Episode 131: Stories from the Church Family Tree, Part 2: Luther and His World

Pastors Erica and Steve are gathered around the table again for conversations from different branches of our church family tree.  And today we look a bit into the story and setting of Martin Luther, the 16th century reformer from whom the tradition called "Lutheranism" takes its name.  In a time when the "official decrees" of the institutional church didn't seem to mesh with what a young Bible scholar named Martin was reading in the Scriptures themselves, a movement began that sought to peel back layers of accumulated "tradition" and "doctrinal system" to get to the living voice of the Gospel in the Scriptures.  Luther not only started to question the authority of the Church's hierarchy, but he questioned himself, too--what could he do with the fact that he was a mess-up, and that when he confessed his sins or tried to start over again, he still doubted whether he had been sincere enough or complete enough in his confessions, or whether there was still something rotten inside himself struggling to live a new life.  Those doubts drove Luther to look away from the assumed authority of "the Church" and away from relying on his own goodness or accomplishments, and instead drove him to see the Good News that the Scriptures had been declaring all along: the Gospel isn't about what WE do, but about what God has done for us as a gift in Christ--and even our ability to receive the gift of grace through faith turns out to be a gift as well.  This week's episode of "Crazy Faith Talk" explores the background and story of Martin Luther and the movement that took his name.