What Luther, however, could put in its place--the
word of the Scriptures--although it gave freedom from a hopeless mass
of soulless excrescences, threatened on the other hand new dangers.
What was the Bible? Between the earliest and latest writings of the
sacred book lay perhaps two thousand years. Even the New Testament was
not written by Christ himself, not even entirely by those who had
received the sacred doctrine from his lips. It was compiled after his
death. Portions of it might have been transmitted inexactly.
Everything was written in a foreign tongue, which it was difficult for
the Germans to understand. Even the keenest penetration was in danger
of interpreting falsely unless the grace of God enlightened the
interpreter as it had the apostles. The ancient Church had settled the
matter summarily; in it the sacrament of holy orders gave such
enlightenment. Indeed, the Holy Father even laid claim to divine
authority to decide arbitrarily what should be right, even when his
will was contrary to the Scriptures. The reformer had nothing but his
feeble human knowledge, and prayer.
The first unavoidable step was that he must use his reason, for a
certain critical treatment even of the Holy Bible was necessary. Nor
did Luther fail to see that the books of the New Testament were of
varying worth. It is well known that he did not highly esteem the
Apocalypse, and that the Epistle of James was regarded by him as "an
epistle of straw." But his objection to particular portions never
shook his faith in the whole.
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