Luther

Thursday night I watched Luther. It's a pretty good movie. Joseph Fiennes stars as the oft-troubled and despairing yet radical Martin Luther. He does a good job of portraying Luther as a good Catholic monk who just wanted to address some abuses in the Roman Catholic Church. One problem with the movie is that it tries to cram so much into just two hours. This movie probably needed three hours, or just focus on less. Luther's final stand at the Diet of Worms is particularly moving, when he states:

"Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

It helps to read biographies and watch movies of heroes of the faith in ages of past. The tremendous persecution they had to endure and the stand they took on God's Word should inspire and encourage us. Now, in no way was Martin Luther perfect, since no one is. He became increasingly anti-semitic later in life. He was sometimes vulgar in his language and was known for his temper. However, without his bold stand for the gospel of Jesus Christ, I wonder what our faith would be like today.

Praise the Lord for men like Luther!