Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings:

22. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church—Part I (1520)

196 22 The Babylonian Captivity of the Church—Part I (1520) Luther ties a biblical image to an infamous period in the history of the papacy: as the Babylonians captured the Jews and took them from Jerusalem into exile, so the papacy captured Christendom and took it from the Scriptures . Moreover, the papacy, says Luther, has a track record of such tyranny: the removal of the papal see from Rome to Avignon, France (1309–1376). This tyranny derives power from the misuse of the sacraments, chiefly the Lord’s Supper.1 And this misuse follows the trajectory of the late medieval sacramental theology (that is, Scholasticism), with its over dependence on classical Greek philosophy (particularly Aristotle). In practice, the papacy enslaves the church with three “captivities”—the withholding of the cup from the laity, transubstantiation , and the sacrifice of the mass. The Lord’s Supper, contends Luther, is not an action by which the priest brings God down from heaven. It is a means of grace, God’s self-revelation, through the real presence of Christ in the word and element. A Prelude of Martin Luther on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church Jesus Martin Luther,Augustinian, to his friend, Hermann Tulich,2 greeting. 1.Although Luther discusses each one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church in the complete work, he devotes nearly half of the book to the Lord’s Supper and baptism. 2.Tulich was born at Steinheim, near Paderborn, inWestphaWhether I wish it or not, I am compelled to become more learned every day, with so many and such able masters eagerly driving me on and making me work.Some two years ago I wrote on indulgences , but in such a way that I now deeply regret having published that little book.At that time I still clung with a mighty superstition to the tyranny of Rome,and so I held that indulgences should not be altogether rejected, seeing that they were approved by the common consent of so many. No wonder, for at the time I was still engaged single-handedly in this Sisyphean task. Afterwards, thanks to Sylvester , and aided by those friars who so strenuously defended indulgences,3 I saw that they were nothing but impostures of the Roman flatterers, by which they rob folks of their money and their faith in God.Would that I could prevail upon the booksellers and persuade all who have read them to burn the whole of my booklets on indulgences, and instead of all that I have written on this subject adopt this proposition: Indulgences areWicked Devices of the Flatterers of Rome. lia;graduated fromWittenberg;was a proofreader in Melchior Lotter’s printinghouse in Leipzig. He returned to Wittenberg in 1519 and received the doctorate in 1520; became a professor of poetry at the university; rector of the same, 1525. He was a staunch supporter of Luther;rector of the school Lüneberg from 1532 until his death in 1540. 3. Sylvester Prierias (more properly called Mazzolini), from Prierio in Piedmont 1456–1523), was a prior of the Dominicans . He became Grand Inquisitor and Censor of Books in 1515. He and others of the order (e.g., Tetzel and Hochstraten ) had written against Luther. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church 197 Next,Eck and Emser4 and their fellow-conspirators undertook to instruct me concerning the primacy of the pope. Here too, not to prove ungrateful to such learned men, I acknowledge that I have profited much from their labors. While I denied the divine authority of the papacy, I still admitted its human authority. But after hearing and reading the super-subtle subtleties of these coxcombs, with which they so adroitly prop up their idol (for my mind is not altogether uneducable in these matters ), I now know for certain that the papacy is the kingdom of Babylon and the power of Nimrod,the mighty hunter [Gen. 10:8–9]. Once more, therefore , that all may turn out to my friends’ advantage, I beg both the booksellers and my readers that after burning what I have published on this subject they hold to this proposition: The Papacy Is the Great Prey of the Bishop of Rome.This is proved by the arguments of Eck, Emser, and the Leipzig lecturer on the Scriptures.5 Now they are making a game of schooling me concerning communion in both kinds and other weighty subjects: here I must take pains lest I listen in vain to these “eminent...