We offer here a summary of Martin Luther's great work The Bondage of the Will. Thought by many to be Luther's greatest writing, this book was written in answer to a book by Erasmus, the great classical scholar and humanist, 1469-1536. Both Erasmus and Luther rejected many of the errors and failings of the Roman church of their day. But Luther challenged, more and more, the Roman teaching of salvation by works. Erasmus, at first reluctant, at last yielded to pressure to state the teaching of 'free-will.' His book is said to have pleased the Pope and Henry VIII. Luther was not pleased, however, and now declared Erasmus to be an enemy to the evangelical faith. In 1525 The Bondage of the Will appeared from Luther's pen, providing a complete rebuttal of Erasmus' position. |
