Mondays with Marty

In this week's installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther notes the dangers of ambition:

3559 Ambition. He talked a lot about the ambitious and pretentious, as he read from a letter sent to him by a writer aspiring to wisdom. He said ironically: When the stomach is ready to burst it is time to get rid of it through writing and praying--and then he pronounced: Arrogance is the sin of the snake. (p. 132)

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Mondays with Marty

In this week's installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther notes the dangers of human reason:

6572 Human reason either abandons hope or becomes too cocksure. Where it abandons hope, those die without the cross and without the light. Where it is presumptuous, they are deceived and the result is the same. (p. 302)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

Mondays with Marty

In this week's installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther marvels at the fact God entrusts his message to preachers:

3492. It is an oddity that God entrusts us preachers to the office of His Word, with which we are to rule over the hearts of people which we cannot see into. But it is the office of our God, who says to us: "Go, preach, I will make you successful, I know the hearts of men." That should be a comfort to us, even when the world laughs at our mission. Just as it is related that Maximilian once burst out laughing heartily at himself, and he explained later: "I laugh to think God has entrusted His mission to a drunk and disagreeable cleric, who climbs into the pulpit like a goat." (p. 223)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

Mondays with Marty

In this week's installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther exhorts us to pay careful attention to God's Word:

6004. You must diligently study God's Word, and learn to make careful distinctions; for there are, namely, two types of people in your congregation: the callused, for whom the Law, examples of God's anger, the flood, the fire of Elijah and the destruction of Jerusalem, must be held up to as examples. They need to be attacked directly and frightened. On the other hand, those who are already in terror of their souls need only the promise and the Gospel; you need to keep the examples of God's compassion before their eyes. (p. 234-35)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

Mondays with Marty

In this week's installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther reveals the secret to defeating our greatest enemy:

3643. Do you want to learn how to defeat the greatest, most heinous and most destructive enemy; the enemy who would otherwise devour you and destroy both body and soul; against whom one would spend all his money to purchase all available weapons; spend his last penny just to learn this skill? It is a sweet, dear little herb called patience!

Yes, where can I find such a medicinal herb? My answer to that is: "Take to heart Belief, which says that no one shall bring you harm without the will of God." And if it does happen, then it is a result of God's friendly, merciful will, and your enemy will bring upon himself a hundred times more harm than you. Only love flows out and says: "I will do nothing but good to him in return for evil, and let him collect fiery coals upon his head." Those are the weapons on which conquer the enemy, who appear as big as mountains, and whom cannot be otherwise conquered or destroyed with iron and steel. (p. 135)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.