Well, This is Awkward: That Time Martin Luther Tried Adding and Subtracting Words to the Bible

Put this in the Awkward Files. The time the Founder of Protestantism, archheretic Martin Luther, tried to add a word to the Bible, and also delete an entire Epistle from the Bible.

Apocalypse 22:18-19 gives this stern warning in regards to false prophets and heretics who add or subtract from God's Word:

"I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

Heed the words of St. Paul, from Galatians 1:6-10:

"I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, not that there is another. But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ."

With these two serious Scriptural admonitions in mind, inspired by the Holy Spirit, from the very breath of God, let us now examine the infamous 16th century archheretic Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant Religion, father of the Protestant Revolution against Christianity.

Did Luther ever attempt to add to Sacred Scripture? He most certainly did. He tried adding the word "Alone" to his German translation of the Bible for Romans 3:28, in order to prove his novel invention of Sola Fide. The following quotes are drawn from the work "Luther's Own Statements Concerning His Teaching and its Results, Taken Exclusively From the Earliest and Best Editions of Luther's German and Latin Works," compiled by Henry O'Connor.

Here is Protestantism's founder verbatim, in his own words:

"And in order to return to the point. If your Papist makes much unnecessary fuss about the word (Sola, alone), say straight out to him, Doctor Martinus Luther will have it so, and says, Papists and donkeys are one and the same thing. Thus I will have it, thus I order it, my will is reason enough. For we will not be the scholars or the disciples of the Papists, but their masters and judges. We must once in a way act a little haughtily and noisily with these jack-*sses...

As to their unnecessary noise about the word Sola, I beg of you not to give those donkeys any other or further answer, but simply this much: Dr. Luther will have it so, and says he is a Doctor above all Doctors in the whole of Popery...

I knew very well that here, Romans III., the word Sola is not in the Latin and Greek text, and it was not necessary for the Papists to teach me that. It is true, these four letters, S O L A, are not in it, which letters the jack-*sses look at as a cow looks at a new gate."

Here is the original translation of Romans 3:28 taken straight from the Bible: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Only in the past 500 years has it said “man is justified by faith alone”. Christians prior to the 1500’s never believed such a thing, because Scripture never said that.

In his original German translation, the word "Alone" was inserted into Romans 3:28, to read, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith ALONE without the deeds of the law." He did this in order to prove his doctrine of salvation by faith alone, a unique and original tradition of man that was unheard of in history prior to the 16th century. Eventually, he removed the word at the pleadings of his friends, particularly Philip Melanchthon, his trusted advisor and supporter. Melanchthon was worried that Luther's Revolt would be short lived once his followers discovered that he had artificially added a word into the Bible.

Perhaps he was worried by this divine teaching: "If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book."

However, the story does not end there. Luther was so frantic to get across his new teaching that he had one additional dilemma. On top of the problem that the words "faith" and "alone" are nowhere to be found together positively in all of Sacred Scripture, which was the slogan and pillar upon which he based his entire Revolution, the further issue was that Scripture did in fact have one place where the words "faith" and "alone" were to be found. Yet, not in the way Luther had hoped.

In James 2:24, we read, "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." So the only time the Holy Spirit inspired an author to put these two words side by side is when it is negated, prefaced by "not by." And worse yet for Luther's case, the exact same Greek word is used in James 2 that St. Paul uses in Romans 3. That is the word dikaiousthai, which is translated as "justified."

So both St. Paul and St. James are discussing justification, even using the example of Abraham in context to bolster their teachings. And yet in St. Paul, we do not see the word "Alone" or "Sola." Rather, we see that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law (which only excludes works of law from faith, but not other virtuous qualities such as faith, hope, and charity; or works done under grace as opposed to law). And in St. James, we explicitly see one is "justified by works and not by faith alone." In other words, "man is justified by works" and hence is "not justified by Sola Fide."

Protestants have spent the last half millennium trying to twist and distort all this evidence to make their slogan fit. But suffice to say, Luther knew exactly the dilemma he was facing. He knew what St. James clearly said. So what did he suggest ought to be done?

The following source comes to us from the book "Luther's Works," a 55 volume book written by Martin Luther, edited and translated by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann.

Luther writes, in 1542, "That epistle of James gives us much trouble, for the papists embrace it alone and leave out all the rest. Up to this point I have been accustomed just to deal with and interpret it according to the sense of the rest of Scriptures. For you will judge that none of it must be set forth contrary to manifest Holy Scripture. Accordingly, if they will not admit my interpretations, then I shall make rubble also of it. I almost feel like throwing Jimmy into the stove."

In the same work, in 1522, Luther says, "St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it."

Paul Althaus, in the book "The Theology of Martin Luther," further notes that Luther proclaimed regarding the Epistle of St. James, "Therefore I do not want to have him in my Bible."

We recall the words again from the inspired book of Revelation: "If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city."

And again, let us recall the words of St. Paul: "If anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed!"

There you have the hero of Protestantism. Martin Luther, who attempted to both add to Sacred Scripture and also to subtract from it. May all read this abandon this shipwreck, repent, and come home to the Christian Religion, the Church, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Follow Jesus and the Apostles, not traditions of men from archheretics that are sixteen centuries removed from Our Lord and who possess no link to Apostolic succession.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.