What Luther Said
\nWhen Martin Luther stood up for his ideas at the Diet of Worms, did he really say, “Here I stand”?
\nElesha Coffman<\/p>\n
As noted in the “This Week in Christian History” listings below, it was indeed this week, in 1521, when young Martin Luther was called before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms (”diet” meaning a formal meeting, not a weight-loss plan, and Worms being a city south of Frankfurt). Luther thought he would have a chance to defend his ideas. Charles would only accept an ironclad recantation. What Charles got was Luther’s defiant “Here I Stand” speech-or did he?<\/p>\n
Dr. Scott H. Hendrix, author of Luther and the Papacy: Stages in a Reformation Conflict (Fortress, 1981), investigated this question for Christian History issue 34: Luther’s Early Years. Hendrix notes that Luther caused such a sensation that all sorts of tales about him circulated, sometimes traveling faster than reliable facts. The speech story apparently received some quick touch-up treatment. Hendrix writes:<\/p>\n
In April 1521, Luther appeared before Emperor Chrales V to defend what he had taught and written. At the end of his speech, the story goes, he spoke the famous words, “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.”<\/p>\n
The earliest printed version of Luther’s address added these words, which were not recorded on the spot. It’s possible they are genuine, but for almost a half century now, most scholars have believed they were probably not spoken by Luther.<\/p>\n
A second misunderstanding arises when the words “Here I stand” are quoted as evidence of Luther’s modern stand against the medieval powers of church and empire. Luther’s speech was not a defiant, solitary protest, but a calm, reasoned account of why he had written the books piled on the table before him and why he could not recant their content.<\/p>\n
“Luther asserted that his conscience was captive to the Word of God and that he could not go against conscience. This was not, however, a modern plea for the supremacy of the individual conscience or for religious freedom. Though already excommunicated by Rome, Luther saw himself as a sworn teacher of Scripture who must advocate the right of all Christians to hear and live by the gospel.”<\/p>\n
Without “Here I stand,” is Luther’s shining moment forever dulled, like the March on Washington without “I have a dream” or the Gettysburg Address without “Four score and seven years”? Hardly. In his seminal Luther: Man Between God and the Devil (English edition Yale, 1989), Reformation scholar Heiko Oberman renders Luther’s speech like this:<\/p>\n
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves-I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.<\/p>\n
Whoever first printed that speech and added the famous phrase apparently wanted very much to stand by it. Luther could hardly have minded.<\/p>\n