of speech, and certainly such expressions as ft Your Hellishness" instead of " Your Holiness" applied to the Pope—• " Beast, swine, fat-paunch" to Henry Vlll.—or "trumpery coxcomb" bestowed on Erasmus—• or "twaddling old fool" on Carlstadt—or the very unsavoury title of Dr. Dung, (Dreck) into which he had tortured the name of his early opponent Dr. Eck—all these would sound strangely, if employed by a controversialist in the present day. But we must remember that those were rough times when men were wont to express their feelings with very little circumlocution, and (to use the words of one of Luther's opponents) " a sharp physic was requisite for the men of those times on account of their exceeding wickedness." And here we would willingly leave the character of Martin Luther with feelings of gratitude for the invaluable services rendered by him to the cause of religious liberty—did not a regard for truth compel us to notice the two passages in his life—his own ill-advised, recVless marriage— and the criminal pliancy with which he permitted Philip, of Hesse, to many his concubine during the lifetime of hi& wife.

On the first of these questions, without venturing to pronounce how far a man who has voluntarily bound his soul by a solemn vow may hold himself absolved from its obligation as soon as he has learnt to believe such vows unlawful—we may at least express an opinion that it would have been wiser if he had exercised such a measure of self-denial as would have rendered it impossible for his enemies to charge him with perjury. His conduct in the affair of the Landgrave of Hesse's marriage is utterly indefeasible, nor can we read with any feelings except those of disgust, the wretched sophistry with which Luther and his brother reformers sought to justify their consent to this shameless violation of God's law. The document to which I allude is in Latin, and, after pages of special pleading, concludes with these remarkable words : " But if your Highness is absolutely resolved to marry a second wife—we strenuously advise that it be done privately— that is to say that your Highness's mind and conscience be disclosed to none but yourself, that person (the bride) and a few trustworthy individuals." Signed by Martin Luther, Philip Melancthon, Martin Biicer, and five other of the Reformers.

After Luther's death a feeble attempt was made to re-unite the Protestants to the Church of Rome—but this failing, the council of Trent (abandoning all hopes of a reconciliation) now applied itself solely to such measures as were likely to be available for retaining in the Church those who still belonged to her communion. Many abuses were in a great measure removed —but the supremacy of the Pope was asserted more vehemently than before, aud doctriues, which (to use the words of one of their own writers) had until that time been merely floating- about were now authoritatively set forth as the teaching of the Church which none might gainsay or deny on pain of excommunication. Until the decrees of this Council are to a very considerable extent abrogated, there seems no reasonable hope of a reconciliation between Rome and those, who, however, they may mourn over the divided condition of Christendom, do yet in their consciences believe that in holding themselves aloof from a Church which imposes unscriptural terms of communion, they do no more than manifest their obedience to Him, the Great Head of the Universal Church, before whom the principalities and powers and dominions of earth are even as nothiug.