Despite Martin Luther's harsh polemics against his Roman Catholic opponents over issues concerning Mary and the saints, theologians appear to agree that Luther adhered to the Marian decrees of the ecumenical councils and dogmas of the church. He held fast to the belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin and the Theotokos or Mother of God. Special attention is given to the assertion that Luther, some three-hundred years before the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854, was a firm adherent of that view. Others maintain that Luther in later years changed his position on the Immaculate Conception, which, at that time was undefined in the Church, maintaining however the sinlessness of Mary throughout her life. For Luther, early in his life, the Assumption of Mary was an understood fact, although he later stated that the Bible did not say anything about it and stopped celebrating its feast. Important to him was the belief that Mary and the saints do live on after death. "Throughout his career as a priest-professor-reformer, Luther preached, taught, and argued about the veneration of Mary with a verbosity that ranged from childlike piety to sophisticated polemics. His views are intimately linked to his Christocentric theology and its consequences for liturgy and piety." Luther, while revering Mary, came to criticize the "Papists" for blurring the line, between high admiration of the grace of God wherever it is seen in a human being, and religious service given to another creature. He considered the Roman Catholic practice of celebrating saints' days and making intercessory requests addressed especially to Mary and other departed saints to be idolatry. His final thoughts on Marian devotion and veneration are preserved in a sermon preached at Wittenberg only a month before his death:
If it is possible to answer this question, answer it for me (else, reply "unanswerable"): With whom did Martin Luther argue about the veneration of Mary?
unanswerable
Trots Martin Luthers hårda polemik mot sina romersk-katolska motståndare i frågor som gällde Maria och helgonen verkar teologerna vara överens om att Luther höll med om Mariadekreten från kyrkans ekumeniska råd och dogmer. Han höll fast vid tron att Maria var en evig jungfru och Theotokos eller Guds moder. Särskild uppmärksamhet ägnas påståendet att Luther, omkring trehundra år före dogmatiseringen av den obefläckade avlelsen av påven Pius IX 1854, var en fast anhängare av denna uppfattning. Andra vidhåller att Luther under senare år ändrade sin ståndpunkt om den obefläckade avlelsen, som vid den tiden var odefinierad i kyrkan, dock vidhöll Marias syndlöshet under hela sitt liv. För Luther var antagandet av Maria tidigt i livet ett förstått faktum, även om han senare uppgav att Bibeln inte sade något om det och slutade fira dess fest. Viktigt för honom var tron att Maria och helgonen lever vidare efter döden. "Under hela sin karriär som präst-professor-reformator predikade Luther, undervisade, och grälade om Marias vördnad med en verbositet som sträckte sig från barnlik fromhet till sofistikerad polemik. Hans åsikter är intimt knutna till hans Christocentriska teologi och dess konsekvenser för liturgi och fromhet." Luther kom, medan han vördade Maria, att kritisera "papisterna" för att sudda ut linjen, mellan hög beundran av Guds nåd varhelst den ses i en människa, och religiös tjänst som ges åt en annan varelse. Han ansåg att den romersk-katolska sedvänjan att fira helgonens dagar och göra medlingsförfrågningar riktade särskilt till Maria och andra avlidna helgon var avgudadyrkan. Hans sista tankar på Mariandyrkan och vördnad bevaras i en predikan som predikades på Wittenberg endast en månad före hans död: Om det är möjligt att besvara denna fråga, besvara den för mig (annars, svara "osvarbart"): Med vem grälade Martin Luther om vördnaden för Maria?
Despite Martin Luther's harsh polemics against his Roman Catholic opponents on matters pertaining to Mary and the Saints, the theologians seem to agree that Luther agreed with the Mary decrees of the Church's ecumenical councils and dogmas. He held on to the belief that Mary was an eternal virgin and Theotokos or the mother of God. Particular attention is paid to the claim that Luther, about three hundred years before the dogmatization of the Immaculate Conception of Pope Pius IX in 1854, was a firm supporter of this view. Others maintain that in later years Luther changed his position on the Immaculate Conception, which at that time was undefined in the church, however maintained Mary's sinlessness throughout her life. For Luther, the adoption of Mary early in life was an understood fact, although he later stated that the Bible said nothing about it and stopped celebrating its feast. Important to him was the belief that Mary and the saints live on after death. "During his entire career as a priest-professor reformer, Luther preached, taught, and quarreled over Mary's reverence with a verbosity ranging from childlike piety to sophisticated polemics. His views are intimately linked to his Christocentric theology and its consequences for liturgy and piety." Luther, while revered Mary, came to criticize the "papists" for blurring the line, between high admiration of God's grace wherever it is seen in one man, and religious service given to another being. He believed that the Roman Catholic practice of celebrating the days of saints and making mediation requests directed especially to Mary and other deceased saints was idolatry. His last thoughts on Marian worship and reverence are preserved in a sermon preached at Wittenberg just a month before his death: If it is possible to answer this question, answer it for me (otherwise, answer "unanswerable"): With whom did Martin Luther argue over the reverence of Mary?
Osvarsbart
Unanswerable