Oh my, I remember studying Martin Luther at school, but that's a looooooong time ago. I will go and read. Thanks for keeping us educated and off the streets TS! <!-- s --><!-- s -->
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to view the use of terms such as penance and righteousness by the Catholic Church in new ways. He became convinced that the church was corrupt in its ways and had lost sight of what he saw as several of the central truths of Christianity. The most important for Luther was the doctrine of justification – God's act of declaring a sinner righteous – by faith alone through God's grace. He began to teach that salvation or redemption is a gift of God's grace, attainable only through faith in Jesus as the Messiah. "This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification," he wrote, "is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine, which comprehends the understanding of all godliness.
The enforcement of the ban on the 95 Theses fell to the secular authorities. On 18 April 1521, Luther appeared as ordered before the Diet of Worms. This was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that took place in Worms, a town on the Rhine. It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding. Prince Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, obtained a safe conduct for Luther to and from the meeting.
Johann Eck, speaking on behalf of the Empire as assistant of the Archbishop of Trier, presented Luther with copies of his writings laid out on a table and asked him if the books were his, and whether he stood by their contents. Luther confirmed he was their author, but requested time to think about the answer to the second question. He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his response the next day:
Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.
Luther is sometimes also quoted as saying: "Here I stand. I can do no other". Recent scholars consider the evidence for these words to be unreliable, since they were inserted before "May God help me" only in later versions of the speech and not recorded in witness accounts of the proceedings.
Over the next five days, private conferences were held to determine Luther's fate. The Emperor presented the final draft of the Diet of Worms on 25 May 1521, declaring Luther an outlaw, banning his literature, and requiring his arrest: "We want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic." It also made it a crime for anyone in Germany to give Luther food or shelter. It permitted anyone to kill Luther without legal consequence.
Luther's disappearance during his return trip was planned. Frederick III, Elector of Saxony had him intercepted on his way home by masked horsemen and escorted to the security of the Wartburg Castle at Eisenach. During his stay at Wartburg, which he referred to as "my Patmos", Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German and poured out doctrinal and polemical writings. These included a renewed attack on Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz, whom he shamed into halting the sale of indulgences in his episcopates, and a "Refutation of the Argument of Latomus," in which he expounded the principle of justification to Jacobus Latomus, an orthodox theologian from Louvain.
In this work, one of his most emphatic statements on faith, he argued that every good work designed to attract God's favour is a sin. All humans are sinners by nature, he explained, and God's grace, which cannot be earned, alone can make them just. On 1 August 1521, Luther wrote to Melanchthon on the same theme: "Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides."
The room in Wartburg where Luther translated the New Testament into German. An original first edition of the translation is kept under the case on the desk.
In the summer of 1521, Luther widened his target from individual pieties like indulgences and pilgrimages to doctrines at the heart of Church practices. In On the Abrogation of the Private Mass, he condemned as idolatry the idea that the mass is a sacrifice, asserting instead that it is a gift, to be received with thanksgiving by the whole congregation. His essay On Confession, Whether the Pope has the Power to Require It rejected compulsory confession and encouraged private confession and absolution, since "every Christian is a confessor." In November, Luther wrote The Judgement of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows. He assured monks and nuns that they could break their vows without sin, because vows were an illegitimate and vain attempt to win salvation.
Luther made his pronouncements from Wartburg in the context of rapid developments at Wittenberg, of which he was kept fully informed. Andreas Karlstadt, supported by the ex-Augustinian Gabriel Zwilling, embarked on a radical programme of reform there in June 1521, exceeding anything envisaged by Luther. The reforms provoked disturbances, including a revolt by the Augustinian monks against their prior, the smashing of statues and images in churches, and denunciations of the magistracy. After secretly visiting Wittenberg in early December 1521, Luther wrote A Sincere Admonition by Martin Luther to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion. Wittenberg became even more volatile after Christmas when a band of visionary zealots, the so-called Zwickau prophets, arrived, preaching revolutionary doctrines such as the equality of man, adult baptism, and Christ's imminent return. When the town council asked Luther to return, he decided it was his duty to act.
Luther secretly returned to Wittenberg on 6 March 1522. "During my absence," he wrote to the Elector, "Satan has entered my sheepfold, and committed ravages which I cannot repair by writing, but only by my personal presence and living word." For eight days in Lent, beginning on Invocavit Sunday, 9 March, Luther preached eight sermons, which became known as the "Invocavit Sermons." In these sermons, he hammered home the primacy of core Christian values such as love, patience, charity, and freedom, and reminded the citizens to trust God's word rather than violence to bring about necessary change.
Do you know what the Devil thinks when he sees men use violence to propagate the gospel? He sits with folded arms behind the fire of hell, and says with malignant looks and frightful grin: "Ah, how wise these madmen are to play my game! Let them go on; I shall reap the benefit. I delight in it." But when he sees the Word running and contending alone on the battle-field, then he shudders and shakes for fear.
The effect of Luther's intervention was immediate. After the sixth sermon, the Wittenberg jurist Jerome Schurf wrote to the elector: "Oh, what joy has Dr. Martin’s return spread among us! His words, through divine mercy, are bringing back every day misguided people into the way of the truth."
Luther next set about reversing or modifying the new church practices. By working alongside the authorities to restore public order, he signalled his reinvention as a conservative force within the Reformation. After banishing the Zwickau prophets, he now faced a battle not only against the established Church but against radical reformers who threatened the new order by fomenting social unrest and violence.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
You know what's so cool about this big wide adventure? We get a chance to learn so much.....if we just read and open our eyes. I knew the basics of Martin Luther. But to really digest and learn something new is amazing. I love the parallel about Martin Luther disappearing and then reappearing. The story is so full of mystery and intrigue....just like where we are today, right now.
Augsburg Confession
Shaken by the Siege of Vienna, Charles V convened an Imperial Diet at Augsburg in 1530, aiming to unite the empire against the Turks. To achieve this, he needed first to resolve the religious controversies in his lands, "considering with love and kindness the views of everybody". He asked for a statement of the evangelical case, and one was duly devised by Luther, Melanchthon, and their Wittenberg colleagues. Melanchthon drafted the document, known as the Augsburg Confession, and travelled with the elector's party to Augsburg, where it was read to the emperor and diet on 25 June 1530. Luther was left behind at the Coburg fortress in southern Saxony because he remained under the imperial ban and lacked a safe-conduct to attend the diet. His writings during his 165 days at Coburg, including the Exhortation to all Clergy Assembled at Augsburg, show that, unlike Melanchthon, he was set against making concessions.
Despite the Confession's avoidance of strident language or abuse of the pope, the diet rejected it on 22 September. The reformers were ordered to renounce heresy and submit to the control of the Catholic Church by the following April or face the imperial army. The decision confirmed Luther's belief that the mission had been futile. It prompted the Lutheran princes to form a military alliance, the Schmalkaldic League, which Luther cautiously supported on grounds of self-defence in his Warning to His Dear German People of 1531. The Augsburg Confession had become the statement of faith on which Lutherans were prepared to stand or fall. Though a modified version of Luther's position, it is regarded as the first Lutheran treatise.
The Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession consists of 28 articles presented by Lutheran princes and representatives of "free cities" at the Diet of Augsburg that set forward what the Lutherans believed, taught and confessed in positive (theses) and negative (antitheses) statements. The theses are 21 Chief Articles of Faith describing the normative principles of Christian faith held by the Lutherans, the antitheses are seven statements describing what they viewed as abuses of the Christian faith present in the Roman (Catholic) church. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg_Confession
"Some things in life they just don't wanna see, but if Martin Luther were living, he wouldn't let this be".
[youtube:3f6gm46y]
I was reminded of this right away, starts off with Martin Luther King Jr's voice followed by Michael singing "Martin Luther". Was he referring to both or just one "Martin Luther"? And this redirect on the heels of MLK's birthday redirect...
In his later years, Luther became strongly antisemitic, writing that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed. These statements have made Luther a controversial figure among many historians and religious scholars.[8]
Thank you very much lilwendy, I enjoyed reading this and enjoyed the video clip with Lenny Kravitz talking about "Another Day". This reminds us about Michael's relationship with God - Michael read the Bible daily and Martin Luther believed that The Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge.
Okay, I'm confused. In TDCAU, Michael said, "...but if Martin Luther was living..." To me, it sounds like King, because of the meaning of the song, but he said Martin Luther, without "King". <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? --> So, TS, whatcha trying to say???
I do not wish to offend anyone with this post, and say from the outset that I love all people groups of the world, knowing each group have their purpose designed by God for a greater purpose. But these following are facts, uncomfortable though they may be.
This song "They don't really care about us", has to do with racism and the liberty supposedly given to blacks, but they haven't really experienced it very much. When Justin Bieber said in his speech, "None of us would be here if it wasn't for Michael Jackson", it means MJ has brought a new sense of liberty to black entertainers (and understanding and appreciation of blacks by whites), but it's far from enough. Who's "they" don't really care about us?
<!-- m -->http://www.hebrewisraelites.org/jewsandslavery.htm<!-- m --> This site shows a well documented link between slavery to especially Jews from a black perspective.
<!-- m -->http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/c ... rights.htm<!-- m --> This link is to a very interesting article on Roosevelt's positive treatment of blacks. He started the de-segregation of blacks and whites in schools and invited the first black person to the White House. This gives an eye-opener to how racist America was and the environment African-Americans had to live in for generations. I don't think any of us could even imagine what it was like, and it's part of why Joe Jackson pushed his kids so hard to break free from grinding poverty and slave mentality. It was Abraham Lincoln who signed the Emancipation Declaration but he himself was known to grudgingly desire it, but at least it was a step in the right direction with many adding their sacrificial effort to bringing more liberty. I don't think white folks (me included) can really grasp the situation that it was for them.
When Diane Sawyer interviewed Michael and Lisa, she said Jewish people thought the song anti-semetic, and MJ said it wasn't --simply because lots of his friends were Jewish. But MJ has said less kind things elsewhere.
“They [the Jews] suck them like leeches. I'm so tired of it. They start out the most popular person in the world, make a lot of money, big house, cars and everything and end up penniless. It's a conspiracy. The Jews do it on purpose.”
Michael Jackson
Martin Luther certainly caused a break-away from the traditional Catholic church, railing against it, and certainly taught salvation by faith alone, and Scriptures alone with no priest or Catholic doctrine as equal. However there was something about Marin Luther that fits better with the context of this song, that shows Michael's true purpose in putting his name in it as well as Roosevelt's. Martin Luther was extremely anti-semitic. I won't post his long diatribes, but I'm just putting the link because they are pretty caustic. <!-- m -->http://www.humanitas-international.org/ ... r-jews.htm<!-- m --> I am in no way endorsing or agreeing with Luther's statement merely giving you the facts here.
They Don't Care About Us lyrics
Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, aggravation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Bang bang, shot dead
Everybody's gone mad
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
Beat me, hate me
You can never break me
Will me, thrill me
You can never kill me
Jew me, Sue me
Everybody do me
Kick me, Kike me
Don't you black or white me
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
Tell me what has become of my life
I have a wife and two children who love me
I am the victim of police brutality, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of hate
You're rapin' me of my pride
Oh, for God's sake
I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy...
Set me free
Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
trepidation, speculation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food black man, black mail
Throw your brother in jail
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
Tell me what has become of my rights
Am I invisible because you ignore me?
Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of shameThey're throwing me in a class with a bad name
I can't believe this is the land from which I came
You know I do really hate to say it
The government don't wanna see
But if Roosevelt was livin'He wouldn't let this be, no, no
Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, speculation
Everybody litigation
Beat me, bash me
You can never trash me
Hit me, kick me
You can never get me
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
Some things in life they just don't wanna see
But if Martin Luther was livin'He wouldn't let this be, no, no
Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, segregation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Kick me, Kike me
Don't you wrong or right me
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
All I wanna say is that
They don't really care about us
The 2 video versions of this song, one in Brazil slums under the watchful eye of the Christ statue, and the other in the prison, where you also see pics of the Klu Kluk Klan (KKK) the dreaded white organization against black freedoms of any kind.
So much of this Murray trial has suble themes of exposing racism, among many other themes.JMO
Okay, I'm confused. In TDCAU, Michael said, "...but if Martin Luther was living..." To me, it sounds like King, because of the meaning of the song, but he said Martin Luther, without "King". <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? --> So, TS, whatcha trying to say???
--reason
I think he was talking about MLK, seeing as the video/song is about racism and hatred. And, as I previously stated, in this wiki article it says that Luther turned into an antisemitic and "writing that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed."
Okay, I'm confused. In TDCAU, Michael said, "...but if Martin Luther was living..." To me, it sounds like King, because of the meaning of the song, but he said Martin Luther, without "King". <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? --> So, TS, whatcha trying to say???
--reason
I think he was talking about MLK, seeing as the video/song is about racism and hatred. And, as I previously stated, in this wiki article it says that Luther turned into an antisemitic and "writing that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed."
Can't imagine Michael agreeing with that...
Good point; I wonder why he said one name, but meant another... <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? -->
Okay, I'm confused. In TDCAU, Michael said, "...but if Martin Luther was living..." To me, it sounds like King, because of the meaning of the song, but he said Martin Luther, without "King". <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? --> So, TS, whatcha trying to say???
--reason
I think he was talking about MLK, seeing as the video/song is about racism and hatred. And, as I previously stated, in this wiki article it says that Luther turned into an antisemitic and "writing that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed."
Can't imagine Michael agreeing with that...
Good point; I wonder why he said one name, but meant another... <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? -->
"But if Matin Luther King was livin'"
Doesn't have the same ring? <!-- s --><!-- s --> lol I don't know <!-- s:) -->:)<!-- s:) -->
"... in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." is the Martin Luther King Jr. quote at the beginning of the song, so I guess MJ is tying in all three names, because they all relate to each other. Read my comment in my above post what MJ said about Jews, but he would never advocate violence, only peace and love is what he's all about. Peaceful demonstration like he did against Tommy Matola.
"... in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation." is the Martin Luther King Jr. quote at the beginning of the song, so I guess MJ is tying in all three names, because they all relate to each other. Read my comment in my above post what MJ said about Jews, but he would never advocate violence, only peace and love is what he's all about. Peaceful demonstration like he did against Tommy Matola.
I see what you're saying MJonmind, I'm just hoping that Jewish comment was misquoted...I could never agree with that..I think we have all said some things "off the cuff" that we could regret later..I'm just hoping it's not his true feelings..it would be a shame.
If I remember correctly Katherine was a Lutheran before she became a Jehovah's Witness.
This is all very interesting that the redirect points here. I am heading upstairs to the library to find my books on Martin Luther and to re-read his later works. I think we need to connect some dots here......
Luther face religious power and the secular power. The two major institutions: Church and Empire not were above the floor, but subject to it.
For many men the dissemination of the Protestant religion meant a change in attitude to some elements of their daily lives. Questioning made Lutero the authority of the Pope and the hierarchy of the Church of Rome had repercussions that exceeded the level of religious life. For many princes, the Protestant religion meant a reinforcement of its secular authority and why her meaning in their States. For many farmers, the ideas of reform justified disobedience to the power of the Lords. If the Pope was challenged and their judgments were no longer infallible to all Christians, he could also question the authority of the feudal lords. Without that Luther propose it, his ideas influenced the peasants who dissatisfied with their living conditions, rebelled against the bourgeois power.
The Protestant religion also exerted great influence on the attitudes of the bourgeoisie. The strict moral Protestant - enemy of the luxuries and waste-, an austere life practice, the idea that men got their reward or punishment in earthly life, were principles which lend well to the activities of the bourgeoisie
lilwendy wrote:
It is about a personal relationship with God. This does not happen in a church building. This does not happen by sitting in a pew and listening to a priest on Sunday. It does not happen by being a good person. It doesn’t happen by choosing to take a Sabbath rest. It’s a RELATIONSHIP!
I agree, in my opinion this paragraph says it all very well
First of all, I have nothing against jewish people and I don't think MJ has either. What I think he meant by saying 'jews' was the jewish elite, like the Rothschilds, who have control over the international banking system and together with some other filthy rich families have control over governments, banks and everything else of importance in this world. It is a very old conspiracy to take full control over the world. It has nothing to do with jewish people in general, they kill their own people as easy as others. Below some links with info on "The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion", for those interested.
[center:3d6yyokp]In the 1800s documents surfaced which were misleadingly called...
"The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion".
Almost everything these documents proposed to do has happened over the last 100 years, but these developments had little if anything to do with the Jews. The very publication of these documents may have been for purposes of disinformation, to deflect growing suspicion away from the actual manipulators to a convenient scapegoat, the Jews.
The manipulation of the world by the secret society of the "Illuminati" is not a Jewish phenomenon.
There have been some Jews involved, but no more than members of many other races, and people of all political persuasions, from capitalist to communist to anarchist. All play their part in the covert game plan, and the Jewish people have suffered more than most from the machinations of this shadowy Brotherhood.
To overcome the misleading reference to Zion, we will call these protocols (i.e. secret plans) by their truer name "The Protocols of the Illuminati", and the name "Illuminati" will be used to describe the elite leaders of Brotherhood who are aware of the real agenda.
The Protocols clearly express the Illuminati's view of the masses, its contempt of the general population, and we will replace their reference to the Goyim, as they call people like us, with the more precise term "rabble".
It sees us as little more than sheep or cattle. And while its analysis is distasteful, it cannot, unfortunately, be accused of inaccuracy in its contention of how easily most people allow themselves to be manipulated.
"Our race is the Master Race. We Jews are divine gods on this planet. We are as different from the inferior races as they are from insects. In fact, compared to our race, other races are beasts and animals, cattle at best. Other races are considered as human excrement. Our destiny is to rule over the inferior races. Our earthly kingdom will be ruled by our leader with a rod of iron. The masses will lick our feet and serve us as our slaves."
- Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in a speech to the Knesset quoted in
"Begin and the Beasts," New Statesman, June 25, 1982 by Amnon Kapeliouk -[/center:3d6yyokp]
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
well he mentions Roosevelt in this song also. there are two of them. <!-- s --><!-- s --> oh dilemmas, dilemmas <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) --> he is one tricky dude <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) --> makeing us study our history <!-- s;) -->;)<!-- s;) --> . my older sister said one time if they would put history to music she could learn it <!-- s --><!-- s --> <!-- s:o -->:o<!-- s:o -->
personally i love what lil wendy had to say.
i can see myself in michaels life how he began so close to God. and through the years perhaps began to let in things that were not best for him. and it feels to me as though he made a return to his former self. if that can make sense to anyone <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? --> an old song i remember.
when i was young i trusted in the Savior
with all my heart i loved his holy name
but as i grew i drifted from his favor
i wondered out in sorrow sin and shame
he placed a wondrous talent in my keeping
but i refused to use it for his will
the brigegroom came and found his servant sleeping
so he took my gift to lonely calveries hill
i thought of Christ and all he gave for me
how could i face those precious nail scared hands
i came back home with nothing left to bring him
but a broken heart and longing empty hands
Such excellent posts by everyone. I don't have much to add to what has already been said . Both Martin Luther and Dr King were reformers. They both brought the fight to the enemy of their day in the times that they lived --thereby challenging the controlling powers of those times. And not only did they challenge those powers , but also endured, persevered, and triumped largely because of God's intervention and help. These men were fearless and courageous. Valliant souls. And Doctor King's message cost him his life. Both of these men had a vision for the common man, to see everyday people out from under the oppression of controlling supremists and restored to the dignity and equality that God intended for every soul. Which brings me to the time in which we find ourselves and the powers that be and their agenda for us. I couldn't help but think of TS's update about turning the illuminati pyramid upside down, 666 becoming 999, with the people on the top and the few controllers on the bottom. I feel Michael has always had a sense of his destiny which he has expressed time and again through his lyrics and artform. And truly, there is nothing that can't be done if we raise our voice as one. So here we are on the threshold of a new type of reformation. Michael, we've got your back, you can count on us. We will be there for you and each other.
In his later years, Luther became strongly antisemitic, writing that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed. These statements have made Luther a controversial figure among many historians and religious scholars.[8]
Sounds like he was quite racist and hateful.
no no! Different Martin Luther!
Goodness, that's not Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that's a historical figure from at least a couple hundred years ago named simply "Martin Luther". Omigosh, please don't get these two men confused.
it would seem that in order to get to any real truth on anyone from the past or present we have to gather information from both sides of any argument. need to consider a variety of sources and not be lead by one particular school of thought to come to conclusions. what is the saying there is his version and her version and then there is the truth, someting like that.
Souza wrote: "Our race is the Master Race. We Jews are divine gods on this planet. We are as different from the inferior races as they are from insects. In fact, compared to our race, other races are beasts and animals, cattle at best. Other races are considered as human excrement. Our destiny is to rule over the inferior races. Our earthly kingdom will be ruled by our leader with a rod of iron. The masses will lick our feet and serve us as our slaves."
- Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in a speech to the Knesset quoted in
"Begin and the Beasts," New Statesman, June 25, 1982 by Amnon Kapeliouk -
Comments
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."Luther is sometimes also quoted as saying: "Here I stand. I can do no other".
"Here I stand" is from the song This Is It....it has always been the line that stood out to me in the song.
Interesting redirect for sure!
Thanks for the post.....
Blessings Always!
Aha, interesting...
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."Blessings Always!
Shaken by the Siege of Vienna, Charles V convened an Imperial Diet at Augsburg in 1530, aiming to unite the empire against the Turks. To achieve this, he needed first to resolve the religious controversies in his lands, "considering with love and kindness the views of everybody". He asked for a statement of the evangelical case, and one was duly devised by Luther, Melanchthon, and their Wittenberg colleagues. Melanchthon drafted the document, known as the Augsburg Confession, and travelled with the elector's party to Augsburg, where it was read to the emperor and diet on 25 June 1530. Luther was left behind at the Coburg fortress in southern Saxony because he remained under the imperial ban and lacked a safe-conduct to attend the diet. His writings during his 165 days at Coburg, including the Exhortation to all Clergy Assembled at Augsburg, show that, unlike Melanchthon, he was set against making concessions.
Despite the Confession's avoidance of strident language or abuse of the pope, the diet rejected it on 22 September. The reformers were ordered to renounce heresy and submit to the control of the Catholic Church by the following April or face the imperial army. The decision confirmed Luther's belief that the mission had been futile. It prompted the Lutheran princes to form a military alliance, the Schmalkaldic League, which Luther cautiously supported on grounds of self-defence in his Warning to His Dear German People of 1531. The Augsburg Confession had become the statement of faith on which Lutherans were prepared to stand or fall. Though a modified version of Luther's position, it is regarded as the first Lutheran treatise.
The Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession consists of 28 articles presented by Lutheran princes and representatives of "free cities" at the Diet of Augsburg that set forward what the Lutherans believed, taught and confessed in positive (theses) and negative (antitheses) statements. The theses are 21 Chief Articles of Faith describing the normative principles of Christian faith held by the Lutherans, the antitheses are seven statements describing what they viewed as abuses of the Christian faith present in the Roman (Catholic) church.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg_Confession
"Some things in life they just don't wanna see, but if Martin Luther were living, he wouldn't let this be".
[youtube:3f6gm46y]
I was reminded of this right away, starts off with Martin Luther King Jr's voice followed by Michael singing "Martin Luther". Was he referring to both or just one "Martin Luther"? And this redirect on the heels of MLK's birthday redirect...
Sounds like he was quite racist and hateful.
--reason
This song "They don't really care about us", has to do with racism and the liberty supposedly given to blacks, but they haven't really experienced it very much. When Justin Bieber said in his speech, "None of us would be here if it wasn't for Michael Jackson", it means MJ has brought a new sense of liberty to black entertainers (and understanding and appreciation of blacks by whites), but it's far from enough. Who's "they" don't really care about us?
<!-- m -->http://www.hebrewisraelites.org/jewsandslavery.htm<!-- m --> This site shows a well documented link between slavery to especially Jews from a black perspective.
<!-- m -->http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/c ... rights.htm<!-- m --> This link is to a very interesting article on Roosevelt's positive treatment of blacks. He started the de-segregation of blacks and whites in schools and invited the first black person to the White House. This gives an eye-opener to how racist America was and the environment African-Americans had to live in for generations. I don't think any of us could even imagine what it was like, and it's part of why Joe Jackson pushed his kids so hard to break free from grinding poverty and slave mentality. It was Abraham Lincoln who signed the Emancipation Declaration but he himself was known to grudgingly desire it, but at least it was a step in the right direction with many adding their sacrificial effort to bringing more liberty. I don't think white folks (me included) can really grasp the situation that it was for them.
When Diane Sawyer interviewed Michael and Lisa, she said Jewish people thought the song anti-semetic, and MJ said it wasn't --simply because lots of his friends were Jewish. But MJ has said less kind things elsewhere.
Martin Luther certainly caused a break-away from the traditional Catholic church, railing against it, and certainly taught salvation by faith alone, and Scriptures alone with no priest or Catholic doctrine as equal. However there was something about Marin Luther that fits better with the context of this song, that shows Michael's true purpose in putting his name in it as well as Roosevelt's. Martin Luther was extremely anti-semitic. I won't post his long diatribes, but I'm just putting the link because they are pretty caustic. <!-- m -->http://www.humanitas-international.org/ ... r-jews.htm<!-- m --> I am in no way endorsing or agreeing with Luther's statement merely giving you the facts here.
The 2 video versions of this song, one in Brazil slums under the watchful eye of the Christ statue, and the other in the prison, where you also see pics of the Klu Kluk Klan (KKK) the dreaded white organization against black freedoms of any kind.
So much of this Murray trial has suble themes of exposing racism, among many other themes.JMO
I think he was talking about MLK, seeing as the video/song is about racism and hatred. And, as I previously stated, in this wiki article it says that Luther turned into an antisemitic and "writing that Jewish homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed."
Can't imagine Michael agreeing with that...
"But if Matin Luther King was livin'"
Doesn't have the same ring? <!-- s
I see what you're saying MJonmind, I'm just hoping that Jewish comment was misquoted...I could never agree with that..I think we have all said some things "off the cuff" that we could regret later..I'm just hoping it's not his true feelings..it would be a shame.
This is all very interesting that the redirect points here. I am heading upstairs to the library to find my books on Martin Luther and to re-read his later works. I think we need to connect some dots here......
For many men the dissemination of the Protestant religion meant a change in attitude to some elements of their daily lives. Questioning made Lutero the authority of the Pope and the hierarchy of the Church of Rome had repercussions that exceeded the level of religious life. For many princes, the Protestant religion meant a reinforcement of its secular authority and why her meaning in their States. For many farmers, the ideas of reform justified disobedience to the power of the Lords. If the Pope was challenged and their judgments were no longer infallible to all Christians, he could also question the authority of the feudal lords. Without that Luther propose it, his ideas influenced the peasants who dissatisfied with their living conditions, rebelled against the bourgeois power.
The Protestant religion also exerted great influence on the attitudes of the bourgeoisie. The strict moral Protestant - enemy of the luxuries and waste-, an austere life practice, the idea that men got their reward or punishment in earthly life, were principles which lend well to the activities of the bourgeoisie
I agree, in my opinion this paragraph says it all very well
<!-- m -->http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_sociopol_zion.htm<!-- m -->
<!-- m -->http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/socio ... zion06.htm<!-- m -->
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."personally i love what lil wendy had to say.
i can see myself in michaels life how he began so close to God. and through the years perhaps began to let in things that were not best for him. and it feels to me as though he made a return to his former self. if that can make sense to anyone <!-- s:? -->:?<!-- s:? --> an old song i remember.
when i was young i trusted in the Savior
with all my heart i loved his holy name
but as i grew i drifted from his favor
i wondered out in sorrow sin and shame
he placed a wondrous talent in my keeping
but i refused to use it for his will
the brigegroom came and found his servant sleeping
so he took my gift to lonely calveries hill
i thought of Christ and all he gave for me
how could i face those precious nail scared hands
i came back home with nothing left to bring him
but a broken heart and longing empty hands
no no! Different Martin Luther!
Goodness, that's not Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that's a historical figure from at least a couple hundred years ago named simply "Martin Luther". Omigosh, please don't get these two men confused.
This is similar to a speech by Adolf Hitler