Baltic Cruise - Day 3, Germany

On Day 3 of the cruise our ship docked in Warnemünde, near Rostock, Germany. We rented a van, and we were planning to drive to Wittenberg where Luther was a monk. When we got there, we were confused because we couldn't find anything, but when we talked to the woman at the information desk, we found out we were actually at Wittenberge, a town ~150km away from Wittenberg. They are both even on the same river, and have a college in them.

Examining a map

A bell tower of the Protestant Church

While at Wittenberge, we visited the Stadtmuseum(City Museum). The museum was mostly about the Singer sewing machine manufacturing plant in the town, operational from 1905-1991. There were also exhibits about the history of other industries, as well as the shutdown of plants during the Marxist rule.

A museum about the history of Wittenberge

From there we drove to Putlitz where we ate lunch at a bakery (rolls and donuts.) We went to an old tower, which was part of the town's wall at one point, but we could not go inside.

A tower which used to be part of the Putlitz town wall

On our way back to the port, we stopped at Wittstock, a fortified town which was sieged during the 30 year's war.

A church in Wittstock

At the end of the fortified town, there was a castle, the keep of which now houses a museum on the 30 Year's War. The museum had some really nice exhibits.

A model of what Wittstock looked like at the time of the 30 Years War

The keep of Wittstock

A firearm of the type used in the 30 Years War

A Plague Doctor. The beak was filled with aromatic items to ward off the "bad smell" thought to have caused the plague

A sword hilt of the era

A view from the top of the keep

The Castle Wall

 After the museum closed, we drove back to Warnemünde. Since we had time before the cruise ship left, we took a walk along the beach and through part of the town.

A view of the Baltic

A lighthouse on the Warnemünde beach

Blogging the Reformers: Martin Luther

Martin Luther was born on November 10th, 1483 in Germany. His father was a miner, but he wanted Martin to be a lawyer, so he sent him to the university. But on July 2nd, 1505 as he was riding through a thunderstorm, he was scared by the lightening and thunder so he vowed that if God protected him, he would become a monk. He survived the storm and entered the monastery against his father's wishes. As a monk he worked hard to gain righteousness through good works.

Luther's German Bible

Martin Luther became a doctor at the University of Wittenberg in 1512, and he remained a doctor there for the rest of his life. He began to resist the Catholic church in the matter of indulgences. John Tetzel was traveling through Germany selling indulgences, saying that the pope would forgive your sins if you bought them. Luther disagreed, and he wrote 95 theses in Latin against them and nailed them to the church door as was customary. They were translated into German, and quickly spread all over the country. The 95 theses acknowledged the supremacy of the pope, but Luther gradually began to see that the pope was opposed to the truth of the Bible. He also began to teach justification by faith alone. The pope excommunicated Luther in January 1521 because Luther refused to recant his writings. In April he was ordered to appear before Charles the Emperor at the town of Worms to defend his beliefs. When ordered to recant his writings there, he said,

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.

After the Diet of Worms Charles ordered that Luther be arrested. But on the way back to Wittenberg, he was captured by Fredrick the Elector and confined in Wartburg Castle to protect him from his enemies. While there he translated the New Testament into German. In 1522 he returned to Wittenberg and continued to preach and reform the church. He married Katharina von Bora after helping rescue her from a convent, and they had several children. He also finished his translation of the Old Testament into German. He died on February 18th, 1546. He had a great effect in Germany, but his writings were translated and he had a great effect wherever the Reformation penetrated.

Wartburg Castle. Source.

Blogging the Reformers: John Elector of Saxony

John was born June 30th, 1468 to the Elector of Saxony. His brother was Fredrick the Wise, who ruled Saxony for 39 years. Fredrick was Protestant, and supported Martin Luther and the Reformation. After Fredrick died in 1525, John succeeded him as the Elector. He was Protestant as well and was one of the political leaders of the Reformation in Germany. At the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 he stood up the the Emperor and refused to abolish the preaching of the word of God in Saxony. He was called John the Steadfast, and God used him to defend the Reformation in Germany. He died on August 16th, 1532, and was buried in the Castle Church in Wittenberg.

Blogging the Reformers - Fredrick Elector of Saxony

Fredrick was born January 17th 1463 to the Elector of Saxony. At that time Germany was ruled by an emporer, but was composed of many different states which were very independent. Saxony was one of the major provinces of Germany. Fredrick suceeded his father in 1486, at the age of 23, and he continued in that position for 39 years. He was known as Fredrick the Wise, and was a good ruler.

However, his most important role began near the end of his life as he protected the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther began the Reformation while he was a teacher at Wittenburg University, which Fredrick had founded. It became a place which was very influential through the teaching of Luther and others. When the Pope and the Emporer ordered Luther to be arrested and executed, Fredrick saved his life by hiding him in Wartburg Castle for several years. He refused to obey the Pope's orders to kill Luther and prevented others from doing so. Though he did not abandon all of the false doctrines of the Catholic church, he inclined toward the Reformation and God used him to protect Luther and the other leaders of the movement in Germany. He died May 5th, 1525. D'Aubigne said this of his death:

Meanwhile the cause of the Reformation itself appeared as if it would perish in the gulf that had swalled up the liberties of the people. ... [T]he aged elector of Saxony, that man whom God had raised up to defend the Reformation against all dangers from without, descended to the tomb. ... The doctrine of the Gospel was no longer to him that sword which attacks error, following it up wherever it may be found, and after a vigorous contest tripumphing over it at last; it fell upon his heart like the dew, or the gentle rain, filling it with hope and joy. Fredrick had forgotten the present world: he saw nothing but God and eternity.¹

1. J. H. Merle D'Aubigne. History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century. (Harrisonburg, Virginia: Sprinkle Publications, 2003) volume 3, book 10, p. 199-200

The Logical Fallacies in Erasmus’ Arguments

Martin Luther, Author of The Bondage of The Will

by Joshua Horn

from Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther

buy The Bondage of the Will

In 1525 Martin Luther published a book entitled, De Servo Arbitrio, or in English, Bondage of the Will. He wrote it in response to On Free Will by Desiderus Erasmus. In his book, Erasmus argued that man has free will and he must chose to be saved. Luther replied to him in Bondage of the Will and pointed out many flaws in his arguments. Three of the most important flaws were that Erasmus twisted scripture to meet his own interpretation, that he rejected the Bible rather than split with the Pope, and lastly that he contradicted himself in his definition for free will.

The first of Erasmus’ flaws was that he frequently twisted scripture to match his own opinions. When he deals with the text where God says that he hardened Pharaoh's heart¹, he claims that God really meant that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Luther says, “When God says: ‘I will harden the heart of Pharaoh’, you change the persons, and take it thus: ‘Pharaoh hardens himself by my long-suffering’!”² When the Bible says this, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing,”³ Erasmus says that “‘nothing’ may mean the same as ‘a little imperfect something.’”⁴ This is clear twisting of the words of scripture. If you take that nothing means ‘an imperfect little something’, than most of the doctrines of the Bible fall apart. From these two examples it is clear that Erasmus was forced to twist the words of scripture to make them fit with his position.

Erasmus’ second logical fallacy is that he would rather give up the scriptures than contradict the Pope. He was so afraid of contention that he was willing to give up what he knew was true rather than fight for it. Luther says this to Erasmus, “For your teaching is designed to induce us, out of consideration for Popes, princes, and peace, to abandon and yield up … the sure word of God. But when we abandon that, we abandon God, faith, salvation, and all Christianity!”⁵ The Bible says in Matthew 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”⁶ The basic problem is that Erasmus feared man more than God.

Erasmus admitted in his book that free will is a slave to sin and can not will to do anything good. He says that, “the human will after sin is so depraved that it has lost its freedom and is forced to serve sin, and cannot recall itself to a better state.”⁷ But later in the book he claims that a human can will to seek God! This is a clear contradiction. Luther says this, “You say that ‘free-will’ is a power of the human will by which a man can apply himself to good; but here you say, and and approve of its being said, that man without grace cannot will good.”⁸ Erasmus realized that free will could not do any good, but he still contradicted himself and said that it is man who chooses to be saved.

We have just seen Erasmus' three most important mistakes. They are that he twisted the words of scripture, that he rejected the Bible rather than split with the Pope, and thirdly that he contradicted himself in his definition of free will. After Luther pointed out Erasmus' fallacies and destroyed his arguments, there were no good arguments left for free will. Many people today who defend free will have the same problems and make the same logical fallacies as Erasmus did when arguing with Martin Luther. Being able to recognize these problems can help us defend the Biblical doctrine of the will.

1 Exodus 7:13, etc.

2Martin Luther, Bondage of the Will (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House Company, 2003) trans. J. I. Packer and O.R. Johnston, p. 195

3 John 15:5, KJV

4 Bondage of the Will, p. 260

5 Ibid, p. 91

6 Matthew 10:28, KJV

7 As quoted in Bondage of the Will, p. 145

8 Ibid, p. 145

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