Scholars select Luther as top Christian

Editor's note: With these articles, The Evangelist begins a 12-part series that examines the great people and events of the first 2,000 years of Christianity. Through these articles, which will run monthly during 1999, The Evangelist hopes to help readers prepare for and celebrate the third millennium of Christianity.

Reflecting on Christian history, a plurality of scholars has chosen Martin Luther as the most influential non-Roman Catholic Christian of the past 2,000 years.

The monk who sparked the Protestant Reformation was one of several Germans who made the list of outstanding Christian leaders during the two millennia since the birth of Jesus (see separate article).

Marking January as the month that contains the Week of Prayer of Christian Unity, The Evangelist asked experts in Church history and scholars from other disciplines to answer this question: "Who is the most outstanding non-Roman Catholic Christian of the past 2,000 years?"

It is the first of 12 questions that the panel will answer during 1999 as part of The Evangelist's coverage of the coming third millennium. The panel is made up of scholars from Catholic colleges throughout the U.S.

Luther at top

Dr. John Dwyer, who teaches at St. Bernard's Institute in Albany, named Luther because he "grasped -- and was grasped by -- the theological vision of Paul of Tarsus as virtually no one had been before his time and few after it. He discovered Paul's vision of faith as the acceptance of God's unmerited love and mercy, and Paul's understanding of the cross as God's participation in the pain and estrangement of human existence."

That understanding, Dr. Dwyer continued, led Luther to "challenge a church that was desperately in need of reform. It was his insight and religious passion which provided the spiritual substance for the movement which became the Protestant Reformation and which, despite his intentions, resulted in the division of Christendom up to the present day."

Luther's importance

Another vote for Luther came from Joseph F. Kelly, professor of religious studies at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, who said: "Oddly enough, Luther was a Roman Catholic when the Reformation began and he had every intention of staying one. He wanted to reform the church to which he belonged. But he eventually realized that he could not reconcile his own views with those of Rome, and so he had to break."

Luther's lasting impact on the Roman Catholic Church, Prof. Kelly continued, can be seen in the number of positions he held that later became accepted.

"Luther insisted upon the importance of Scripture and its central place in Christian life, a point not recognized by the Council of Trent but accepted by Vatican II," Prof. Kelly explained. "Luther encouraged Bible reading by the laity, as did Vatican II. He also insisted that Protestant clergy be educated, and the Council of Trent recognized the importance of this by establishing the seminary system in 1563, only after educated Western Europeans noticed how well-trained the Protestants were.

"Although crude at times, Luther was a genuinely spiritual man, a born leader, a writer of hymns, and a very courageous man who lived for 24 years (1521-45) under the ban of the Holy Roman Empire, which meant that he was always an outlaw and under threat of execution."

Reformation

Rev. James Dallen, professor of religious studies at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, noted that "the Western Church was in urgent need of reform -- and had been for too long. There had been numerous calls for reform: from popes, councils, synods, bishops, monks, laity (rich and poor), saints. The calls never had much effect, sometimes because those issuing the call were themselves part of the problem."

Into that milieu stepped Luther, who called for reform on indulgences, a call that "went beyond his intentions," Father Dallen said. "In both his sincerity and his bull-headed stubbornness, he was the transition figure between the middle and modern ages, and occasioned both reform and schism."

Echoing that selection of Luther is Lawrence S. Cunningham from the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, who chose Luther "for his setting the religious agenda for the post-medieval period; his brilliance as a commentator on Scripture; his critique of excesses in the Church; his power as a hymn writer; and his role as the trigger of the Reformation which radically reshaped Christianity and whose questions still energize theology to this day."

Impetus for reform

Francesco C. Cesareo, associate professor of history and director of the Institute of Catholic Studies at John Carroll University, chose Luther "because I believe that his own personal struggle for salvation, which eventually led him to break with the Catholic Church, served as the impetus for the Church to look at itself more critically in light of the many abuses that had made their way into Catholicism.

"His theological break with Rome forced the Church to clarify its own doctrines and to establish without any ambiguities official Catholic teachings. In addition, his reform movement gave greater urgency to the Church's efforts to reform itself. Thus, his doctrine of justification by faith alone led the theologians to reexamine the Church's understanding of salvation, grace, good works and forgiveness, leading to a reaffirmation of the Church's teaching that faith and good works assist the individual in attaining salvation.

"Perhaps the greatest result of Luther's revolt for Catholicism was the eventual summoning of the Council of Trent, which set the course of Catholicism for over 400 years."

Idea of God

Prof. Cesareo also credits Luther for "his recovery of the Biblical meaning of the righteousness of God. In the Middle Ages,...the image of God was that of a stern judge who was to be feared, since He was ever-watchful, waiting for sinful humanity to sin and be punished. God was seen as prescribing requirements that were impossible for humans to achieve and then condemning them for failure.

"Luther's breakthrough rested on his defining the righteousness of God as the mercy of God. For Luther, the righteousness of God is primarily the grace which transforms and makes humanity righteous. Thus, God is no longer the stern judge to be feared, but rather the merciful God who accepts the sinner through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross."

'Enormous importance'

Luther also got the vote of Rev. Robert Scully, SJ, assistant professor of history at Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

"He certainly stands out as an extraordinarily influential Christian thinker," Father Scully said. "While one could not say that the Reformation would not have happened but for Luther, the impetus and personal direction that he gave to the reform movement of the 16th century was of enormous importance.

"Although the Reformation ended up causing a tragic split in Western Christendom, such a development was neither intended nor desired by Luther. His emphasis on justification by faith alone, the total dependence of each human being on the grace of God in order to attain salvation, and the central role of the Bible in Christian belief and practice, all had a transforming impact on Protestant -- and ultimately on Catholic -- orthodoxy and orthopraxy."