Martin Luther Outside Reading: (Visions of Christianity)

Martin Luther wrote to the common man in their common language. He was not interested in the scholastics. He thought of philosophy as the "Devil's Whore." His passion against philosophy and intellectual thought led to the formation of his theological views. Martin Luther believed that people can't know God through their own abilities or reason. Luther says that strong people thought the cross was too week to find God. He stated that hell is for the curious. We all have a desire to know God and any curiosity that we have would lead us astray.  One of his most famous works is his distinction between the theology of the cross and the theology of glory. Luther argued that in order to find God, one must meditate on the cross and see where God has hidden himself. The revelation of God is found within the life of Jesus Christ, his death and his resurrection. Luther believed that salvation comes from scripture alone (sola scriptura), grace alone (sola gratia) and faith alone (sola fides). There were five different books of the Bible that Luther thought did not align with his theology. These books consisted of James 2, Jude, Revelation and Hebrew 6. Some of these books of the Bible were about justification by works. This concept was completely opposite of Luther's theology. Luther  would not compromise the truth of the gospel. Luther defines human beings as related to God. He thinks that if a human has the fruits of the spirit, then he has to be related to God.