Was Martin Luther Insane?
Many historians have asked this very question, and this should be no surprise as Luther himself has given us much reason to doubt his sanity because during his time as a monk he spent his time in seemingly strange acts of self denial, punishing his body through self- flagellation and franticly seeking new ways to mortify sin all out of a dreaded fear of the holiness of God. Yet still in light of all this R. C. Sproul in his book The Holiness of God would suggests otherwise. "He was not crazy. He was a genius. He had a superior understanding of the law. Once he applied his astute legal mind to the law of God, He saw things that many people miss." What Sproul goes on to suggest is that it is not Luther who is insane but us who do not join him in his fear. We can become so comfortable with comparing ourselves to other sinful Human beings. Whereas if we were to compare ourselves to the terrifying purity of God's holiness there would not be a deed or ritual that would be sufficient to stop the horrible discomfort that comes from an awareness of something so much holier then ourselves. Luther was brought to a place where the wrath of God towards sinful humanity was seen as completely justified. Mercy takes on a whole new meaning and Christ is then the highest treasure. So if Luther truly was insane may we daily join him in his insanity; contemplating the holiness of our great God and thus being driven to awe that he would fulfill the righteous requirement of the law by sending his son to die, that we would be free and restored to a holy God whom we once fled from because of His very holiness
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