Luther: "Contribute to the Honour of God"

           My opinions on Martin Luther oscillate between appalled and inspired, usually ending up around neutral. Catholics and secularists love to focus on all his terrible denunciations of the Roman Catholic Church, Jews, and other groups not in agreement with him (including some Protestant sects); Protestants on the other hand love to focus on his successful split from Rome, contributions to Biblical literacy, and his popular theological doctrines. I would never choose to completely 'endorse' Luther, but some quotes of his are very much share-able, including this one from his "First Sunday After Epiphany" sermon - certainly a Lollard precept:

"He who cannot - by the gracious and lovely message of God's mercy so lavishly bestowed upon us in Christ - be persuaded, in a spirit of love and delight, to contribute to the honour of God and the benefit of his neighbour, is worthless to Christianity, and all effort is lost on him."


Those words of Luther hearken back to the words pious assertion of Clement of Rome, who wrote in his epistle of 1 Clement 44:

"Who, then, is noble-minded among you? Who compassionate? Who full of love? Let him declare, 'If on my account sedition, disagreements, and schism have arisen, I will depart. I will go away wherever you desire, and I will do what the many command. Only let the flock of God live on terms of peace with the elders set over it'."