I Have Spoken Too Harshly

“Martin Luther, are you the author of these writings?”

“I am.”

“Do you recant what you have written here?”

“I cannot renounce all of my works because they are not all the same. First are those books in which I have described Christian faith and life so simply that even my opponents have admitted that these works are useful. To renounce these writings would be unthinkable, for that would be to renounce accepted Christian truths.”

“He is not here to make speeches, only to answer.”

“The second group of my work is directed against the foul doctrine and evil living of the Popes, past and present. Through the laws of the Pope and the doctrines of men, the consciences of the faithful have been miserably vexed and flayed. If I recant these books I will do nothing but add strength to tyranny and open not just the windows but also the doors to this great ungodliness.”

“He has condemned himself.”

“In the third group, I have written against private persons and individuals who uphold Roman tyranny and have attacked my own efforts to encourage piety to Christ. I confess…that I have written too harshly. I am but a man and I can err. Only let my errors be proven by Scripture and I will revoke my work and throw my books into the fire.”

These are a few lines from the movie Luther (2003) when he was under trial in Germany. In his passion for what he saw was wrong Luther frequently spoke harshly. In fact, we know from letters we still have today that Erasmus, who also saw the need for change in the church, often wrote to Luther about how abrasive and harsh Luther was. Erasmus was a great man who sought to have the church change with as little damage as possible being done while Luther demanded the truth be taught at any risk for the sake of those who were being greatly harmed by the current state of the church.

The real Luther had some doctrine that wasn’t quite right, but this quote from the movie really grabbed my attention. Particularly when he said, “I confess…that I have written too harshly. I am but a man and I can err. Only let my errors be proven by Scripture and I will revoke my work and throw my books into the fire.” That’s powerful.