How did Martin Luther become a influential leader when it seems to me that he was just paranoid. He believed the devil was watching him. If a women claimed she was hearing voices and seeing devilish figures, she would be claimed a witch and probably killed. What did Martin Luther do right? I might be the only one to think Martin Luther was paranoid but in chapter eight, there are multiple examples that convinced me Martin Luther was paranoid. on Page 259, the author briefly mentions that Martin cited his person encounters with the devil. The author goes on to page 261, where he mentions that Martin feared the devil was going after the public too. No where in the text does it say if anyone questioned his reasoning though. To me, Martin probably was schizophrenic and was in a delusional state. I only say this because he says he was assaulted by the devil yet he was able to overcome the devils powers and stay true to God. If the devil wanted to get Martin Luther to gain him as a follower, there is multiple ways Satan could have approached Martin (323). So why is it that Martin Luther only encountered Satan but did not turn to the dark side? So I am asking you classmates and professor, why did no one question if Martin Luther was paranoid or how he was able to overcome Satan's powers?
Well, for the record, at the time that Martian Luther mentioned his encounters with the devil, it was not exactly uncommon to have "visions" of God, angels, or the devil. It may seem like a plain sign of schizophrenia now, but it really was not as weird as you would think. In fact, most people looked at these types of visions as someone being touched by God and/or gifted.
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ReplyDeleteI think I agree with Melissa on this one. The fact that the devil was after the minds and souls of the public was commonly accepted as fact. We can see this in Aquinas when he talks about how the devil acts out of "malice" against man (K/P 97-98).
ReplyDeleteFor medieval people the devil was out to get them and someone like Martin Luther who was able to strongly oppose him was a powerful Christian indeed.