LtrrHSRANISM
458
LUTHSaANISM
tppeared, and continue to appear in various Gennan magaslnes
and publicati<»i8. are iA a most scholarly character.
Ca. Maurbnbrxchbr, Zur LtUheriiteratur in Studien u. Skit- Wtn, 205-238; LtUher and hit Protestant Bioffraphers in Am. Cath, Quart. Rev, (1901). 682-601. H. G. GanBS.
Lntheranism, the religious belief held by the old- est and in Europe the most numerous of the Prot- estant sects, foiuded by the Wittenberg reformer, Martin Luther. The term Lutheran was first used by his opponents during the Leipzig Disputation in 1519, and afterwards became imivereally prevalent. Lu- ther prefened the designation " Evangelical ", and to- day the usual title of the sect is Evangelical Lu- theran Church". In Germany, where the Lutherans and the Reformed have united (since 1817), the name Lutheran has been abandoned, and the state Church is styled the Evangelical or the Evangelical United.
I. DisTiNcnvB TEAcmNGs. — In doctrine official Lutheranism is part of what is called orthodox Prot- estantism, since it agrees with the Catholic and the Greek Churches in accepting the authority of the Scriptures and of the three most ancient creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Atha- nasian Creed). Besides these formulse of belief, Lu- theranism acknowledges six specific confessions which distinguish it from other churches: (1) the unaltered Au^burg Confession (1530), (2) the Apology of the Auipburg Confession (1531), (3) Luther's Large Cate- chism (1529), (4) Luther's Catechism for Children (1629), (5) the Articles of Smalkald (1537), and (8) the Form of Concord (1577). These nine symbolical books (including the three Creeds) constitute what is known as the '"Book of Concord", which was first
Sublished at Dresden in 1580 by order of Elector .ugustus of Saxony (see Faith, Protestant Con- fessions of). In these confessions the Scriptiu^s are declared to be the only rule of faith. The extent of the Canon is not defined, but the bibles in common use among Lutherans have been generally the same as those of other Protestant denominations (see Canon OF THE Holy Scriptures). The symbols and the other writings not contained in Scripture do not pos- sess decisive authority, but merely show how the Scriptures were understood and explained at partic- ular times by the leading theologians (Form of Con- cord). The chief tenet of the Lutheran creed, that which Luther called " the article of the standing and faUing Chureh", has reference to the justification of sinful man. Original sin is explained as a positive and total depravity of human nature, which renders all the acts of the unjustified, even those of civil righteousness, sinful and displeasing to God. Justifi- cation, which is not an internal change^ but an exter- nal, forensic declaration by which God imputes to the creature the righteousness of Christ, comes only by faith, which is the confidence that one is reconciled to God through Christ. Good works are necessary as an exercise of faith, and are rewarded, not by justifica- tion (which they presuppose), but oy the fulfilment of the Divine promises (Apology Aug. Conf .).
Other distinctive doctrines oi the Lutheran Church are: (1) consubstantiation (although the symbols do not use this term), i. e. the real, corporeal presence of Christ's Body and Blood during the celebration of the Lord's Supper, in, with, and under the substance of bread and wine, in a union which is not hypostatic, nor of mixture, nor of local inclusion, but entirely transcendent and mysterious; (2) the omnipresence of the Body of Christ, which is differently explained by the commentators of the Svmbolical Books. Since the official formulae of faith claim no decisive author- ity for themselves, and on many points are far from harmonious, the utmost diversity of opinion prevails among Lutnerans. Every shade of oelief may be found among them, from the orthodox, who holcl fast to the confessions, to the semi-infidel theologians, who deny the authority of the Scriptures.
II. History. — Lutheranism dates from 31 Octo-
ber, 1517, when Luther affixed his theses to the
church door of the castle of Wittenberg. Although he
did not break with the Catholic Church until three
vears later, he had already come substantially to his
later views on the plan of salvation. The new teach-
ings, howeverMmderwent a great change after Luther's
return from Wartburg (1521). Before he died (18
Feb., 1546), his teacfings had been propagated in
many states of Germany^in Poland, in the Baltic
Provinces, in Hungary, 'Transylvania, the Nether-
lands, Denmark, and Scandinavia. From these Eu-
ropean countries Lutheranism has been carried by
emigration to the New World, and in the United States
it ranks among the leading Protestant denominations.
(1) The Lutherans in Germany. — (a) First Period: From the appearance of Luther's Theses to the adoption of the Formula of Concord (1517-80). — Favoured by the civil rulers, Lutheranism spread rap- idly in Northern Germany. After the Diet of Speyer (1526) the Elector of Saxony and other princes estab- lished Lutheran state Churches. An alliance between these princes was concluded at Torgau in 1526, and again at Smalkald in 1531. The Protestant League was continually increased by the accession of other states, and a religious war broke out in 1546, which resulted in the Peace of Augsburg ( 1 555) . 'This treaty provided that the Lutherans should retajn permanently what they then possessed, but that all officials of ecclesiastical estates, who from that time forth should go over to Protestantism, would be de- posed and replaced by Catholics. Tnis latter pro- vision, known as the Reservatum Ecclesiasticum ", was very unsatisfactory to the Protestants, and its constant violation was one of the causes that lead up to the Thirty Years War (1618-48). At the time of the Peace of Augsburg Lutherans predominated in the north of Germany, while the ZwingUans or Reformed were very numerous in the south. Austria, Bavaria, and the territories subject to spiritual lords were Cath- olic, although many of these afterwards bMecame Prot- estant. Several attempts were made to effect a re- union. In 1534 Pope Paul III invited the Protestants to a general council. Emperor Charles V arranged conferences between Catholic and Lutheran theolo- gians in 1541, 1546, and 1547. His successor. Ferdi- nand I (1556-^), and many private individuals, such as the Lutheran Frederick Staphylus and Father Contzen, laboured much for the same end. All these efforts, however, proved fruitless. Melanchthon, Cm- sius, and other Lutheran theologians made formal proposals of union to the Greek Church (1559, 1574, 1578), but nothing came of their overtures. From the beginning bitter hostility existed between the Lu- therans and the Reformed. This first appeared in the Sacramentarian controversy between Luther and Zwingli (1524). They met m conference at Marburg in 1529, but came to no agreement. The hopes of union created by the compromise formula of 1536, known as the Concordia WittenbergensiSy proved de- lusive. Luther continued to make war on the Zwing- lians imtil his death. The Sacramentarian strife was renewed in 1549, when the Zwiuglians accepted Calvin's view of the Real Presence. 'The foUoiivers of Mebmchthon, who favoured Calvin's doctrine (Phil- ippists, Crypto-Calvinists), were abo furiously de- nounced by the orthodox Lutherans. During these controversies the state Church of the Palatinate, where Philippism predominated, changed from the Lutheran to the Reformed faith ( 1 560) . From the be- ginning Lutheranism was torn by doctrinal disputes, carried on with the utmost violence and passion. They had reference to the questions of sin and grace,
i'ustification by faith, the use of good works, the jord's Supper, and the Person and work of Christ. The bitterest controversy was the Crypto-Calvinistic. To effect hannony the Form of Concora, the last of the
