Summary Of Babylonian Captivity Of The Church By Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a theologian, priest, and Augustinian who spoke out against the Roman Catholic Church and played a key role in the Protestant Reformation. His book The Babylonian Captivity of The Church was published in 1520 and was the second of three treatises he published that year. Luther’s goal was to recenter the church in Scripture, holding nothing above it in authority. He believed that the Roman Catholic Church had moved away from the Bible by altering and adding to the sacraments. The book title references Babylon holding the Israelites captive in the Old Testament as compared to the papacy holding the laity captive through the sacraments.

Descriptive Review

According to Scripture, Luther concluded that there are only two sacraments:

During Luther’s and Calvin’s time, another group known as the Anabaptists also spoke out against infant baptism (hence Luther’s and Calvin’s defense of it). I am not an Anabaptist; in fact, I am Lutheran and grew up entirely under the theology of Luther. As someone who was baptized as an infant, I do not feel that it accurately depicts the journey of being a Christian. I did not fully come to faith until nine months ago, so my infant baptism wrongly defined me as a believer for eighteen years of my life. To me, baptism is an outward confession of the faith that I have accepted in my heart. This is why, in my opinion, the sacraments should not be practiced until someone has fully given their life to Christ. Regardless, Luther and Calvin agree that only through faith can individuals receive the grace that is offered through the sacraments, condemning any idea of works-based

This work had great implications for reforming the sacraments of the Catholic church, specifically calling out which sacraments are instituted and backed by Scripture as well as those that the church used for personal gain. He initially supports three of the seven sacraments, the Eucharist, baptism, and penance. Although, he later withdraws penance as a sacrament because it has no sign attached, such as that which is in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. He backs his arguments with Scripture, his focus being that salvation is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. He uses verses from the gospels as well as the epistles of the New Testament to emphasize this fact. Overall, Luther’s goal was to release the laity from the bonds of the church. There is freedom to be found in the sacraments and, when done correctly, they are a representation of our faith in Christ. During his time Luther had many who supported him but also encountered those who didn’t. The same is true for modern times, and the secondary sources bring to light theologians who had differing views from Luther, as well as their own opinions and interpretations of Luther’s work. His doctrine on infant baptism can be controversial to the contemporary Christian, but he holds true that only through faith can anyone be saved. There is a lot that can be learned from Luther’s works and how they lead to the