The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me. - Martin LutherMartin Luther (1483-1546) lived in a time when the Roman Catholic church and her popes were more powerful and wealthy than royalty and rulers. And with such power and wealth came corruption. Among other atrocities, priests allowed people to purchase "indulgences." For a tidy sum of money, any sin could be forgiven. In fact, the church was able to make even more money by selling "indulgences" for future sins that had yet to be committed. The coffers of the church grew fat, and people of means grew lazy in their adherence to the Word of God ... and even worse.Luther was not the first theologian to stand up to the Church of Rome, but he launched a relentless attack on the ethics and consciences of Christians with such fervor and confidence that he changed Christian religious practices forever.Martin Luther's Table Talk is a compendium of excerpts taken from conversations with his students and colleagues, who furiously scribbled notes as he spoke. Reading them, it’s easy to imagine all of them sitting around the table, eating and drinking and discussing issues of great concern to reformists. These excerpts are frequently anecdotal, highly opinionated, sometimes sublime, sometimes unsophisticated, occasionally brutal ... and always unequivocating. Right or wrong, Luther has his say.
The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me. - Martin LutherMartin Luther (1483-1546) lived in a time when the Roman Catholic church and her popes were more powerful and wealthy than royalty and rulers. And with such power and wealth came corruption. Among other atrocities, priests allowed people to purchase "indulgences." For a tidy sum of money, any sin could be forgiven. In fact, the church was able to make even more money by selling "indulgences" for future sins that had yet to be committed. The coffers of the church grew fat, and people of means grew lazy in their adherence to the Word of God ... and even worse.Luther was not the first theologian to stand up to the Church of Rome, but he launched a relentless attack on the ethics and consciences of Christians with such fervor and confidence that he changed Christian religious practices forever.Martin Luther's Table Talk is a compendium of excerpts taken from conversations with his students and colleagues, who furiously scribbled notes as he spoke. Reading them, it’s easy to imagine all of them sitting around the table, eating and drinking and discussing issues of great concern to reformists. These excerpts are frequently anecdotal, highly opinionated, sometimes sublime, sometimes unsophisticated, occasionally brutal ... and always unequivocating. Right or wrong, Luther has his say.
