Luther and Zwingli - The Term Paper

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The paper will focus on Luther and Zwingli and their views of the Lord's Supper. It will not cover the views of other reformers though they may be mentioned briefly because of their relationships to Luther and Zwingli. The Catholic Church's view of Transubstantiation will not be covered in depth though it must be discussed in relation to the theology of Luther and Zwingli.

Martin Luther

Luther was and is to the Church of the Reformation: the great theologian of the Sacrament of the Altar"

Martin Luther's doctrine of the Lord's Supper was built on his strong belief in the Word of God. As a young man struggling with what today we would call depression, his professor directed him to an extensive study of Scripture. Luther began to study Augustine and the other church fathers, but once Luther moved beyond the writings and commentaries of others to the biblical text, he began to experience difficulty. He could not reconcile the practices of the church (especially in the Mass and the sacraments) with Scripture.

He began to question everything in light of Scripture. Though he still appreciated the writings of church fathers, nothing was more important than the Word of God. As Luther moved deeper into his study, the scriptures strongly impacted his view of the Lord's Supper.

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Through his intense study of the Word, Luther experienced conversion or what Bainton called an "evangelical experience."4 The scriptures evangelized Luther. As he studied the Psalms and the book of Romans, it was as if a light came on for the first time, and he saw what he had not seen before. Perhaps for the first time Luther understood the supremacy of Christ. He was overwhelmed that Christ could understand and share in his sufferings. He found the Christ of the cross, and it moved him to a new concept of Christ not simply as the righteous judge but also as loving Savior.5

Scripture and faith alone changed Luther's understanding of the sacrament of Communion forever. Preaching, writing and debating on the Lord's Supper were now based on Luther's interpretation of the Word and his understanding of the work of Christ.

His newly gained appreciation for the Word would alter his Catholic view of the sacrament and lead him into conflict with other reformers as well. How was this transformation accomplished? How did the Word and his experience of Christ alter his views?

To understand Luther's view of the Lord's Supper and its impact on the Roman Catholic Church and the Reformation,.....

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