Luther and the Lutherans
In case you don’t know who the Lutherans are . . .
Lutheran Christians are evangelical— emphasizing the Gospel as the greatest treasure of the Christian faith.
In 1517 a young German Catholic monk named Martin Luther questioned the abusive practices of the church in his day by posting a list of 95 Theses to be debated in the academic community of Wittenberg. His zeal for reform became an affront to church authorities. Luther refused to go against his own conscience or to cease teaching the Gospel, and became an outlaw in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire.
The smoldering reforming sentiments of small groups of people and priests burst into flames all across Europe. By 1530, Dr. Luther and his colleagues were ordered to present a defense of their views before an Imperial Court in Augsburg. The paper they presented in their own defense, the “Augsburg Confession,” is still considered authoritative by Lutheran churches world-wide.
Lutherans give the highest authority to the Scriptures over any bishop or church authority. There are approximately 5million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in some 10,600 congregations. It is organized into 65 geographic synods, each with an elected Bishop. Lutheran congregations elect their own pastors from a roster of qualified candidates.
And, because some people get confused . . .
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther (1483–1546) is not the same person as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)
Both were Christian pastors and preachers, Dr. Martin Luther was born in Germany, became a Roman Catholic priest, and was credited with launching the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century by posting 95 theses (points for debate) on the church door on October 31, 1517. Luther was eventually excommunicated by the Pope but kept leading the churches in Germany anyway. He wrote over 50 volumes including sermons, commentaries, hymns, lectures, and the translation of the entire Bible from Hebrew and Greek into German. Eventually the name “Lutheran” stuck to churches following the Reformation, against Luther’s wishes.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, was ordained a Baptist minister, was a powerful preacher and speaker on behalf of racial justice and reform. King went on to lead the civil rights movement to end racial segregation in America. He is remembered for his leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, boycotts, the 1963 March on Washington, and the “I Have a Dream” speech. He won the Nobel Peace Price in 1964, and was assassinated in 1968. More than 700 cities in the United States have streets named for him. In 1977 he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.
Obviously, the family of Martin Luther King Jr. honored Martin Luther by naming a son, and grandson, after the famous Reformer, and signalled the reforming role that Dr. King would one day play. Equally, modern Lutherans honor Dr. King as a martyr and contemporary prophet. Martin Luther is remembered on the day of his death, February 18 (his birth into eternal life). Dr. King is remembered on his birthday, January 15. Both are named in the Lutheran calendar of Commemorations as Renewers of Society.