"I cannot choose but adhere to the word of God, which has possession of my conscience; nor can I possibly, nor will I even make any recantation, since it is neither safe nor honest to act contrary to conscience! Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God! Amen."
"This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified."
"The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest."
"True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue."
"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write."
"All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired."
"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage."
"I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide."
"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world."
"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars."
"There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right...."
"A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all, subject to all."
"We are nothing with all our gifts be they ever so great, except God assist us."
(Commentary on Galatians)
Born: November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Died: February 18, 1546
Martin Luther was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.
Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. The widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.
His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.
