In this week's episode of Catholic ReCon, I revisit an essay video I produced a few years ago.
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Narrated by James Majewksi of @CatholicCulturePod, More Reasonable (a Reformation essay) compares the logic of St. Thomas More and Martin Luther during the Reformation.
Closed captioning available.
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Excerpt 1:
"All this said, if one imagines being Luther in such a time and place in history, he can fathom feeling victimized. He can fathom taking similar steps. He can fathom standing up for apparent freedom, for right theology and the like. Independent of Luther’s shaky vow, tormented conscience, and rampant fear of God’s wrath, one realizes the selling of indulgences and other abuses are gravely immoral and should be exposed. However, for these abuses to pave a road toward new doctrine and a denial of sacred Tradition is gravely immoral as well. Though not taught explicitly by Luther, Johann Tetzel’s actions became a microcosm for the entire Church. For abuses—those not taught dogmatically, but simply the result of corrupt Church members—to mark an entire religious belief system is common, but not logical. Even if appealing to personal conscience, throwing out the baby, the bathwater, and the house itself sets an earth-shattering precedent."
Excerpt 2:
"Though few would admit the parallel, Luther communicated as authoritatively as the Pope speaking ex cathedra—another major reason why his cause appeared to transition away from historic reform and instead leaned toward uprising. This proved that power did not leave the earth and return to heaven, as the reformers inferred; rather, it simply switched human hands. One authority was the Vicar of Christ—the Bishop of Rome—whose Chair could be traced to the time of Jesus; the other, with the Bible interpreted in isolation, could be viewed as the Bishop of Tome, whose chair could be traced to the early 16th century."
Excerpt 3:
"With Luther as a theological arbiter, this marked another stark difference between him and More. More had allegiance to King Henry, but not above the Church; Luther had allegiance to the Church, but not above Scripture. Both understood the need for an ultimate authority. Luther chose himself under the guise of Scripture; More—citing 1 Timothy 3:15—chose God under the mantle of Christ’s Church."
Excerpt 4:
"At such a point, it was irrelevant if Luther blamed demons, fellow reformers, or the Catholic Church for such a spontaneous combustion. The pressure had been released—with extreme consequences. With Scripture viewed in isolation, any conscience could see what it wanted (or needed) to see in the Holy Word. Any doctrine could be affirmed; likewise, any doctrine could be disputed. It all depended on men’s convictions, their claims of being inspired by the Holy Spirit, and their motives—which, by the way, could change at a moment’s notice. In the process of trying to stifle the Papacy, dozens of mini papacies were erected in its place."
Excerpt 5:
"Even though the reformers endeavored to maintain order and adherence to certain tenets of the Christian faith, the Reformation removed boundaries, which set a dramatic, unmistakable pattern: if authority sins, or someone “incorrectly” interprets Scripture, throw out the whole system and start a new one. And if subsequent authority does the same, rinse and repeat. After a short while, to repeat what Luther said, “there are almost as many sects and beliefs as there are heads.” Fast forward several centuries and man simply says: “just me and Jesus” or, much worse, “just me.”
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