Worship: Luther Before the Diet / Wellness: British Hospitals Ban Supersized Chocolate Bars

“As the news was circulated at Worms that Luther was to appear before the Diet, a general excitement was created. Aleander, the papal legate to whom the case had been specially entrusted, was alarmed and enraged. He saw that the result would be disastrous to the papal cause. To institute inquiry into a case in which the pope had already pronounced sentence of condemnation would be to cast contempt upon the authority of the sovereign pontiff. Furthermore, he was apprehensive that the eloquent and powerful arguments of this man might turn away many of the princes from the cause of the pope. He therefore, in the most urgent manner, remonstrated with Charles [V] against Luther’s appearance at Worms. About this time the bull declaring Luther’s excommunication was published; and this, coupled with the representations of the legate, induced the emperor to yield. He wrote to the elector that if Luther would not retract, he must remain at Wittenberg. {GC 146.2}

“Not content with this victory, Aleander labored with all the power and cunning at his command to secure Luther’s condemnation. With a persistence worthy of a better cause, he urged the matter upon the attention of princes, prelates, and other members of the assembly, accusing the Reformer of ‘sedition, rebellion, impiety, and blasphemy.’ But the vehemence and passion manifested by the legate revealed too plainly the spirit by which he was actuated. ‘He is moved by hatred and vengeance,’ was the general remark, ‘much more than by zeal and piety.’—Ibid., b. 7, ch. 1. The majority of the Diet were more than ever inclined to regard Luther’s cause with favor. {GC 147.1}

“With all the power of learning and eloquence, Aleander set himself to overthrow the truth. Charge after charge he hurled against Luther as an enemy of the church and the state, the living and the dead, clergy and laity, councils and private Christians. ‘In Luther’s errors there is enough,’ he declared, to warrant the burning of ‘a hundred thousand heretics.'” {GC 148.1}

The Lord [then] “moved upon a member of the Diet to give a true delineation of the effects of papal tyranny. With noble firmness, Duke George of Saxony stood up in that princely assembly and specified with terrible exactness the deceptions and abominations of popery, and their dire results. In closing he said: {GC 149.2}

“’These are some of the abuses that cry out against Rome. All shame has been put aside, and their only object is … money, money, money, … so that the preachers who should teach the truth, utter nothing but falsehoods, and are not only tolerated, but rewarded, because the greater their lies, the greater their gain. It is from this foul spring that such tainted waters flow. Debauchery stretches out the hand to avarice…. Alas, it is the scandal caused by the clergy that hurls so many poor souls into eternal condemnation. A general reform must be effected.’—Ibid., b. 7, ch. 4. {GC 149.3}

“A more able and forcible denunciation of the papal abuses could not have been presented by Luther himself; and the fact that the speaker was a determined enemy of the Reformer’s gave greater influence to his words.” {GC 150.1}

From the beginning, Luther had been anxious to appear before the emperor. But his health was much impaired. Still, he had written to the elector: “‘If I cannot go to Worms in good health, I will be carried there, sick as I am. For if the emperor calls me, I cannot doubt that it is the call of God Himself. If they desire to use violence against me, and that is very probable (for it is not for their instruction that they order me to appear), I place the matter in the Lord’s hands. He still lives and reigns who preserved the three young men in the burning fiery furnace. If He will not save me, my life is of little consequence. Let us only prevent the gospel from being exposed to the scorn of the wicked, and let us shed our blood for it, for fear they should triumph. It is not for me to decide whether my life or my death will contribute most to the salvation of all…. You may expect everything from me… except flight and recantation. Fly I cannot, and still less retract.’—Ibid., b. 7, ch. 1.” {GC 146.1}

Eventually, Luther did go to Worms. Even though he had refused to recant, he was returned to Wittenburg. En route, he was seized and confined away from his foes and friends to the castle of Wartburg, an isolated mountain fortress.

“While his enemies flattered themselves that he was silenced, they were astonished and confused by tangible proof that he was still active. A host of tracts, issuing from his pen, circulated throughout Germany. He also performed a most important service for his countrymen by translating the New Testament into the German tongue. From his rocky Patmos he continued for nearly a whole year to proclaim the gospel and rebuke the sins and errors of the times.” {GC 168.3}

(This study is based on chapter 8, “Luther Before the Diet,” in the book The Great Controversy (GC), by Ellen G. White.)