Criticisms of Luther the Movie

I Love Martin Luther

As a proud Protestant, I cannot help but love Martin Luther. Not only was he a great reformer and theologian, but he was truly instrumental in recovering the gospel from works-righteousness salvation and the sale of indulgences. One of my favorite podcasts, Fighting for the Faith is hosted by a confessional Lutheran who promotes the gospel prolifically in every episode. It has proven to be a priceless gift in fixing my false views of the gospel and finding joy in Christ Jesus in a way that resembled Martin Luther himself. All this being said, I was a bit disappointed after watching the movie Luther for a number of reasons.

Luther was Not That Respectful

Martin Luther was known for many great things, but by no means was one of them respectfulness. Early on, Luther was sincerely interested in reforming the Roman Catholic Church, but as he was excommunicated and exiled, he began calling the Papists “dogs” and made a lot of humorous and disrespectful criticisms of them. The Luther of the movie seemed a lot more temperate and level-headed than the Martin Luther we have read about in history.

Luther was More Concerned with the Gospel

Considering that Luther’s most significant contribution to the church was the recovery of the doctrine of justification by faith alone apart from works, I am floored that the movie never once explains or even mentions justification by faith alone on account of Christ. The focus is overwhelmingly against the sale of indulgences to escape purgatory, but not for the gospel of salvation by faith alone. The Martin Luther of the movie is even found saying gushy platitudes about seeing Christ in you when you serve your neighbor, utterly unlike the real Martin Luther who is far more concerned with repentance from sin and to Jesus.

Luther was More Involved with the Peasant’s War

In the movie, Luther is isolated from the world while translating the Bible to German, and only when he leaves his study does he witness the Peasant’s War, which he tries to break up. The next few scenes involve Luther walking though the carnage weeping and laying his coat on a crippled child who survived. In history, Martin Luther viewed the rebels as criminals and advised the authorities, “There­fore let everyone who can, smite; slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or dev­ilish than a rebel.” (Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants, Luther). Definitely one of Luther’s low points and certainly over-stated, but historical. If the director was worried that people may come out with a bad opinion of Luther based on the Peasant’s War, he should have just skipped covering the Peasant’s War altogether, considering that many other historical events in Luther’s life had to be skipped in order to make the film. To those who know his true involvement in the incident, the theatrical portrayal seems like damage control for Martin Luther’s reputation.

Liberties Not Liberality

In every movie depicting historical people and events the director will have to take some creative liberties. In Luther, these liberties contradict the biographical intentions for the movie’s creation and result in a Martin Luther that is made for Hollywood, but bears little resemblance to the Martin Luther of the Reformation.

Will Infants and the Mentally Handicapped be Saved?

The issue: Infants die, and it would be comforting to know if infants are saved.

Complications:

• The doctrine of original sin declares that people are sinful from birth. (See Psalm 51).
• The idea of infants in Hell is depressing, and seems unfair or cruel.
• The Bible gives no passage directly regarding infant salvation.

Here are a few positions that I have heard, but do not believe:

• Just as God elects whom he will save (Romans 9), some of these include infants. (Common among some Calvinists)
• Infants lack the forgiveness of Jesus, and will automatically go to Hell.
• God maintains an “age of accountability,” before which all children are saved. (Common among Baptists)
• Infants who are baptized will probably be saved. (From what I gather, this is what some Lutherans believe).

While the Bible does not directly address the status of infants and salvation, I think there are a few Biblical inferences that can give grieving parents hope without denying the doctrine of original sin.

Romans 5
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

While Adam’s sinful nature has been imputed to us, death spread because men sin, as is fitting with their nature. Keep in mind while David in Psalm 51 testifies, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” he is explaining why he commits sin, not making the statement that having a birth that brought him forth in sin caused him death.

Now I would base most of my thoughts here from verse 13 of Romans 5, where Paul says that sin is not counted where there is no law. To be sure, I don’t believe that this law is the Torah, but rather the conscience that we received upon eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and therefore all men have the law written on their hearts (Romans 2:14). So, the question would become, “Is the law present in an infant?” I don’t think it is. I will go on to show why.

Romans 7
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

Now this is some interesting talk. Again, Paul mentions that apart from the law sin lies dead, but what really strikes me is verse 9 where Paul firmly asserts that he actually was alive at one point, until the law came and produced death. So how was Paul alive at one point if, like David, he was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity? I would suggest it is because the law comes to a human as they gain a conscience. Thus is seems fitting that the infants and some of the mentally handicapped, though born with original sin, have not died because they have no law.

It is for this reason that I believe that all infants will go to Heaven, as well as others who have not yet received the law written on their hearts.