A Corrupter of Holy Scripture

Caricature of Luther from the times
of the Protestant Revolt

A Little Late for Reformation Day

(kreuz.net)  The stalwart Catholic apologist, Fr. Johann Nikolaus Weislinger (+1755), wrote in his book: "My way or the highway" in 1719:

"What concerns the German Bible, so every Lutheran should now know is that in Germany, German Bibles were had and read before Luther sprang and pitifully seduced and deceived our beloved fatherland with his villainous, prankish and interlaced Bible."

Before Luther there were 14 Complete Editions of the Bible

The historical critic confirmed this harsh criticism.

In 1522 Luther's German translation of the New Testament appeared in Wittenberg.

Before this point in time there were 14 complete High German editions of the Bible available.

Martin Luther the Poser

Of these Luther himself used three, as Protestant G.W. Hopf confirms:

-Augsburg 1477
-Nurnberg 1483
-Augsburg 1518

(Hopf, value of Lutheran Germanification of the Bible, 1847)

At the same time Luther boasted that he "had pulled the Bible from under the bench".

The Swiss Reformer Huldrych Zwingli (+1531) thought that such bragging should have been "flogged out".

Poorly translated

Luthers work showed itself soon to be unusually prone to error.

Already the Elsatian schismatic Martin Butzer (+1551) found a large number of mistakes in Luther's translation.

Other Protestants, like Christian Karl von Bunsen (+1860)   explained that the meaning of the original did not match in a hundred places.

No other was as mistaken about the original text.  It was regarded as the most imprecise of all translations.  Over 3,000 places needed correction.

Luther will be canonized

In 1885 a book appeared in Berlin with the following title:  "God's food and the Lutheran Bible translation -- two fundamentally diverse things."

Protestant yes men set themselves against any alteration out of exaggerated honor for Luther.

So wrote the Protestant preacher Mayer:  "M. Franke, who castigated many errors in Luther's Bible, has not condemned Lutherdom, but the Holy Ghost himself."  (Johann Nikolaus Weislinger, page 331)

Luther Against All

The erroneous teaching of the justification of men through faith in Christ alone led Luther to counterfeits of Holy Scripture and the intentional falsification of the written word of God.

His followers were led to only understand Holy Scripture as he misunderstood it.

"Guard yourself", warned Luther, "against all the teaching which need aught but these words (Law, Sin, Grace, Faith, Justice in the Letters of Paul), be they who they will,  even as if they were the same as Origin, Ambrose, Hironymus, Augustine and still higher."

The Classical Example

Through omissions, distortions, truncations, Luther gave Holy Scripture a Lutheran face, so that the Bible,  at least from the great mass of superficial readers, vouch for him.

In 2 Peter 1: 10 he simply removed for example in the sentence  "Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election" the words "good works".

The classical example of Lutheran written falsification is Romans 3:28.

There, St. Paul wrote: For we account a man to be justified by faith, without the works of the law."

Luther arbitrarily shoved the word "alone" out so that it meant: The man will be justified through faith alone without the works of the law."

Why? So that the people believed that Luther taught the same as St. Paul.

Questions Were Answered with Outbreaks of Fury

As he was reprimanded for such a manipulation of Holy Scripture, Luther answered:

"If you Papists [a priest of Nurnberg who broke from Luther] want to make the word "sola" --alone -- useless, quickly tell him therefore:  Doctor Martin Luther wants it that way and say: Papist and asses are one thing;  sic volo sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas." [I want, then I command. Instead of reasoning my will applies!]

What would not be melded into his system, was thrown out, like the letters of James, the Hebrews and the Apocalypse of John.

Lutheran Exegesis

The book of Tobias as denoted as a comedy by Luther.

The wasting of Job was explained with:  "The Devil foisted some syphilis on him".

The book of Ecclesiastes "has neither books nor spurs and goes to stockings". [A play on the expression that you can't go to heaven with your boots and spurs.]

In Sirach 3, 5 a church teacher is introduced as a jokester.

"You Damn Jews"

Especially poor is Luther's talk about Moses as well as Jews in general and the Old Testament:

"Everyone who goes with Moses, must go with the devil, to the gallows with Moses.  The Ten Commandments don't apply to us Christians and the heathens, but the Jews alone."

(Volume 5.  Wittenberger Edition germ. fol. 212)

Or: "Pfui you there, pfui you there and where you are, you damn Jews!  Are you worth nothing that you see the Bible from outside.  Let alone that you read what's inside.

You should only read the bible,  which is under the pig's tail, and the letters fall out the same way, eat and drink. That would be a bible for such prophets."

(Tom. S. Jen. germ. fol. 83 adit. 1558)

The Prophet of Wittenberg handled Holy Scripture and its author so disgracefully.

From the book "Luther, as he lived, loved and died, portrayed according to a irrefutable report.  Polemic writing against the "los von Rom-Pastoren".  Eight, unchanged editions. Graz und Wien 1925.   Publishing House 'Styria'.  Available, here...