The Historical Development of Luther's Concept of Authority

Abstract

This essay traces Martin Luther’s evolving view of religious authority, emphasizing his ultimate reliance on Scripture as the sole norm for Christian doctrine. Initially influenced by Occamism, which nominally upheld biblical authority while deferring to church interpretation, Luther gradually rejected ecclesiastical supremacy. His debates with figures like Cajetan and Eck, especially at Leipzig, clarified his conviction that popes and councils could err, and that Scripture alone must govern faith. Luther’s break with Rome culminated in his identification of the pope as Antichrist and his insistence that councils held no authority apart from Scripture. The essay affirms Luther’s belief in the Bible as the verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God, rejecting reason, experience, and church tradition as interpretive authorities. Becker concludes that Luther’s theology rests on the objective truth of Scripture, which stands above all human judgment. Abstract prepared by Microsoft Copilot (GPT-4).