Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: conan@wish-bone.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Transubstantiation/Power of God Message-ID: Date: 25 Nov 89 09:21:00 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Math Dept., UC Berkeley Lines: 32 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Somedays, I can't resist putting my two cents in...please take the following lightly. In article nanovx!news@gatech.edu (Network News) writes: > Martin Luther was a good Roman >Catholic priest/monk until the day he died. On his deathbed, he said he >sincerely regretted having been the cause of the separatist movement, having >only wanted reform within the holy Catholic Church. He's probably one of the >most misunderstood figures in history. He was a great thinker. I can pay a >higher compliment to no one than to say he thought about what he believed. If >nothing else, he was an Athenian, not a Visigoth. He left the world a better >place; would that all of us left such a legacy. There is no denying the tremendous role of Martin Luther--he was, without a doubt, one of the greatest theologians of the 16th century. But he evolved during his long career. He started out as a reformer from within--he ended his life in defiant opposition to Rome, the Papacy, and all that it stood for. (As for remaining a good monk, you should perpaps ask his wife about that :-) ) Catholic thinking about Martin Luther has changed greatly since the Reformation. Erasmus said of him: "Luther thinks he is in the Bosom of Christ, where in fact he is in the anus of Satan". (Quoted from memory-- corrections appreciated.) But while most Catholics no longer hold such an extreme view, rumors of his canonization are greatly exaggerated :-). Yours in Christ, David Cruz-Uribe, SFO