Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-03
MARTIN LUTHER.
BISHOP IREEAND ,REYIEWS THE
YORK OF THE REFORMER.
A Close Analysis of His Efforts at Reform
From Catholic staRdpsint-The Public
Life of Luther Criticised, but His Private
Life CharitabIy Overlooked.


From Catholic staadpeint-The Public
Life of Luther Criticised, but His Private
Life CharitabIy Overlooked.
Bishop ireland began series of lectures
at the Cathedral yesterday on Martin
Luther and the Reformation. The tlrst OF
the series was delivered yesterday to
large congregation, and full summary is
presented below:
In the year 1920, ths tenth day Of December,
q notable occurrence took place IN the city of
Wittenberg, in Sa1ony. large pile of wood
was heaped up near To the east gate; scaffolding
was erected, raised in steps after the fashion of
the ancient amphitheatres. Early in the fore
noon an excited crowd assembled around the
pile, professors of the university of Witten-
berg, Augustinian friars, students, and burghers,
and after, with firm step and defiant
cOuntunance Dr. Martin Luther advanced. He
arrayed in IL canonicals and carried under
his arm u volum f the PaDal Decretals and the
bull recently pub he'd by the Pontiff Leo X, in
condemnation of his teachings. The crowd
cheered; stepping upwards t the summit of the
scattoldlng, he sIgnaled to the beadle to set fire
TO the pile aud exhibiting to the spectators the
oull he threw 1t together with the decretals into
the IRE exclaiming: ''Thou hast disturbed the
house of God therefore thou shalt be consigned
10 fire eternal.''
The religious revolution of the sixteenth cen
tury was formally and publicly inangurated.
The burning of the bull of Pope Leo by Martin
Luther, in the eyes of Protestants and Catholics
alike, they review the pages of HISTORY
since the year 1928, looms up the most start
ling fact of modern times, fraught with the
Weightiest consequences, deserving the deepest
and most serious study.
The rent Christendom begun at Witten-
berg lasts to-day, wider and more far-reachlDg
than either Leo or Luther believed 1t could be-
come. At th' opening of the sixteenth century
Christend0m, if we except the Greek and some
minor schisms, was marked by its oneness. 1t
was one body, one church; Christians repeated
the same creed, worshiped before the same altar,
obeyed the same chieftain. Zone Lord, one faith,
one baptism - "One fold and one Shepherd
Since then and to-day, two great divisions con-
front one another, the Catholic and the Protes
tam, the latter again separating into numerous
rival subdivisions. Whole nations have taken
sides IN the religious controversy begotten from
Luthers rebellion: the contest ha passed from
cont nent to continent Nor is religion the
so,e theme of the dispute The bearings of the
rebellion upon literature morality, civil liberty,
mat rial progress are ceaselessly discussed. L
know not undsr what aspect you can study the
modern world, without coming to questions
and disputes which men will solve according
90 their knowledge and appreciation of the re-
A15lGu5 revolution OI UilS el&IeeHJn century.
The occurrence this present year OF the four
hundreth anniversary of Luther's birthday has
added freshness to this controversy, The Prot
estant world has availed itself of the oppor-
tuuity to speak forth its mind in no
ambiguous tones. To listen to Professionalism,
Luther is the great hero of Christian history
and to the revolution which he inaugurated, we
are indebted for the intellectual activity, the free
institutions, the progress, material aud moral,
VIII ch subsequent ages have wltneS sed.
Catholics cannot remain silent. Theirs is the
old church-the same to-day as she was when
her baptismal waters were poured on Luther's
head, and a bishop of her hierarchy ordained
him priest-repeatiDg the same creed wor-
Shipping through the same mass, saluting wi b
obedient love the successor of Leo y. in the
pontiff Leo XIII. To pass by unheeded and
unanswered, the eulogy and justification of
Luther and his rebellion, were to guard guilty
silence, while men impugn the mission and the
authority of the Catholic churc and lift up
their hands to move her, if they were but
able, off the face of the earth.
Loyalty to the spiritual mother of souls
BIDS US open the pages of history and prove
chat when she is condemned history is ler-
verted.
MARTIN LUTHER.
The subject of this evenings discourse will be
Martin Luther. So far as the revol ution can be
laid to the credit of any one man, Luther is en-
titled to the credit. He raised the first cry of
revolt; his wlfulness and energy fought its first
battles his principles have in the main contin-
ued to be its principles. Other men linked
hands with him, or took up his arms when he
had left the field of combat; but whatever
their own professions, they wer9 the disciples of
his revolutionary school. Carlstadt Bucer, Cal
vim, Cranmer Knox. hurled ag linst the church
the balls which he had forged, and their battle
cry but ECHOED the call to arms first heard in
Wittenberg. All Prot stautism finds in Luther
It's autho and fosier-father.
An exact knowledge of Luther's character
aud teachings viii be most servceable to us it
II our appreciation of the merits of his rebellion
against the chu ch and OF It's results IN Chris
tendon.
Luther is not known among Protestants ]
make this assertion, having read books. re
views, sermons upon Luther, which the late
Centenary has called forth, and which rehec
the vi ws of some Protestants and go far in
forming the views of the many. That these
literary produc ions wers written with the in
tent to falsify history, | will not say, bu
what I do say, is that they do falsify it. The
conclusion is almost forced upon us in this in
stance as in SO many others, that when the old
church is concerned, history is turned into
grand conspiracy againstthe truth
The chief work among those productions, from
which the writers of others seem to have drawn
their inspirations, is the Life of Martin u
ther," by DE-. julius Kostln, professor in tn,
university of Hae-Wittenberg. No less an au
thorlty than James Anthony Froude introduced
the book to the Englishspeaking public in the
July number of the Contemporary Reuielr sat
last" he says, "we have life of Luther which
deserves the name. - kostlin in a single
well-composed volume has produced a pictur,
which leaves little to be desired" Kostlin'.
work is romance, descriptive of an ideal her,
of an ideal Luther, such as Protestants Nigh
wish the author of their Reformation to hay
been, not surely the Luther in flesh and blood
who paced the streets of Wittenberg in the six
teenth century, thundered from it
pulpits against the pope and goo
works, and drank each evenir
for fifteen ars Eimbsch beer with Melanch
ton, Amsdorf. and Won Dietrich at the Blac
Eagle tavern. The bright spots in Luther at
made by Kostlin to constitute the whole pie
ture, the dark ones, however much groun
they ma have covered in the original are elm
mated, and this process Mr.. Froude cal
writing history.
NATURES GIFTS TO LUTHER.
The bright spots do not deny, nor strive t
conceal. Luther was a man highly gifted b
nature, capable of great undertakings, sure I
accomplish much in whatever directions b
chose to employ his talents His intelle,
was of high order, his memory most etentivt
his energy indomitabe. He welded
most facile pen, both in Latin and in German
During thirty years he wrote over 800 books
pamphlets besides givi to Germany ne'
II LII -, .