Wittenberg, Erfurt, Eisenach, and Worms — these are the Luther towns we have visited.
Erfurt was the town of the university he attended. He lived in Eisenach to attend the Latin school and sang as a choir boy to earn money. At Worms, he was examined before the emperor, Charles V, in 1521 and said the words (or maybe didn’t—they aren’t in the first-hand accounts) that have become so associated with him as the voice of conscience against unjust authority: “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
You see signs for the 500th Anniversary all over this part of Germany.
But in Halle, where we spent an evening, and in Eisenach, we saw signs with Luther’s words — quotes from him. His off-hand comments were printed in his Table Talk. He was a genius with language, if sometimes harsh and off-color. His was a big personality, and it came through in what he said.
I asked the group for their favorite Luther quotes. Here are a good handful of them, in living color. (We are quoting from memory, so there may be a bit of paraphrase.)
From Dave, who is a choir director: “Why should the devil have all the good tunes?”
“No one can live in this world without sin.” Luther reminds us that God asks not for good works, but for faith that responds to His grace. Sin is in us — a part of us. Trying to please God by earning His favor through works is not faith, but leads us away from faith. He also said, “Sin boldly, but repent more boldly still.”
“God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.”
On marriage and family: “Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.”
On prayer: “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.” And, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”
On beer: “Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep. Whoever sleeps long, does not sin. Whoever does not sin, enters Heaven. Thus, let us drink beer.” He also said other things about beer — for instance, that it caused all kinds of problems in the Germany of his day. Not much different than today.
“I have held many things in my hand, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, I still possess.”
And something that has become part of the larger Protestant world: “We need to hear the Gospel every day, because we forget it every day.”
Luther wasn’t the only famous person in Eisenach. It was also the town of Bach. We had the added treat of a private concert at the Bach Museum, performed on eighteenth-century instruments. Organ music and hymns are present everywhere in Luther towns.
You can see the statue of Bach behind us if you look closely. And with the umbrella is Johann Mathies, Director of Mennonite Brethren Missions in Europe and Asia, who joined us for a day and added to our trip with stories of the church today and in the past.
Stephen Varvis
,
Ph.D.
Faculty Emeritus
Steve Varvis (emeritus professor of history) is an avid traveler, and lover of history, literature, church history, architecture and art. He served as an administrator, and taught history, literature and other assorted subjects at FPU for 40 years. Along with his wife Teri, he plans and leads the FPU Alumni and Friends Tours. So far the tours have gone to The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Central Europe, Scotland, Ireland, southern France and Italy, Greece and Scandinavia. Their favorite city to spend time in is London. Learn more about FPU Alumni and Friends Tours.
