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Martin Luther: Were Lessons Learned from his ‘Here I stand’ Speech? Probably not
As many of you know, the German Monk – tried as a heretic at the Diet of Worms by the Roman Catholic Church – spoke ‘truth to the powers that be’ in 1521. That was 500 years ago. Alternatively, by my count, the Protestant Reformation began a mere 50 years past. A decade = one year, according to my life calendar. Here I stand Whereas many of you also know, ‘Here I stand’ was not part of the historical text. The poignant line was later added to give more moral maybe even divine punch – which was clearly not needed – to the Theologian’s parting shot to his Papal accusers and false witnesses at his Inquisition. That is according to what many ‘expert’ critics say now. Nevertheless, it is important to the overall verdict. Luther would not recant his writings. He stood in the breach during his showcase trial where the Papist agents arrayed all of his tomes against him as evidence; the most significant being his 95 Theses. In it, Luther rails against Papal excesses and edicts, chief of which was the selling of indulgences: Necessary for the buyer’s remission of sins and reduction in time spent in the hot place, or Purgatory. In addition, said indulgences would help fund the building of Saint Peter’s Basilica. According to Pope Leo, such construction was necessary... In order to save Christendom!
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