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Quotes about the Lutherans During the Time of Luther

These are quotes about the Lutherans during the time of Martin Luther. To be honest, I include these because I was very surprised by negative testimony regarding the behavior and lifestyle of Lutherans.

David Bercot, 1989

Our evangelical doctrine on this matter comes from Martin Luther, who taught that we are totally incapable of doing any good by ourselves and that both the desire and power to obey God come from Him alone. Although these were cornerstone teachings of the German Reformation, they didn't produce a German nation of obedient, godly Christians, but rather just the opposite. Lutheran Germany was a cesspool of drunkenness, immorality, and violence. Sitting back and letting God do all the work produces neither a godly church nor a godly nation. (Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up. Paperback. Tyler, TX: Scroll Publishing Co. p. 60. Emphasis Bercot's)

Menno Simons, a contemporary of Martin Luther, gave this brief description of Lutheran Germany at the peak of the Reformation. "Let everyone take heed how he [Martin Luther] teaches. For with this same doctrine they [the Lutherans] have led the reckless and ignorant people, great and small, city dweller and cottager alike, into such a fruitless, unregenerate life, and have given them such a free rein, that one would scarcely find such an ungodly and abominable life among Turks and Tartars as among these people. Their open deeds bear testimony, for the abundant eating and drinking; the excessive pomp and splendor; the fornicating, lying, cheating, cursing; the swearing by the wounds of the Lord, by the sacraments and the sufferings of the Lord; the shedding of blood; [and] the fightings." (Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up. Paperback. Tyler, TX: Scroll Publishing Co. Footnote 15 of chapter 5. p. 181. Brackets Bercot's)

David Bercot gives the following reference for the quote: Menno Simons. The Complete Writings of Menno Simons. Trans. J.C. Wenger. True Christian Faith (Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, 1956) p. 333.

Timon Cline, 2018

As Luther’s own legend grew, it was clear to friend and foe alike that Hus’s last prophecy—that "in a hundred years they will hear a swan sing, which they will not be able to silence"—could easily be applied to Luther. But Luther would later draw a distinction between himself and the martyred "Goose" (Hus). "Life," he said, "is as evil among us as among the papists, thus we do not argue about life but about doctrine. Whereas Wyclif [sic] and Hus attacked the immoral lifestyle of the papacy, I challenge primarily its doctrine." ("Modern Erasmian." Web. Conciliar Post. Retrieved June 24, 2018 from https://conciliarpost.com/theology-spirituality/modern-erasmian/.

Cline gives the following reference for the quote: Oberman. Luther: Man Between God and the Devil. p. 55.