CALVINIST 2017

The Theology Documentary of a Lifetime

Featuring influential teachers R.C. Sproul, Paul Washer, Shai Linne, Kevin Deyoung, James White and many more.When a generation finds the theology and practice of the modern church wanting, they turn to the internet for answers. an investigation into the roots of the reformation reveals a theology that challenges everything they thought they knew about Christianity. With a fresh view of God, where do they go from here? - http://leslanphere.com/

When a generation finds the theology and practice of the modern church wanting, they turn to the internet for answers. An investigation into the roots of the reformation reveals a theology that challenges everything they thought they knew about Christianity.

ANTICHRIST, THE SMOKE OF ROME, A Dynasty and a Man by: Reginald Jacob Block

 

Antichrist Part 1 - Antichrist doctrine from a biblical and historic perspective.

   ANTICHRIST, THE SMOKE OF ROME, A Dynasty and a Man -by: Reginald Jacob Block

Today’s Protestant and Baptist churches are marching headlong back to Rome. Most have embraced the ecumenical movement and readily yoke themselves with anyone who identifies with Christ. Because churches no longer teach the historic doctrine of antichrist, most Christians are unaware that the early church up until the late 1800s, without hesitation, identified the Roman Catholic Church and the papacy from its inception onward as antichrist and the antichrist. They agreed that both scripture and history supported their claim. This book proves conclusively that the historic doctrine of antichrist is correct. - Available HERE.

Antichrist Part 2 The Reformers - Introduction to the Reformers' doctrine of antichrist.

Antichrist Part 3, The Reformers - This video features quotes from Reformers, and their interpretations of various relevant scriptures. They all concluded that antichrist of scripture was the papacy.

Martin Luther a Racist Anti-Semite? - Q&A RC Sproul & Voddie Baucham

 "That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew" (1523) - excerpts http://www.ligonier.org by Martin Luther

 1.
 A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ, but that she conceived Christ through Joseph, and had more children after that. Above and beyond all this, I am supposed to have preached a new heresy, namely, that Christ was [through Joseph] the seed of Abraham. How these lies tickle my good friends, the papists! Indeed, because they condemn the gospel it serves them right that they should have to satisfy and feed their heart's delight and joy with lies. I would venture to wager my neck that none of those very liars who allege such great things in honor of the mother of God believes in his heart a single one of these articles. Yet with their lies they pretend that they are greatly concerned about the Christian faith.

 But after all, it is such a poor miserable lie that I despise it and would rather not reply to it. In these past three years I have grown quite accustomed to hearing lies, even from our nearest neighbors. And they in turn have grown accustomed to the noble virtue of neither blushing nor feeling ashamed when they are publicly convicted of lying. They let themselves be chided as liars, yet continue their lying. Still they are the best Christians, striving with all that they have and are to devour the Turk and to extirpate all heresy.

 Since for the sake of others, however, I am compelled to answer these lies, I thought I would also write something useful in addition, so that I do not vainly steal the reader's time with such dirty rotten business. Therefore, I will cite from Scripture the reasons that move me to believe that Christ was a Jew born of a virgin, that I might perhaps also win some Jews to the Christian faith. Our fools, the popes, bishops, sophists, and monks-the crude asses' heads-have hitherto so treated the Jews that anyone who wished to be a good Christian would almost have had to become a Jew. If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian.

2.
They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property. When they baptize them they show them nothing of Christian doctrine or life, but only subject them to popishness and monkery. When the Jews then see that Judaism has such strong support in Scripture, and that Christianity has become a mere babble without reliance on Scripture, how can they possibly compose themselves and become right good Christians? I have myself heard from pious baptized Jews that if they had not in our day heard the gospel they would have remained Jews under the cloak of Christianity for the rest of their days. For they acknowledge that they have never yet heard anything about Christ from those who baptized and taught them.

 I hope that if one deals in a kindly way with the Jews and instructs them carefully from Holy Scripture, many of them will become genuine Christians and turn again to the faith of their fathers, the prophets and patriarchs. They will only be frightened further away from it if their Judaism is so utterly rejected that nothing is allowed to remain, and they are treated only with arrogance and scorn. If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles. Since they dealt with us Gentiles in such brotherly fashion, we in our turn ought to treat the Jews in a brotherly manner in order that we might convert some of them. For even we ourselves are not yet all very far along, not to speak of having arrived.
 

When we are inclined to boast of our position we should remember that we are but Gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ. We are aliens and in-laws; they are blood relatives, cousins, and brothers of our Lord. Therefore, if one is to boast of flesh and blood, the Jews are actually nearer to Christ than we are, as St. Paul says in Romans 9[:5]. God has also demonstrated this by his acts, for to no nation among the Gentiles has he granted so high an honor as he has to the Jews. For from among the Gentiles there have been raised up no patriarchs, no apostles, no prophets, indeed, very few genuine Christians either. And although the gospel has been proclaimed to all the world, yet He committed the Holy Scriptures, that is, the law and the prophets, to no nation except the Jews, as Paul says in Romans 3[:2] and Psalm 147[:19-20], "He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; nor revealed his ordinances to them....

500 Years of Reformation

The Day the World Changed: The Reformation 500 Years Later

As America celebrates Halloween tonight, many here and overseas celebrate an anniversary that changed the world.

October 31, 1517 marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, which brought change to the church and ultimately impacted culture and society’s institutions as well.

A Catalyst for Change

Luther never intended to start a reformation. When he nailed his 95 Theses to All Saint’s Church in Wittenberg, Germany, he only wanted to initiate an academic discussion among theologians regarding abuses he saw in the church—that’s why the original Theses were written in Latin.

Unbeknownst to Luther, the 95 Theses were translated, copied, and distributed throughout Germany. Interestingly, Luther embraced his new-found fame and continued to write about the abuses of the church—this time in German.

Luther believed in God’s sovereignty in these events. He also saw an opportunity to circumvent the control of the church using the newly developed printing press to distribute his message, which launched an unstoppable movement.

Rediscovered Truth and How to Find It

Luther discerned truth directly from God’s word. And, for perhaps the first time in a thousand years, Luther made truth accessible to common people, not just something dispensed by the powerful.

In his new book, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World, Eric Metaxas puts it this way:

Luther had begun by arguing for a view of the truth, but in so doing, he had dragged with him the brand-new idea of truthful argument….by suggesting that there was something called the truth and that this truth might be discovered and embraced outside the worldly institution of the church, he had inadvertently linked the facts of the truth with the way one approached the search for truth. This was itself a revolution, one that is still being fought today….But it is this that has changed everything, and this that is Luther’s principal legacy in the world.

At the core of this truth was an understanding of the scriptures that contradicted much of what the church taught in Luther’s day.

The five key beliefs established by Luther and the later reformers were:

1. Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura): Church teachings, doctrines, and practice should be based on scripture alone, which is God’s inspired and authoritative word. Faith is based on scripture alone, not tradition or extra-biblical teachings. Luther and the reformers believed that all people should read the Bible for themselves to learn about God, Christ, salvation, and how to live out their lives.
2. Christ Alone (Solo Christo): Salvation is found in the person of Jesus Christ alone. We are saved by the merits of Christ; we need not add anything to Christ to approach God.
3. Grace Alone (Sola Gratia): Salvation is a result of God’s grace. We are saved by grace alone without the addition of works through obedience to the commandments.
4. Faith Alone (Sola Fide): Salvation is appropriated by faith in Christ alone, and even that is a free gift from God. The medieval church taught that we are saved by the merits of Christ plus good works including baptism and indulgences (donating money to the church).
5. God’s Glory Alone (Soli Deo Gloria): The ultimate purpose of everything we do is to glorify God. Luther and the reformers said that glory was to go to God alone, not partly to Christ, partly to the church, partly to Mary, partly to the saints, and partly to the sinner himself.

These biblical truths were the theological pillars of the Reformation and had many significant practical implications. In fact, it is almost impossible to understand modern history apart from the truth embraced by the Reformation.

More.. Continue Reading PLS CLICK HERE.

Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World (PBS Sept.2017)

Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World 1h 53m 41s
"The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of one on the most important events in Western civilization: the birth of an idea that continues to shape the life of every American today.
In 1517, power was in the hands of the few, thought was controlled by the chosen, and common people lived lives without hope. On October 31 of that year, a penniless monk named Martin Luther sparked the revolution that would change everything.
He had no army. In fact, he preached nonviolence so powerfully that — 400 years later — Michael King would change his name to Martin Luther King to show solidarity with the original movement.

image from - http://www.pbs.org/program/martin-luther-idea-changed-world/#gallery

This movement, the Protestant Reformation, changed Western culture at its core, sparking the drive toward individualism, freedom of religion, women's rights, separation of church and state, and even free public education. Without the Reformation, there would have been no pilgrims, no Puritans, and no America in the way we know it. 
The film follows the dramatic story of Martin Luther's life: the massive lightning storm that nearly killed him, the bleak self-punishment of his time in the monastery, the corruption that unleashed his anger, his trial before the most powerful man in Europe, and the staged kidnapping that helped him escape the death penalty. 

This is a highly-visual documentary with elaborate full-scale dramatizations that were filmed in the castles, monasteries and cobblestone streets of eastern Europe. Dozens of historians from Europe and the Americas were interviewed, with a careful eye to ensure all sides of the story are represented. The film is narrated by Hugh Bonneville ("Downton Abbey") and stars Padraic Delany ("The Tudors," "The Man Who Knew Infinity")." - http://www.pbs.org/program/martin-luther-idea-changed-world/#gallery

"Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World"

was produced by Boettcher+Trinklein Inc.

MORE- https://concordiatheology.org/2017/02/martin-luther-the-idea-that-changed-the-world-additional-resources/

Myth About Martin Luther: He was Anti-Semitic | Luther, Jews and the Nazis (Uwe Siemon-Netto, PhD)

Uwe Siemon-Netto explains that German Reformer Martin Luther was in no way anti-semitic. Futhermore, Uwe also explains how the Nazis took Luther completely out of context in order to propagate their anti-Jewish campaign. Buy Siemon-Netto's book The Fabricated Luther: Refuting Nazi Connections and Other Modern Myths - https://www.amazon.com/The-Fabricated-Luther-Refuting-Connections/dp/0758608551

Siemon-Netto, Uwe, The Fabricated Luther: Refuting Nazi Connections and other Modern Myths, 2007, Second Edition. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Review by Karla Poewe, Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. In a world ripe with propaganda it is refreshing to find a book dissecting a cliché that was used for just such purposes by people as far apart as Josef Goebbels and Alan Dershowitz, namely, that Luther was the “spiritual predecessor of Adolf Hitler” (p. 23). Siemon-Netto’s book traces the origin of the cliché that “linked Luther to Hitler“ back to the liberal theologian Troeltsch who passed it on to the writer Thomas Mann who, in turn, shared it with the author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich William L. Shirer (p.24). From there it was picked up by the Germanophobic propagandist Lord Vansittart as well as by archbishops and priests of the Church of England. It was also popular among America’s Union Theological Seminary faculty in the early thirties and is used by U.S. historians like Robert Michael and Lucy Dawidowicz, among many others, today (p. 23). In fact, those who were primarily responsible for the Holocaust and generally for the brutality on the Eastern Front of World War II were men who had not only left Christianity but were intent on destroying the entire Judeo-Christian tradition because it was unGerman. To show the ludicrous nature of the cliché that blamed the Holocaust on the line of descent from the Protestant Luther, SiemonNetto points out that many perpetrators were born into homes and countries (Austria and Poland, for example) that were formerly or nominally Roman Catholic. He raises this point only, however, to emphasize “the absurdity of the charge that one Christian denomination’s theology paved the way for genocide“ (p. 66). Holocausts were also perpetrated by Turkish Muslims, Orthodox Russians, and Cambodian Buddhists, yet these religions are not linked with their crimes (p.66). At issue is rather the thing that Luther warned against with his “two realms“ doctrine, namely, the danger that comes with blurring state and church or politics and religion. When blurring occurs secular “isms“ are quick to follow. Politicized Christianity, like that of the German Christians, for example, was easily absorbed by the political religion of National Socialism (pp. 74-76). By contrast, Luther’s two realms doctrine “de-ideologizes politics” and “de-idolizes” the state (p.77). Far from confirming a line from Luther to Hitler, Siemon-Netto shows the role that Lutheranism played in the resistance against the Hitler regime. The author is particularly strong in his analysis of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Carl Goerdeler. Bonhoeffer understood “two realms” to refer to the fact that Lutherans live before God and with God in a world without God, that is, in a secular world. He could therefore easily co-operate with secular conspirators to kill Hitler. Bonhoeffer also accepted the teaching “that all who take up the sword will perish by the sword.” He knew it to refer to him and his circle. It is in this spirit too that he could say “I  pray for the defeat of my country, for I think this is the only possibility of paying for all the suffering that my country has caused in the world” (p. 101). According to Siemon-Netto, Goerdeler, the mayor of Leipzig who was executed by the Nazis, was rooted in nineteenth-century Protestant liberalism (p. 111) but he internalized the “ethos and attitude” of Lutheranism (p. 112). As his daughter Marianne Meyer-Krahmer confirmed when Siemon-Netto interviewed her, Goerdeler warned all and sundry against the danger of Hitler. Her father valued and stood up for Leipzig’s Jewish heritage and citizens and saw as clearly as his other close Lutheran colleagues in the resistance that Hitler was determined to destroy three enemies: the Jews first, then the Christians, and finally capitalism (p. 106, 116). It is a sad chapter in human history that brave men like Goerdeler too were defeated by men who could not understand his subtle Lutheran distinctions and the necessity of thinking on two levels. Goerdeler’s sense, on the one hand, that a moral catastrophe had befallen Germany that would be a danger to the world and his political point, on the other, that National Socialism was largely the result of the injustice of Versailles was seen as deception by Vansittart (p. 145). In response, Vansittart soon used a race-based “militarism” cliché that fired the hate of the British for a war that could possibly have been averted in 1938 had Goerdeler’s plan of action been debated in British parliament (p. 120, 126, 130). Instead, revenge against and punishment of the Germans lasted until 1949 and beyond (p. 136, 142), and it came from the top: the Roosevelts (p. 134-139), Vansittart (p.126), Churchill (p.128), and the British Bomber Command (p.129).But Luther was vindicated. Luther’s “two realms” doctrine as it was applied in the German Democratic Republic, which German humor says was neither German, nor Democratic, nor a Republic, was one of the most powerful tools to defeat the Stalin made dictatorship peacefully. The two realms doctrine simply enabled the Christian “to be guided by natural reason while operating in the secular realm without losing his citizenship in the spiritual realm” (p.173). More than vindicating Luther, it shows how Germany’s resistance of the Nazi regime, the core of it based on Lutheranism, might have toppled Hitler’s government given time and external moral support. That did not happen, and so Siemon-Netto, a son of the city of Leipzig, tells how the “anti-Nazi Confessing Church, having learned from the past, carried on as a brotherhood within the Landeskirche” after the Second World War, supplying the church with “the theological ammunition in its dealing with the Communist state” (p161). Its theologians compared Christianity and Marxism-Leninism and concluded, “Marxism-Leninism is an anti-Christian doctrine of salvation” (p.161). With precisely this knowledge, the churches opened their doors to the secular world, Christians listened to their secular compatriots, and together they started candlelight marches that attracted overwhelming numbers of people.Perhaps because Siemon-Netto is both a journalist and a theologian, he has produced a unique book that shows theology affect politics and indeed bring down a state without, as Lutherans are so careful to emphasize, mixing religion and politics into an unwholesome brew. Montgomery’s book (1970) was an earlier attempt to defend Martin Luther. But when he briefly visited East Germany it was still frozen in totalitarianism. Montgomery, therefore, cleared the political rubbish from Luther’s core beliefs about salvation and the two realms dogma and like Siemon-Netto also shows how a person whose heart is imbued with the Gospel uses his reason in the secular world to keep human beings from destroying themselves (Montgomery 1970: 138).Another book that complements Siemon-Netto’s effort to make explicit the meaning of the two kingdoms in a world gone awry is that of Rasmussen (2005) about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Rasmussen shows the development of Bonhoeffer’s theology in relationship to the resistance against Hitler’s national socialist system. To Bonhoeffer, the two realms became also the inevitable condition of having to live at two levels: appearing to be with the government while actively working to bring it down. Bonhoeffer’s thinking about living with God and before God but in a secular world where he had to work with communists and military men to assassinate a tyrant, was no longer as sharply dichotomous as SiemonNetto’s insistence on the absolute distinction between the two realms. But even Siemon-Netto’s concern not to brew politics and religion together received a peculiar twist in the situation of the demise of East German communism. The people who were selected to be the negotiators for unification were precisely “servants of the spiritual realm,” so that pastors became government ministers, members of parliament at all levels, county executives, and mayors. They stepped into the worldly realm because it lacked personalities that were untarnished by the previous government and yet capable of maintaining the secular order during a time of transition (Siemon-Netto 2007: 155).But why did the resisters of Hitler’s Germany end up as mere martyrs? Rasmussen sees the inevitability of their failure in their ethically based rejection to use methods similar to those of the Nazis. But as Siemon-Netto makes abundantly clear, they failed because the Allies who, from the beginning of war, had invested all in Germany’s total defeat and unconditional surrender were simply unwilling to contemplate anything else. By contrast, the GDR had the outside support it needed. More importantly, the support came unexpectedly from Gorbachev of the Soviet Union just as it came expectedly from Kohl of the Federal Republic. What is more, the three leaders who first negotiated the Unification Treaty, namely, Kohl, Gorbachev, and Lothar de Mazière (who headed the new East German Government in 1990) were Christian. De Mazière was born into a devout Protestant family descended from genteel Huguenot exiles from France. Gorbachev, who met Pope John Paul II in 1989, has confessed openly that he is Christian.For anyone who wants to understand the relevance of Luther’s two realms belief in recent history, The Fabricated Luther deserves a place on your shelf. Indeed, I know of no other book that combines so naturally and effectively theology and Realpolitik, without politicizing the former or sacralizing the latter. Finally, the book has the virtue of being easy to read.Bibliography Montgomery, John Warwick 1970 In Defense of Martin Luther. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Northwestern Publishing House.Rasmussen, Larry L. 2005 Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Reality and Resistance, 2005, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press.

Without Luther, There Would Be No Bach

How the Reformation Influenced Faith and Work Today - Originally Posted in The Gospel Coalition, By Bethany Jenkins / March 31, 2017
Video from Youtube Bach's Mass in B Minor, Gloria

Martin Luther never met Johann Sebastian Bach. The two Germans were born more than 200 years apart. But without Luther, there would have been no Bach.

At 48 years old, when Bach received a copy of Luther’s translation of the Bible, he made extensive notes in its margins, allowing it to shape his theology of music. Near 1 Chronicles 25, a listing of David’s musicians, he wrote, “This chapter is the true foundation of all God-pleasing music.” At 2 Chronicles 5:11–14, which speaks of temple musicians worshiping God, he wrote, “At a reverent performance of music, God is always at hand with his gracious presence.”

Embodying a Lutheran theology of work, Bach viewed all of his music—whether sacred hymns or secular cantatas—as a calling from God. He believed his work had two purposes: “The final aim and reason of all music is nothing other than (1) the glorification of God and (2) the refreshment of the spirit.” Thus, he signed all of his church music and most of his secular music with the letters “S.D.G.”—Soli Deo Gloria, Glory to God Alone.

Without Luther, Bach wouldn’t have understood the dignity of all work—both sacred and secular—nor the idea of work as a means to love one’s neighbor.

But how did Luther come to understand these things?

Those With a ‘Calling’

Luther was born into a church culture that celebrated religious work above all else. In the late middle ages, only priests and other church workers had “callings” and “vocations.” They were part of “spiritual estate.” Everyone else—from farmers to lawyers to kings—had necessary but worldly occupations.

The rise of monastic spirituality, which called religious workers out of the everyday world and into the desert or the monastery, only reinforced this perspective. The laity was second-class. Life was divided into the “sacred” and the “secular.” And the priesthood of all believers was marginalized.

This problem was not lost on Luther.

Love Grows by Works of Love

Luther wanted to connect faith and everyday life. All of us, he reasoned, are priests—no matter how ordinary our lives:

It is pure [fiction] that the Pope, bishops, priests, and monks are called the “spiritual estate” while princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the “temporal estate.” This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and that for this reason: all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office. . . . We are all consecrated priests by baptism, as St. Peter says: “You are a royal priesthood and a priestly realm” (1 Pet. 2:9). The Apocalypse says: “Thou hast made us to be kings and priests by thy blood” (Rev. 5:9–10).

“Vocation,” then, included religious work as well as nonreligious—domestic duties, civic engagement, and ordinary employment. What made work “Christian” wasn’t the type of work being done but the faith of the one doing it. Luther writes:

The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they may be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but all works are measured before God by faith alone.

Such faith, he believed, was evidenced by our everyday work. “Love grows by works of love,” Luther posted to doors of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg (Thesis 44). For him, work was one of the best ways to love one’s neighbor. As Tim Keller summarizes,

When we work, we are, as those in the Lutheran tradition often put it, the “fingers of God,” the agents of his providential love for others. This understanding elevates the purpose of work from making a living to loving our neighbor. - Click HERE to continue reading.

Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World (TRAILER)

Martin Luther triggered a seismic upheaval that rocked the western world in the 1500s—with an impact that continues to reverberate to this day. This film tells the great adventure story of his life. At the same time, it examines his quest for truth—questions we all must face—including "Who am I?" "What is my purpose" and "How do I get right with God?" - more pls. CLICK HERE.

A Man Named Martin Luther

Lutheran Hour Ministries (2015) - In this five-session Bible study, Luther's life and times are examined through the lens of history, religion and theology. Expanding on commentary from Rev. Gregory Seltz, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour, numerous scholars add their expertise and perspective to render an illuminating portrait of the life of this extraordinary human being. 

The influence and impact of Luther's life is the stuff of serious study. As a forlorn sinner feeling lost and desperate before a stern and exacting Judge, Luther desponded of all hope for eternity. But as one who came to cling to the Spirit-delivered truths of justification by faith and the liberty believers experience by God's grace, he rebounded to become a triumphant ambassador for the Gospel.

The details of Luther's life -- his childhood with his parents Hans and Margaret, his university pursuits, his decision to become a monk, his protestation of Catholic practices, his voluminous and erudite scholastic output, his life in hiding, and his roles as husband and father -- are all considered in this study. A Man Named Martin is a fresh and explorative look at an individual who, down through the centuries, has increased in importance and vitality to the Christian church.

To this day, Luther's staunch faith and the extent of his outreach, remain a standard for Christ-centered living to believers in the 21st-century.

Among the scholars and pastors featured in this documentary are Mary Jane Haemig, Joel Biermann, Gregory Seltz, Ken Schurb, Paul Maier, Robert Kolb, Daniel Preus

CALVIN BUT NOT LUTHER?

CALVIN BUT NOT LUTHER? is extracted from WHO WAS JOHN CALVIN AND WHY WAS HE IMPORTANT? You can read the whole article by clicking HERE

"When Trevin Wax first released his list of the Top-Five Theologians perhaps the most controversial part of the list was the choice of Calvin over Luther. I agree with his choice (as do many scholars, not all of them Reformed) and so a few words need to be said about why Luther is not above Calvin.

The debate comes down to how one defines the importance of a theological figure. With Luther, no one would doubt the influence of his reformation. One could easily point out that without Luther there would be no Calvin—indeed there would be no Protestantism. His stance before the Holy Roman Emperor is iconic, almost a microcosm of the Reformation itself.

"Still Luther’s influence is truncated by a few factors, not the least of which is that few Protestants today would share Luther’s theological position on several things beyond the doctrines of grace, justification, and the Law. His doctrine of the sacraments is unique to the Lutheran expression of the faith and a bone of contention between Lutherans and many other Protestant denominations. Luther’s views on baptism, too, would leave many outside his definition of the sacraments, and he retained an abnormally high view of Mary amongst the reformers.

So if we take the words ‘most influential’ to mean ‘the one who influenced the start of the Reformation,’ then obviously Luther would be in the lead. But this would be a poor definition—in fact it would mean that only Luther can fit this definition, which is hardly a debate.

Instead we should take ‘most influential’ in the broader sense to mean those who shaped the most people over the centuries. Which figure sold the most books, spawned the most movements beyond their immediate context, and even influenced the most hostile ideas against their theology? (Not all influence is positive, of course.)

On this definition, many historians would grudgingly choose Calvin over Luther, but again not in a way that sees Luther as less than vital to the Reformation and evangelical history. Still, given the international influence of Calvinism—both in the Reformation and today in places like Korea—most would place Calvin ahead of Luther. But not without feeling a sense of chagrin that we can’t fit them both in the list.

Another important factor is that the other dominant theology of evangelicalism, Arminianism, was itself spawned out of a rejection of certain points of Reformed theology, and Arminianism has always seen Calvinism as its chief opponent. Wesleyan, Baptist, and Congregational churches that embrace Arminianism, then, will always stand against against Calvin and rarely Luther. The specter of Calvinism on these groups is enormous and weighs into the decision as to Calvin’s influence.

So on these terms the choice of Calvin over Luther is not based only on being a ‘homer’ for Calvin, but on a wider view of the influential theologies within evangelicalism. Calvin’s influence on both his theological advocates and enemies is unrivaled from the early generations of the Reformation—at least insofar as Calvin’s name became synonymous with subsequent developments within Reformed thinking.

But if we had extended the list to 10 instead of 5, it hardly needs to be said that Luther would easily be on the list. For now, we’ll stick with Calvin." - Extracted from WHO WAS JOHN CALVIN AND WHY WAS HE IMPORTANT? You can read the whole article by clicking HERE.

THE LUTHERAN INSULTER RAP

All insults and citations come courtesy of the Lutheran Insulter.

1) “You are the worst rascal of all the rascals on earth!”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 341 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

2) “In lying fashion you ignore what even children know.”

From Against Latomus, pg. 145 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 32

3) “I would not smell the foul odor of your name.”

From Concerning the Ministry, pg. 17 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 40

4) “You people are more stupid than a block of wood.”

From Against Latomus, pg. 242 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 32

5) “Your writings and head are disordered and mixed up, so that it is exceedingly annoying to read and difficult to remember what you write.”

From Against the Heavenly Prophets, pg. 146 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 40

6) “What pig sties could compare in goings-on with you?”

From Infiltrating and Clandestine Preachers, pg. 388 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 40

7) “May God punish you, I say, you shameless, barefaced liar, devil’s mouthpiece, who dares to spit out, before God, before all the angels, before the dear sun, before all the world, your devil’s filth.”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 349 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

8) “We leave you to your own devices, for nothing properly suits you except hypocrisy, flattery, and lies.”

From Against Latomus, pg. 143 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 32

9) “Take care, you evil and wrathful spirits. God may ordain that in swallowing you may choke to death.”

From Against the Heavenly Prophets, pg. 111 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 40

10) “You seem to me to be a real masterpiece of the devil’s art.”

From A Sermon on Keeping Children in School, pg. 217 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 46

11) “For you are an excellent person, as skillful, clever, and versed in Holy Scripture as a cow in a walnut tree or a sow on a harp.”

From Against Hanswurst, pg. 219 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

12) “I am tired of the pestilent voice of your sirens.”

From Explanations of the Ninety-Five Theses, pg. 204 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 31

13) “Dear God, what an utterly shameless, blasphemous lying-mouth you are!”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 300 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

14) “As for the signs of your peculiar priesthood, we are willing to let you boast of these mean things, for we know it would be quite easy to shave, anoint, and clothe in a long robe even a pig or a block of wood.”

From Concerning the Ministry, pg. 34 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 40

15) “A natural donkey, which carries sacks to the mill and eats thistles, can judge you – indeed, all creatures can! For a donkey knows it is a donkey and not a cow. A stone knows it is a stone; water is water, and so on through all the creatures. But you mad asses do not know you are asses.”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 360 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

16) “You vulgar boor, blockhead, and lout, you ass to cap all asses, screaming your heehaws.”

From Against Hanswurst, pg. 212 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

17) “You are a crude ass, and an ass you will remain!”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 281 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

18) “Blind moles!”

From Against Latomus, pg. 176 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 32

19) “Even if the Antichrist appears, what greater evil can he do than what you have done and do daily?”

From Why the Books of Pope Were Burned, pg. 393 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 31

20) “You sophistic worms, grasshoppers, locusts, frogs and lice!”

From Against Latomus, pg. 150 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 32

21) “You are a brothel-keeper and the devil’s daughter in hell.”

From On the Councils and the Church, pg. 160 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

22) “You are desperate, thorough arch-rascals, murderers, traitors, liars, the very scum of all the most evil people on earth. You are full of all the worst devils in hell – full, full, and so full that you can do nothing but vomit, throw, and blow out devils!”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 277 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

23) “You say, “What comes out of our mouth must be kept!” I hear it – which mouth do you mean? The one from which the farts come? (You can keep that yourself!)”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 281 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

24) “You are like a magician who conjures gulden into the mouths of silly people, but when they open their mouths they have horse dirt in them.”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 264 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

25) “The reward of such flattery is what your crass stupidity deserves. Therefore, we shall turn from you, a sevenfold stupid and blasphemous wise person.”

From Against Latomus, pg. 145 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 32

26) “I had not supposed or expected your arrogant spirit to seek such a ridiculous and childish reason for lying; you should have better reasons.”

From Against Hanswurst, pg. 186 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

27) “Everyone can see that such a sentence must have been blown into you by all the existing devils with one breath.”

From Against the Roman Papacy, an Institution of the Devil, pg. 285 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

28) “The devil rides you.”

From Against the Heavenly Prophets, pg. 157 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 40

29) “You have set out to rub your scabby, scurvy head against honor.”

From Against Hanswurst, pg. 185 of Luther’s Works, Vol. 41

The Zwickau Prophets and Martin Luther.

Thomas Müntzer (Muentzer, Muntzer) was perhaps
the most controversial figure of the period of the
German Reformation, a man who has been
called at various times the "beginner of the
great Anabaptist movement," he forerunner of modern
socialism, the beginner of the mystical-spiritualistic
 movement in Germany, a religious
socialist, the leader in the Peasants' War 1525, MORE..

Zwickau Prophets (1521-1522): Three craftsmen from the town of Zwickau claimed the gift of prophecy and began promulgating a mixture of Taborite and Waldesian teachings: including antipaedobaptism; denial of a professional ministry or organized religion because all godly people would be under the direct influence of the Spirit; special revelation through visions and dreams; and the imminent return of Christ. In December 1521 they came to Wittenberg to try and persuade the reformers. Melanchthon, impressed by their biblical knowledge was uncertain of what action to take. Their continued presence created great agitation, as the "Prophets" became more outspoken in their millennial views and criticisms of Luther's conservatism. Upon Luther's return in 1522, they were expelled and little is known of them after this. Their main significance was their influence upon the revolutionary Müntzer, and in the warning to us that we should not be intimidated about "quenching the Spirit" if we reject teachings of "prophets". (Extracted from THE ANABAPTISTS AND THE REFORMATION - read it all HERE.)

Radical Disciples 
  Many radicals began as disciples of the major reformers. Some so-called Anabaptists had begun as disciples of Martin Luther. These included Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, a biblical scholar, and Thomas Münzer, a spiritualizer. Even the iconoclastic Zwickau prophets were somewhat influenced by Luther. Karlstadt was a professor of theology at Wittenberg when Luther arrived and had granted Luther his doctorate in theology, but Karlstadt moved further and faster than Luther. Thomas Münzer took up social issues and supported the peasant revolt in 1525. Another Anabaptist, Melchior Hofmann, had been a follower of Luther. His pilgrimage had taken him from Lutheran to Zwinglian (sacramentarian) to Anabaptist to Chiliast. Menno Simons had read Luther as a Catholic priest before his conversion to Anabaptism. Were they simply impatient? Would Luther have moved as far as they had, given more time? Or were there fundamental differences which were irreconcilable?

Other Anabaptists had been disciples of Ulrich Zwingli, the reformer of Zurich, Switzerland, or had been affected by his writings. Although Zwingli had been influenced by Luther and did not reject the authority of the state, even he went too far for Luther when he advocated that what could not be found in Scripture ought to be removed from the Church. Ulrich Zwingli was a biblical humanist and therefore was more radical than the conservative Luther. Luther might even include him among the fanatics. The principle on which Luther operated was that he would retain the traditions unless the Scriptures definitively rejected them. Zwingli operated on the opposite theory. Whatever was not supported by clear and certain Scriptures should be discarded. This was the radical approach. Biblical humanists like Zwingli determined to return to the source of the faith and what was not there does not belong on the tree. Zwingli began his reform on this principle. So did the Anabaptists. This, in Luther's estimation, opened the door for fanaticism and revolution. As Bruce Shelley observes, “In a sense the rise of Anabaptism was no surprise. Most revolutionary movements produce a wing of radicals who feel called of God to reform the reformation.” (extracted from Opposition to Radical Reformation:Martin Luther Against Anabaptists and Radicals. - Read it all HERE.)

YOUTUBE VID: Martin Luther, the 95 Theses and the Birth of the Protestant Reformation

The dominance of the Roman Catholic Church remained unchallenged for nearly 500 years. Then, in 1517, a German priest shook the Catholic Church to its very foundations. His name was Martin Luther. Luther was not a rebel. He wasn't trying to destroy the Catholic Church or even start his own religion. All Luther was trying to do was to stop the Church from engaging in some practices that he considered unchristian.
Luther's problem was with the Church's practice of selling indulgences. An indulgence is a remission of punishment for sins. You can think of an indulgence as a 'get out of hell free' card. The church had been in the practice of granting indulgences in exchange for good works and acts of piety for centuries, ever since Pope Urban II offered indulgences to Crusaders in 1095.
Luther questioned whether the church had the authority to grant such indulgences. He believed that the only true path to salvation lay through faithfulness to Christ and his teachings, not through adherence to the ideologies and dogmas of the Catholic Church. Yet Luther probably would not have made a fuss if it weren't for the fact that these 'get out of hell free' cards weren't actually free.
Earlier that year, in 1517, Pope Leo X had made an unconventional move. Leo wanted to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but he didn't want to spend his own considerable wealth to do so. This is not surprising, as Leo was a member of the wealthy Medici banking family, which dominated Florence. The man was more of a banker than a priest.
Leo's solution was to begin offering indulgences in exchange for donations to the Basilica's renovation. While these donations technically counted as pious works, Luther saw them as simple payment. To Luther's eyes, the Church was essentially selling salvation. He witnessed poor peasants giving up their life savings to buy an indulgence for a dead relative, in the hope of saving their loved ones from the tortures of purgatory. All the while the Church grew ever richer.
This was too much for Luther. Luther had read the Bible, something most people of his age could not do, since the only available translations of the Bible were in Latin and Greek. Luther saw nothing in the Bible that gave the Church the right to charge people for their salvation. The church was supposed to be a spiritual sanctuary, not a marketplace.
So, Luther set about writing 95 complaints with the Church's greedy behavior. These complaints are now called the 95 Theses. On October 3, 1517, Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Church of Wittenberg and sent copies to the higher authorities of the Catholic Church.
The posting of the 95 Theses is considered by many the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. However, it is important to remember that Luther was not trying to undermine the Church. He was just trying to get them to stop making money off the business of salvation.
Luther's 95 Theses spread across Europe like wildfire. Within two months, they were being read in cities across the continent. The next year, they were translated into German and printed on a massive scale, further fueling the controversy. Luther suddenly found himself at the center of the greatest conflict of his age. (Extracted from Martin Luther, the 95 Theses and the Birth of the Protestant Reformation. Pls. click HERE to read the whole article.)
R.C. Sproul and Steve lawson on The Zwickau Prophets and The Reformation. Most Christians have heard of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers. But there is good reason why you have probably never heard of their contemporaries, the Zwickau prophets. In the following two videos, R.C. Sproul and Steve Lawson explain who they were and why they left no lasting legacy.

The principle of Sola Scriptura—Scripture alone—lies at the heart of the Protestant Reformation. Rejecting the pope as God's voice on earth required that there be a true and superior authority on which Christians could depend. Replacing the pope with someone else who claimed direct revelation from God would have only served to perpetuate the original problem. The scope and extent of the Reformation legacy, still felt today, is primarily due to the Reformers' unshakable commitment to God's unchanging revelation found in the pages of your Bible.