Sárospataki Füzetek 21. (2017)
2017 / 2. szám - ARTICLES-STUDIEN - INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE SINCE THE AGE OF THE REFORMATION-INTERKULTURELLER DIALOG SEIT DER REFORMATION - Gosker, Margriet: Erős vár a mi Istenünk: 500 years of protestantism in the netherlands in ecumenical perspective
Erős vár a mi Istenünk: 500 Years of Protestantism in the Netherlands in Ecumenical Perspective Luther was neither an angel nor a saint. He was a man full of errors, and he made many mistakes. He was a sinner ‘first class’, so to say. He was very much aware of his own shortcomings and therefore he was constantly struggling with himself. But he had to accept himself and others as well. “You have to take him as he is”, John Calvin once said.22 Nearly everyone had quarrels and disagreements with Luther, included his own family, especially his father, who had a difficult personality too. It is obvious where Luther got that from! As early as 1519, he wrote a sermon about marriage as a precious gift of God.23 Six years later, he married Katharina von Bora (1499-1552) in June 1525.24 This caused a major scandal. No wonder: how could a former Catholic monk — already middleaged - marry a former Catholic nun sixteen years his junior? Two years earlier Katharina von Bora - together with eight other nuns - escaped from the monastery Marienthron in Nimbschen and fled to Wittenberg. Katharina was a fine partner for her demanding husband. She was intelligent, selfconfident with a critical discerning mind, and she really settled everything on his behalf. At the same time, she always could bring out the best in him. He called her affectionately Herr Käthe, and that is significant. Of course Luther received contradictions, objections and protests not only from his own wife. He endured many attacks during his lifetime, and he had to be on the defensive constantly. He withstood princes, nobles and other persons of high rank. He was persuasive and stuck firmly to his principles: Here I stand. I can do no other. He wrote some very beautiful spiritual songs, but he could also be incredibly sniping at everything and everyone. What he wrote about Jews, especially in 1543, About the Jews and their lies, is disgusting and indefensible. Luther’s appeal to burn their synagogues and schools can never be justified.25 In short, Martin Luther was a man with many flaws and defects, but also blessed with a deep faith and a huge persuasive power. The young Luther Luther was baptised on 11 November 1483, the name day of Saint Martin and therefore he was called Martin. He was born a day earlier on 10 November. His mother was Margarethe Lindemann, his father Hans Lüder (Loder, Lotter, Lutter, Ludher or Lauther).26 They lived in Eisleben. As a child Luther grew up with a strong devo22 Selderhuis: Luther: Een menszoektGod,7. 23 T. Noort: Een preek over de huwelijkse Staat, in H. J. Selderhuis: Luther Verzameld, Deel II, Utrecht, 2016,1044-1052, Ein Sermon von dem ehelichen Stand, WA 2,166-171. 24 M. Treu: Katharina von Bora, Biographien zur Reformation, Wittenberg, Drei Kastanienverlag, 20107. H.-C. Sens: Katharina Lutherund Torgau und weitere Beiträge zum Katharina-Luther-Haus, Torgau, Torgauer Geschichtsverein E.V., 2006. 25 K. H. Büchner - B. P. Kammermeier - R. Schlotz - R. Zwilling (eds.): M. Luther, Von den Juden und ihren Lügen (1543). Erstmals in heutigem Deutsch mit Originaltext und Begriffserläuterungen, Aschaffenburg, Alibri, 2016. M. Mulder: Over de Joden en hun leugens (1543), in Selderhuis: Luther Verzameld, 1,645-663. Von den Juden und ihren Lügen, WA 53,412-552,655. 26 Selderhuis: Luther: Een mens zoekt God, 12. 2017-2 Sárospataki Füzetek 21 35
