Reflection On Faith

This quote explains Martin Luther’s ideas of salvation and justification through only faith. He believed that people like the Pope were just public figures that were abusing their power for their own interests and beliefs. They would use god’s word to intimidate Kings and Queens. He thought that the Pope was out of line using his authority to forgive sins for material objects. Indulgence is a grant given by the Pope to cancel all sins for donations to the church. This made people more willing to just donate if they could get something in return also. Critics told Luther that there is no way you could achieve salvation without good works, but Luther uses bible passages to make a case that faith, alone, is all you need to be a Christian follower set to be in heaven. Martin Luther knew that it wasn’t right nor faithful for the Pope to do this.

Luther believes that works cannot glorify God, but one’s faith can. He says, “God cannot be worshiped unless you ascribe to Him the glory of truthfulness and all goodness which is due to Him” (22). No amount of good works that a person completes here on Earth is enough to give God the praise and honor He deserves, however, someone who dedicates their heart to God and walks through their life in faith is worshipping God just by believing in Him. Faith is what makes Christians righteous. This does not mean that works are meaningless. If good works are done with faith they bring glory to God, but faith is the main focus. Some believe that works must be done to be able to fulfill the commandments, but Luther rejects this claim. He says that works proceed from the fulfillment of the commandments within oneself.

Martin Luther grew up in a home with very strict parents. As a result, Luther’s childhood was plagued with anxiety at home and at school. Because his father planned for him to become a lawyer, shortly after receiving a Master of Arts degree from Erfurt University he returned to the university to study law. Consequently, after a life threatening experience in a storm, Luther left the university and joined a monastery. In 1505, Luther became an Augustinian monk and subsequently became a priest in 1507. According to John Dillenberger, “Luther was extremely sensitive to the problem of how to become worthy to receive the grace of God rather than the damning consequences of His righteousness”.

Luther downplays the importance of "works" in the justification of man and instead emphasizes the place of faith and the grace that goes with it: "For the word of God cannot be received and honoured by any works,

Faith and reason can be viewed as opposites. Faith is an element of belief, something an individual does not necessarily require a reason for accepting without reason. For example, an individual’s reason for believing in God may not seem too rational when they are trying to explain them. They may not even stand up to criticism. On the other hand, reason is constructed as a formula. Faith is basically something we believe in, like something we learn in church. Reason is something we learn in school, such as a math formula.

What is faith? Is it a feeling, a thought, or a concept? As Martin Luther said in his book Freedom of a Christian, faith is “God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God.” When one thinks of faith, they maybe think about their personal relationship with God and the unconditional love He has. “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” The Word of God cannot be interpreted by any works but only by faith. Martin Luther had stated that, “It is clear that, as the soul needs only the Word of God for its life and righteousness, so it is justified by faith alone and not any works.” (Janz, A Reformation Reader, pg 109)

One argues that today we have a crisis of belief, not a crisis of faith. To explain this crisis, I will briefly examine the relationship between faith and belief, explain why cultural shift is important to note when trying to understand religious issues, go into detail on the three hallmarks of each of the two cultures by showing how they compare to each other, show how Tillich’s notion of correlation deals with this idea of culture and a crisis of belief, and explain how Marsh’s notion of a “theology of negotiation” (33) fits with Lonergan’s definition and allows him to argue that film can help us raise theological questions.

Martin Luther’s three major treaties were “attempts to persuade Pope Leo X and Roman Catholics that the theology of the Reformation was not a novelty in the faith, but a pure confession of the Word of God and consistent with the truth of the Holy Scriptures” Each one focused on various practices and beliefs of the Catholic Church that Martin Luther deemed were wrong. One of Martin Luther 's three major treatises, On A Freedom of a Christian, reprimands the widely held Christian belief that good works justified our salvation. Martin Luther had hoped that his writings would educate and remind the people and religious officials that salvation stems from our faith. Faith should not be categorized as a virtue but rather a trust in God in which one builds when they encounter the trials and temptations in life. Therefore, it is the Gospel, the word of God, that sets the Christian believer free. However, this new insight had led people to believe that both faith and good works is necessary for justification. Martin Luther wanted to separate the truth from the false teachings. Therefore, Martin Luther explains that although the Christian is freed good works are still compulsory because it’s function is to help Christians discipline themselves in order to better serve the needs of their neighbor as long as they have the faith first in order for their works to be considered good and pleasing to God.

As a young man Luther struggled with his conscious and finding peace with God. During some very difficult years while living in the monastery he would discover that the more he tried to do for God, the more he became aware of his own sinfulness. However, he would get the opportunity to study the Bible as a professor of Biblical Theology at the University of Wittenberg. It was there, while studying the bible over several years, that he would conclude that there was nothing he could do to obtain Salvation through the rules of monastic life, works of men, or by anything other than the Scriptures alone by Grace through Faith alone. He now understood saving faith based on the promises of God found in the Word of God. The free Grace of God for sinners was the revived message that Luther and the Reformers stressed to anyone who would listen. Luther made it clear that it was a falsehood to believe that only the the pope may interpret scripture, but rather the whole community should be able to interpret scripture. A message that was welcomed and readily accepted by

Important ideas developed by Martin Luther were that people are saved through faith alone (sola fides) rather than through works and that the only source of religious authority is the Scriptures (sola scriptura). The primacy of faith over works is made more significant when we remember that Luther included among "works" the Mass and other devotional activities which were common among Catholics. Once these were eliminated as necessary for salvation, the way was paved for a much simpler, more basic Christian faith.

The development of a new Christian discourse of faith would produce a new religious theology and philosophy within Christianity. The new theology (talk about God) would not only open an expanding discussion concerning spiritual understanding and authority, it would also lead to decades of strife and conflict which would ultimately split the Church asunder. This new theology would also change the course of history and permeate much of what we have come to understand as Western culture.

The Dynamics of Faith is an in-depth look at what faith is from a theological perspective. Tillich seems to be replying to all of the writers we have read thus far and placing their arguments within the context of faith. Nowhere is this more apparent than on page 24, in his discussion of community. He rightly acknowledges that faith is usually seen in its sociologic setting. He then proceeds to sort out the different claims, saying that

Pope John Paul II once said, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” (Fallible Blogma) Based on this significant and powerful quote, one can infer that faith and reason are directly associated and related. It can also be implied that the combination of faith and reason allows one to seek information and knowledge about truth and God; based on various class discussions and past academic teachings, it is understood that both faith and reason are the instruments that diverse parties

Faith and reason were two modes of belief that dominated the history of Western Civilization. Both faith and reason were popularized as tools to understand the universe in Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian eras. By conflicting with each other, these two modes of belief sparked a lot of controversy. Reason or rationality is belief based on concrete evidence and logic. The development of one’s reason relies heavily on observation and questioning. Greco-Roman philosophers believed in the power of the human mind to understand the world. So in order to find ultimate truth, Greco-Roman philosophers dedicated their lives to perfecting their reasoning skills and encouraged those around them to do the same. Contradictory to reason, faith is the

In the Freedom of Christians Luther states: “The Word of God cannot be received and cherished by any works whatever but only by faith” (page 10 line 16). The term “works,” according to Luther is any type of action a person performs in their life. The type of action can be a spectrum from being a robber to being a volunteer for helping the poor. The work a person performs in their life, will not determine whether they will be saved or not. The only way a person receives faith is through their internal or the spiritual self. Even though, a person has done numerous inferior actions, in the past they still have a chance of being saved by Faith. Furthermore, Luther clarifies that a person who is saved internally by faith, should make an effort to better their outer self by giving back and helping others by means of volunteering or community service.