Table Talk

Martin Luther, “the monk who shook the world,” was born Nov. 10, 1483, at Eisleben, in Germany.  In 1507 he was ordained a priest, and became popular almost immediately as a preacher.  A visit to Rome shocked him, and in revolt against the practice of raising money by the sale of indulgences, he began his career as a reformer.  In 1518 he was summoned to Rome to answer for his opinions, which now included a total denial of the right of the Pope to forgive sins.  He proceeded to attack the whole doctrinal system of the Roman Catholic Church.  For this he was denounced in a papal bull and his writings were condemned to be burned.  In 1525 he married an escaped nun.  That Luther was a true child of his age may be seen in the selections made from his “Table Talk.”  His shrewdness, humour, plain bold speech, and his change of belief from an infallible Church to an infallible Bible there appear, as also do his narrowness of knowledge, asperity of temper, and susceptibility to superstition.  He must be judged by the mind of his times, not by modern standards.  We give some of his strong opinions that have not borne the wear and tear of later ages; but they are more than balanced by teaching what is beautiful, as well as true.  Luther died on February 18, 1546.

God’s Word and Book

That the Bible is God’s word and book I prove thus.  Infinite potentates have raged against it, and sought to destroy and uproot it—­King Alexander the Great, the princes of Egypt and Babylon, the monarchs of Persia, of Greece, and of Rome, the Emperors Julius and Augustus—­but they nothing prevailed; they are all gone and vanished, while the book remains and will remain.  Who has thus helped it?  Who has thus protected it against such mighty forces?  No one, surely, but God Himself, who is the Master of all things.

The Holy Scriptures are full of divine gifts and virtues.  The books of the heathen taught nothing of faith, hope, or charity; they present no idea of these things; they contemplate only the present, and that which man, with the use of his material reason, can grasp and comprehend.  Look not therein for aught of hope and trust in God.  But see how the Psalms and the Book of Job treat of faith, hope, resignation, and prayer; in a word, the Holy Scripture is the highest and best of books, abounding in comfort under all afflictions and trials.  It teaches us to see, to feel, to grasp, and to comprehend faith, hope, and charity far otherwise than mere human reason can, and when evil oppresses us it teaches how these virtues throw light upon the darkness.

The multitude of books is a great evil.  There is no measure or limit to the fever for writing.  The Bible is now buried under so many commentaries that the text is nothing regarded.  I could wish all my books were buried nine ells deep in the ground by reason of the ill example they will give.  I would not have those who read my books, in these stormy times, devote one moment to them that they would otherwise have consecrated to the Bible itself.