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Facts about Luther

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You need not listen too much to protestant historians or Catholic ones to learn the truth about Martin Luther - you can read Martin Luther's own words. This is what the author does - he cites the very words of the man whom protestants have come to love and admire.

When he is not quoting Luther, he is much more often than not quoting Luther's closest associates, followers, and even protestant historians. I really get the impression that the vast majority of protestants - including present-day Lutherans - do not really know much about Martin Luther.

And so, for the Catholic, it will show you the novel beliefs of this very rebellious man. The author even goes to great length to present the Catholic response to these teachings, and in very readable language.

For the protestant, this book will make you think; it will present to you teachings of Luther in Luther's own words - teachings that you will have to answer for, since you hold this man in such high esteem. You will have to answer for why this man held morality in such low esteem, why this man instructed followers to not even try to "be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect", why and on whose authority this man abridged the Bible, why this man hated chastity and approved of divorce, bigamy, and polygamy, and a host of other teachings.

I find most interesting that Martin Luther was unable to even have a civil conversation with a person who disagreed with him, resorting to personal insults, "ad hominem" attacks, and obscenity as a matter of course. These things impede real dialogue between Catholics and protestants even today. You don't think so? Well then, I direct your attention to some of the reviewers who bombed this book. Their tactics speak for my truth;

How about John L. Hoh's (WELS) review on 2/6/2001. The first words in his review are, "I haven't read this book ..." I understand, Mr Hoh. The book is Catholic; you are a Lutheran; therefore the book MUST be bad. One should at the very least read the book before reviewing it, if for no reason other than respect for the truth.

How about the reader from Milwaukee review on 6/6/2000. He criticizes the book because it has " ... absolutely NO balance ..." Well, Mr Milwaukee, it doesn't. It is made up of mostly protestant quotes and quotes from Luther himself - very little Catholic input. We let the Lutherans do the talking, and we reprint what they said. In addition, why should the book be "balanced"? What makes you think Luther had any balance? He was about as proud and opinionated as you can get.

Finally, how about the reader from the Midwest review on 12/1/1998. He does not hesitate to pull out the personal insults, false accusations, and antagonistic language, calling the book "Papist Garbage", comparing it to a "pig wallowing", and running down the standard laundry list of false accusations about the popes. Tell me, Midwest; how many people do you think you are going to reach talking the way you do? What does the Bible say about faith without charity (Hint: see 1Cor 13:2).

An excellent book - five stars.

You can't possibly put this informative research book down once you've decided to pick it up. A truly,mind-boggling and 'revolutionary' view of the so-called "reformer" who has been extolled by his revisionist modern-day writers and worshippers that they have failed to see the unfarnished Truth about the man who turned his revolt of the Roman Catholic Church into the chaos and fragmentation of the seamless garment of Christ, laying the foundations to the tearing Christianity (disregarding JN.17) into countless bickering sects that we have today. A truly sad event of Church history that has spawned nothing less than biogotry,violence in all forms,and misinformation right down through today in the fragmented world of Bible-thumping 'christianity'. The romantacized Luther being propagated today is but a far cry to the real Martin Luther of the 'reformation'. His work(s) like "The Jews and Their Lies" have been used by the Hitler himself to justify his/their extermination of the Jews in the Holocaust! No honest researcher can deny this! Read the facts for yourself with and open-mind! Can Martin Luther rightly be called a "religious reformer"??? I truly DOUBT SO! But,don't just take my word for it,read "THE FACTS ABOUT LUTHER" yourself!

Msgr. O'Hare prefaces his well-researched and heavily quoted study of Luther by saying excessive language and emotion on all sides have degraded and clouded the whole Luther controversy. To clear the air, O'Hare proposes to damn Luther with his own words, and set the editorializing aside. O'Hare patiently explains that the testimony of Luther himself, along with that of his collaborators and subsequent Protestant authorities, will speak for itself. But then directly on the heels of this modest disclaimer, he proceeds to unleash a merciless and caustic invective against Luther that lets up for nary a page throughout the remainder of the 350-page text. Certainly, the Father's strident tone arises partly from his belief in the absolute authority of the Catholic Church, and partly as a response to the even more venomous (yet far less reasoned) tongue of his subject. Style issues aside, the book indeed presents a damning portrait of the Reformer: Luther's own words indeed betray his irrational, dismal and inconsistent theology, his vindictive and monstrously self-sufficient nature, his almost insanely personal, vituperative and frequently scatological method of argument.

Between citations and diatribes, O'Hare manages to provide quite lucid explanations of the very complex concepts of Indulgences and Justification-concepts mangled by Luther to appeal to the basest instincts of his fledgling flock. Thanks in no small measure to him, multitudes to this day deplore the Mother Church based on a completely erroneous understanding of Indulgences and Justification.

O'Hare convincingly demonstrates that far from introducing the Bible to the German masses, Luther merely eviscerated extant German translations in order to make it conform to his heretical theology.

Luther's schizophrenic message which exhorted man to interpret Scripture for himself yet condemned him whenever he disagreed with Luther's own mercurial teachings had dire consequences throughout Europe--social chaos on the one hand, and brutal authoritarianism on the other. Luther got the ball rolling by inducing the German peasants to revolt against their oppressive princes, and then turned on them when they no longer obeyed. Outraged, he changed sides and encouraged these same princes to exterminate the peasants with gleeful abandon. The princes were only too happy to oblige.

One suspects that O'Hare, certainly no ecumenist, undermines his case by overstating it. Surely there must be a good side to Luther, for no sane person could have followed the disgusting embodiment of evil portrayed in these pages. That the book has received the Imprimatur will reassure Catholic readers, but probably make some non-Catholic readers more skeptical.

Regardless of to what extent O'Hare caricaturizes Luther the man, he is lucid and compelling when assessing Luther the theologian. All the contradictory, dehumanizing, illogical, and downright nonsensical elements of Luther's belief system are exposed and refuted. One wonders how he attracts followers at all. O'Hare himself offers an explanation: either they ignore his theology, misinterpret it, or change it. Nevertheless, Luther's theology took the Real out of Presence, the Divine out of Scripture, and the Revealed out of Religion. Spiritually and culturally we have been sinking into the abyss of paganism ever since.

Father Ohare's THE FACTS ABOUT LUTHER is a succinct account of Luther & co. which undermines the notion that these men were somehow gentle clergymen who were beset by the forces of evil. This disortion is exposed in Father Ohare's book by using the words and deeds of the "Reformers" to condemn their bad writing and thinking.

Father Ohare demonstrates that Luther and other "Reformers" were not careful thinkers. Luther's writing is often emotional and incoherent. Father Ohare uses Luther's writing to expose Luther as a vulgar and often obsene writer who had no sense of manners or decorum. If one talked used Luther's language in polite society or a professional setting, they would be ostrasized or dismissed.

Father Ohare also presents Luther as an intolerant egomaniac who tolerated no dissent from his inconsistent ramblings. Some "historians" have argued that Luther's intolerance came late in his life which, according to the record, is not true. For example, Luther exhorted the North German peasants to launch the Peasants War in 1524 and rebel against all authority. However, once they did, Luther turned on them with fury. Luther played a clever game by doing this because he knew very well that the North German Princes protected him, and any continued support for the Peasants' War would have meant excution. One should note that Luther was still young in 1524.

Father Ohare also cites Luther's unreasoning hatred toward Jews. As early as 1526, Luther wrote diatribes demanding the destruction of synagogues and Jewish literature. Luther also insisted that Jews be expelled from Germany. One should note that Julius Stricher, one of Hitler's supporters, replied that he (Stricher)did not write anything more condemnatory than Luther did. Adolf Hitler cited Luther in 1938 when there were attacks on Jewish homes and businesses.

Another distortion regarding Luther was the false claim that Luther was the first to translated the Bible into German. There are exhibits of German translations of the Bible long before Luther was born. These were done by Catholic monks and were done before the invention of the printing press. This reviewer was challenged by the statement that Luther was the first to translate the Hebrew Bible into German. The fact is that there were such translations which were done as early as the 13th century (the 1200s). This reviewer has seen some of these at exhibits, and to use the expression, "Seeing is believing." One should note that Luther was so arrogant that he wanted to omit the books of James, Hebrews, and Revelation from his translations because they contained views which contradicted his "theology" (what it was at any given moment).

Father Ohare also undermines the "unity" of the Protestent "Reformers." The Protestant "Reformers" hated each other as much if not more than they hated Catholics. In fact, one of the major reasons why these "Reformers" were silenced at the Council(s) of Trent (1543-1565) was due to their petty arguments among each other. To get a taste of Luther's intolereance toward other "Reformers," one should read Luther's rantings against Zwligli (1488-1531) when their conference to unite the Swiss and German "Reformation" movements failed in 1529.

Luther did not start a religious movement as he was swept by the events of political instability in Northern Germany. Luther was surprised at these events which made him a "hero," to many of the North German princes. One should know that "Reformation" theology was actually imposed by secular authories on the Euroepan continent and in Great Britain. The secular authorities knew that they had to impose theology to avoid the dangerous religious squabbles among the "Reformers" which could lead to political distruption and civil war.

Those who express disapproval of Father's book are blaiming the messanger for the message. Father Ohare simply condemns Luther & co. by their own words. It is foolish to blame Father Ohare and other "Reformers" for what they wrote. If Father Ohare's citations and comments anger readers, so be it.

This is a masterful dissertation about the reality of the 16th century Protestant movement that gave way to a constellation of denominations each professing their own version of the gospel. Luther heading this rebellion against the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostlic church founded by Jesus Christ makes a mark in history by his hatred and bigotry towards those who opposed him. Leaving much to be desired of a religious leader, the mentality of Martin Luther finds itself in the thinking of modern protestants like the reader before my entry who still rebelling against the Catholic church.

In regards with the reader before me who is obviously distraught about reading this marvellous piece of work, I will take some time in clarifying his/her accusations and criticisms about Father O'hare work and the Catholic church. A reader from Midwest , December 1, 1998

First off, the book does not wallow in bias towards Luther because Father O'hare uses clear and concise quotes directly from Martin Luther himself. He lets the 'legendary' protestant hero speak for himself all throughout the chapters and the books only suffers from the weakness of quoting from the German version of Luther's works(which is harder to come by). Check the sources themselves if you are willing to go further than this shallow analysis that you've posted.

Secondly, the book exposes the person of Martin Luther for who he really is and the topic has nothing to do with the useless tirade that you are proceeding to outline. Hence the title, "Facts About Luther" should have sunk into your conscience when you bought this book.

Thirdly, Besides, which Popes in the past hast written anything or anything at all that remotely approaches the hatred of Martin Luther? I dare you to show me some evidence of this! The only thing that comes close is the few canons from the Fourth Lateran Council that imposes some bans on the Jews for the protection of Christians. Try reading the section in O'Hare's books about the Popes benevalence towards the Jews in the times of persecution and digest that material(try digging into the sources if you can).

Fourthly, The Crusades were not senseless but were necessarly as a defensive measure in pushing back the rapid encroachment of Muslims on Christian soldier and the 'senseless' violence that occured is only relative in comparison with the massacres that were committed by the Muslims(who are a religion that vows commitment to the 'Jihad). This has nothing to do with the subject of the book whatsoever.

Fifthly, Which popes have a record of maintaining holocausts and which holocausts are these? The only holocaust is the result of Martin Luther's rightings in the form of German Nationalism and Adolf Hitler's systematic extermination of 11million lives in Europe(along with 6million Jews).

Sixthly, Which senseless inquisitions are these? Which Popes are guilty of these senseless inquisitions that you are accusing the church of? The inquisitions are seperate events which are spread out throughout the middle-ages in order to combat heresies that are quite unchristian. With the exception of the Spanish Inquistions which fell under secular control which got out of hand without the approval of the Catholic Church.

Seventhly, Which senseless wars are you referring to? Remember German nationalism is a byproduct of Luther's protestant reformation and that is the cause of the senseless wars during the 20th century. The blames goes back to you.

Eigthly, Which Popes are these that wrote hatred towards the Jews? I dare you to give me a sample of these writings if they exist at all! Correct Luther's words do not even compare to the writings about the Jews of the earlier popes, because the earlier popes recognized that the Jews were the people of the Old Convenant that begun on Mount Sinai. Unlike Luther who spews hatred towards the Chosen People that is quite evident in his writings which inspires the Mein Kampf and the evils that go with that tirade.

Ninethly, the pope is not the Anti-Christ and I venture to task how did you come up with this conclusion? Your blind hatred and bigotry mirrors Luther in every respect. Blind followers indeed, the Catholic Church has produced the most wonderful saints that served their almighty God from--St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Athanasius, St. Francis Assisi, St. Francis de Sales, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Teresa of Avila, and etc.

Tenthly, What Truth are referring to? perhaps Luther's Unbiblical doctrines of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fides is the Truth that you are referring to. You are willing to worship a printing page and in doing so squeezing an infinite God into the confines of your narrow minded, "Bible Only" view that is equally worthless as your tirade.

Eleventhly, the Pope is the rightful successor of the petrine office that Jesus Christ established upon Peter as the Rock(Mt. 16:18) and receives honour no different than the Patriarches of the Old testament. You modern minded liberal Git get with history and start understanding that individualism is a modern invention and that monarchies were the ruling systems in biblical times and throughout history.

Twelfthly, Since when Vatican II agrees with Lutheran doctrine? I dare you to show me and the Catholic your claims for this. The Anathemas from the Council of Trent are still in place on the heretical doctrines receiving the due condemnation. In closing, Vatican II is a purely Catholic council and an ecumenical council that is infallible as Jesus Christ himself promises that the church is the "Pillar and Bulwark of Truth"(1Tim 3:15). You make yourself infallible my friend by your claims to Private Interpretation. Mr. Super Pope sucessor to Super Pope Martin Luther I.

Thanks-be-to-God, Jeff Chen.

I was exceedingly disappointed with this book. I wanted a hardcover of this title, as I already have it in paperback. The pages are just copied from the paperback, without any enlargement to fit the new page size properly, and there are even shadows from the edges of the page outline copied. It wasn't made clear that this was not a "real" edition, but an amateurish attempt at a hardbound edition. I would not have purchased this had I known.

Quoting from Martin Luther himself, this book chronicles and details the history, motives, actual historical words and works of the 16th century "reformer" that broke up Western Christendom, and saw the birth and proliferation of Protestant sects and sectarianism. Political and national revolutions were masked in the new Protestant religions as they consolidated themselves in their respectives enclaves, splitting Europe apart. Martin Luther was a key revolutionary in those times. Like many others of like-mind, the man should have never been a priest to begin with.

How and when did Christianity start fragmenting in the 16th century when the concept of Monarchy is being questioned as a political model for emerging European nations? You'll find many answers in this book from a key man who played an iconic role in the revolution which he sadly found that he couldn't control once the floodgates of hell have been opened.

To those that deny this work: are you denying history and reality?
Are you denying that Martin Luther did and said all that has been exposed?

A must-have book to those who are interested in Church history!



Recommended reading:

History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland

The title of this book speaks for itself. When one reads the truth behind the life of Martin Luther, portrayed very accurately in this book, one will see that Martin Luther had only himself to blame for his hatred of the Catholic Church. This book exposes Martin Luther as a rebel, foul-mouthed, and full of hatred and lust. And the proof of this lies in Martin Luther's own words, taken and reproduced in this book.

The author uses Martin Luther's own words to show that he could not control his passions and that he had become overcome with temptations leading him from the Church.

Many Protestants are going to complain that this book is full of propaganda, but just the opposite is true, for history speaks for itself and if every Protestant who admired Martin Luther took the time to read this book and research the life of Luther, they would quickly realize that this man had many problems and they would return to the Catholic Church, which Martin Luther rejected. If you are having problems refuting those Protestants who stand behind Martin Luther as their hero, you need to read this book and those Protestants will not have a leg to stand on once you get done refuting their distorted praise of this heretic.

Finally a book that examines and tells the truth about the infamous "father" of modern experimental Christianity. Now you can see the begining of the division inside Christianity. Take the scales off your eyes and read this book.

This book does a great job of exposing Luther for who he really was and not the myth he has come to be in the religious world. He condemns himself with his own words. His blatant anti-semitism was a huge factor in the Holocaust that happened centuries later in Germany, which had become a Lutheran country by then. Luther was no hero, and today's protestants deserve the truth and no less.