What is it that influences our beliefs? This is A Review of Martin Luther Influenced Theology relative to my experience and the ongoing process of seeking "truth".
We dabbled in "The Flea Market" in our state capital of Raleigh for a few years. I knew the other venders and it was fun for awhile. But even that scene changed. It's what happens when you greet the other side of oldness. Nothing remains the same. Anyway, it also led us into"collectibles" and "book collecting", especially antique and rare books, especially Bibles. I personally use The King James Bible as my main study Bible because it allows me to utilize study tools that takes the translated words back to the original words from the salvaged copies of manuscripts from whence our Bibles are sourced from. As a little girl, I naively believed all Bibles were the same content, just translated into all the different languages spoken in the world. Of course, that is not true. For example, I discovered quickly that the Swedish people do not use what I had assumed was a NIV or a KJV but translated into the Swedish tongue. So, I studied the history of Bibles and manuscript. I found I have a geeky passion for it. Funny, I use to hate trying to read a Bible because it seemed boring because it was over my head in understanding it and nobody was teaching it either. I now understand how much our heritages influence these things and why there is so much diversity among the so-called believers. Ironically, it is these divisions that are influencing others to NOT believe in Christ at all and the information found in Scriptures and related writings. My father's lineage could only be traced, so far, back to my paternal 3rd great grandfather when my dad's ancestral line crossed the Atlantic from Germany. His family and ancesters were Catholics. And I learned my 3rd great grandmother was actually from Austria and was 20 years older than my great grandfather, Peter Hein! [this German surname means "home ruler"]. I wonder if that was a typo? My father's mother was a Williams and came from English immigrants. I have yet to explore her tree. On the other hand, on my mom's side, both her parents have strong, traceable trees that go back to pre-Coloniel and then back into Europe [and one tree went back to the 10th century France]. I inherited my maternal grandfather's antique family Bible published in 1850's. It provided the keys I needed to unlock those doors of my unknown heritage. My mother's side was heavily "Protestant" [with embedded signs of Judaism and Catholicism found in the further back generations]. My mom's parents were Methodists [progressives]. Growing up, I regularly attended Sunday services in the Lutheran, Episcopal or Presbyterian Churches if a Methodist Church was not available nearby. I traveled all over the United States because my dad had joined the Air Force. Both my parents came from impoverished circumstances and overcame it. Dad quit the Catholics and joined mom's Methodists. Dad was a believer in God and Christ unto the very end. Sadly, my mom changed and did not [despite her efforts in "raising me right and having us kids "churched"]. After my father died, she met a man who became a very bad influence on her. We accepted him only because it made mom happy.
[(A side note)-he was a naval officer, a married Catholic man who told her that his wife didn't care because the marriage was a sham, a marriage of convenience- and my mom fell for it. I like Catholics, tho, just not the Catholic Church and not this man.]
Bleh. I eventually renounced organized and institutionalized religion and began a personal commitment of research and study that initially started with unbelief. I had stopped believing and was overcome by my doubting. But still, I wanted to learn for myself and not just rely on what I was told. I now understand what I have rejected in my past "beliefs".....and I blame this man: Luther as being the main influencer. I do not agree with him. Oh, Mel....
you ignorant slut...as Dan Akroid use to say....
Yeah, I know what you peeps think of me. And you just may be wrong, and I do not care. But I do mark those that have this problem of excessive judging of others and using labels and stereotypes in the process. I know who you are. Know that I renounce those things which Christ renounced and your personal choices to believe in Christ or not is not mine and not my concern. It is your choice. I don't believe in killing each other because of our diverse understandings or lack of them regardless of whatever religion you claim and practice. So- back to Luther and how it figures into the truth seekers process....Also, I respect Luther for his contributions but I also try to practice discernment and I don't throw the Baby out with the Bathwater.
The question begs: why did Martin Luther place so much LESS weight [yet still included it] on Jude, 2 Peter, James, Hebrews and Revelation?
From AI sourced facts:
Martin Luther classified James, Hebrews, and Revelation as "disputed books" (Antilegomena). While he included them in his 1522 German translation of the New Testament, he demoted them to the very end of his Bible, asserting they were not on par with undisputed books like the Gospels or Paul's letters.Luther’s specific critiques for each book varied, LARGELY BASED ON HOW well THEY ALIGNED WITH HIS core THEOLOGY of salvation by grace through faith alone (sola fide).
1.
JamesThe "Epistle of Straw":
Luther notoriously disliked James because it appeared to directly contradict Paul’s teaching on justification by faith. Because James explicitly stated that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24), Luther called it an "epistle of straw".
Lack of Christ:
He famously complained that the book did not "push Christ" and rarely mentioned the name of Jesus, questioning if an apostle even wrote it.
2.
Hebrews Doctrinal Issues: Luther struggled with Hebrews because it contains passages that appear to forbid repentance for those who fall away from faith (e.g., Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26).
Authorship: He doubted that the Apostle Paul wrote it (the traditional view at the time), though he acknowledged it was masterfully written and provided great teachings about Christ as our high priest.
3. RevelationConfusion and Ambiguity: Luther highly distrusted the Book of Revelation, primarily because he found it to be obscure, highly speculative, and difficult for common Christians to understand.
His Evaluation: In the original 1522 preface to the book, Luther flatly stated he could "in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it," criticizing its reliance on confusing visions rather than clear, foundational Christian teachings. Despite these harsh critiques, Luther never actually removed these books from the Bible. Instead, he relegated them to an appendix, advising Christians to use the clearest, "chief books" of the Bible to build their theology.
If interested in further study, research: "Martin Luther's specific views on disputed books like Jude or 2 Peter" or
"How modern Protestant theology views the canonization of these specific books".
Short story by Clara Mae Gregory
Written on 2026-06-06 at 15:12
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Reflecting on Biblical Research .
How it started......when I began digging deeper.We dabbled in "The Flea Market" in our state capital of Raleigh for a few years. I knew the other venders and it was fun for awhile. But even that scene changed. It's what happens when you greet the other side of oldness. Nothing remains the same. Anyway, it also led us into"collectibles" and "book collecting", especially antique and rare books, especially Bibles. I personally use The King James Bible as my main study Bible because it allows me to utilize study tools that takes the translated words back to the original words from the salvaged copies of manuscripts from whence our Bibles are sourced from. As a little girl, I naively believed all Bibles were the same content, just translated into all the different languages spoken in the world. Of course, that is not true. For example, I discovered quickly that the Swedish people do not use what I had assumed was a NIV or a KJV but translated into the Swedish tongue. So, I studied the history of Bibles and manuscript. I found I have a geeky passion for it. Funny, I use to hate trying to read a Bible because it seemed boring because it was over my head in understanding it and nobody was teaching it either. I now understand how much our heritages influence these things and why there is so much diversity among the so-called believers. Ironically, it is these divisions that are influencing others to NOT believe in Christ at all and the information found in Scriptures and related writings. My father's lineage could only be traced, so far, back to my paternal 3rd great grandfather when my dad's ancestral line crossed the Atlantic from Germany. His family and ancesters were Catholics. And I learned my 3rd great grandmother was actually from Austria and was 20 years older than my great grandfather, Peter Hein! [this German surname means "home ruler"]. I wonder if that was a typo? My father's mother was a Williams and came from English immigrants. I have yet to explore her tree. On the other hand, on my mom's side, both her parents have strong, traceable trees that go back to pre-Coloniel and then back into Europe [and one tree went back to the 10th century France]. I inherited my maternal grandfather's antique family Bible published in 1850's. It provided the keys I needed to unlock those doors of my unknown heritage. My mother's side was heavily "Protestant" [with embedded signs of Judaism and Catholicism found in the further back generations]. My mom's parents were Methodists [progressives]. Growing up, I regularly attended Sunday services in the Lutheran, Episcopal or Presbyterian Churches if a Methodist Church was not available nearby. I traveled all over the United States because my dad had joined the Air Force. Both my parents came from impoverished circumstances and overcame it. Dad quit the Catholics and joined mom's Methodists. Dad was a believer in God and Christ unto the very end. Sadly, my mom changed and did not [despite her efforts in "raising me right and having us kids "churched"]. After my father died, she met a man who became a very bad influence on her. We accepted him only because it made mom happy.
[(A side note)-he was a naval officer, a married Catholic man who told her that his wife didn't care because the marriage was a sham, a marriage of convenience- and my mom fell for it. I like Catholics, tho, just not the Catholic Church and not this man.]
Bleh. I eventually renounced organized and institutionalized religion and began a personal commitment of research and study that initially started with unbelief. I had stopped believing and was overcome by my doubting. But still, I wanted to learn for myself and not just rely on what I was told. I now understand what I have rejected in my past "beliefs".....and I blame this man: Luther as being the main influencer. I do not agree with him. Oh, Mel....
you ignorant slut...as Dan Akroid use to say....
Yeah, I know what you peeps think of me. And you just may be wrong, and I do not care. But I do mark those that have this problem of excessive judging of others and using labels and stereotypes in the process. I know who you are. Know that I renounce those things which Christ renounced and your personal choices to believe in Christ or not is not mine and not my concern. It is your choice. I don't believe in killing each other because of our diverse understandings or lack of them regardless of whatever religion you claim and practice. So- back to Luther and how it figures into the truth seekers process....Also, I respect Luther for his contributions but I also try to practice discernment and I don't throw the Baby out with the Bathwater.
The question begs: why did Martin Luther place so much LESS weight [yet still included it] on Jude, 2 Peter, James, Hebrews and Revelation?
From AI sourced facts:
Martin Luther classified James, Hebrews, and Revelation as "disputed books" (Antilegomena). While he included them in his 1522 German translation of the New Testament, he demoted them to the very end of his Bible, asserting they were not on par with undisputed books like the Gospels or Paul's letters.Luther’s specific critiques for each book varied, LARGELY BASED ON HOW well THEY ALIGNED WITH HIS core THEOLOGY of salvation by grace through faith alone (sola fide).
1.
JamesThe "Epistle of Straw":
Luther notoriously disliked James because it appeared to directly contradict Paul’s teaching on justification by faith. Because James explicitly stated that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24), Luther called it an "epistle of straw".
Lack of Christ:
He famously complained that the book did not "push Christ" and rarely mentioned the name of Jesus, questioning if an apostle even wrote it.
2.
Hebrews Doctrinal Issues: Luther struggled with Hebrews because it contains passages that appear to forbid repentance for those who fall away from faith (e.g., Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26).
Authorship: He doubted that the Apostle Paul wrote it (the traditional view at the time), though he acknowledged it was masterfully written and provided great teachings about Christ as our high priest.
3. RevelationConfusion and Ambiguity: Luther highly distrusted the Book of Revelation, primarily because he found it to be obscure, highly speculative, and difficult for common Christians to understand.
His Evaluation: In the original 1522 preface to the book, Luther flatly stated he could "in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it," criticizing its reliance on confusing visions rather than clear, foundational Christian teachings. Despite these harsh critiques, Luther never actually removed these books from the Bible. Instead, he relegated them to an appendix, advising Christians to use the clearest, "chief books" of the Bible to build their theology.
If interested in further study, research: "Martin Luther's specific views on disputed books like Jude or 2 Peter" or
"How modern Protestant theology views the canonization of these specific books".
Short story by Clara Mae Gregory
Written on 2026-06-06 at 15:12
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
