The Diet Of Worms

The Diet Of Worms

It wasn’t some kind of crazy fad diet.

DURING the early 1500s Europe was in a great state of flux. A revived interest in pre-Christian Greek and Roman culture launched the Renaissance, which celebrated humanism and somewhat undermined contemporary Christian culture. Another threat to contemporary Christian culture came from within the church in the form of the outspoken Martin Luther, a professor at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. He was becoming known for his bold criticism of the Roman Catholic Church and his forthright convictions regarding justification by faith, papal authority, and the sacraments. The Reformation had begun when Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in 1517. The Theses consisted of ninety-five distinct propositions arguing against the supreme power of the pope, the greed within the church, and the abuse of indulgences. As a result, the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Luther in January 1521. This move served to fuel public support for Luther rather than to diminish it.

Because of Luther’s great popularity, Charles V, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, agreed to hear his arguments at a diet, a meeting of the empire parliament, which was scheduled for the spring of 1521 in Worms, Germany. Church representatives wanted Luther arrested and condemned to death as a heretic without a trial. However, Luther was promised that he would be protected and given a lawful trial at the diet.

At 4:00 P.M. on April 17, 1521, Luther arrived triumphantly in Worms. It was a dramatic contrast: Luther, a simple monk, standing before the powerful sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire. When he was immediately confronted with a pile of his books and asked whether he acknowledged their authorship, he quietly responded, “The books are all mine.” They pressed him further, asking whether he would stand by them or recant anything in them. Luther was shocked because he had been promised a hearing of his beliefs, not a demand for recantation. Luther replied, “This touches God and his Word. This affects the salvation of souls. Of this Christ said, ‘He who denies me before men, him will I deny before my Father.’ To say too little or too much would be dangerous. I beg you, give me time to think it over.” After some deliberation, even though they felt he didn’t deserve it, Luther was granted a one-day delay.

Martin Luther spent the evening in prayer, carefully preparing his response. At 6:00 P.M. the following day he gave his famous answer: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by clear reason (for I trust neither pope nor council alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have cited, for my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything since to act against one’s conscience is neither safe nor right. I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand, may God help me. Amen.”

These famous words reverberated throughout the Reformation, inspiring many others to take their stand as well.

Reflection

God called upon Martin Luther to take a stand before the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Where might God call upon you to stand up for your convictions? What can you do to prepare yourself for those eventualities?

I assure you of this: If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I, the Son of Man, will openly acknowledge that person in the presence of God’s angels. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before God’s angels.

Luke 12:8-9