I never thought I would be accompanying you back to Wittenberg, Martin. Alive, you mean? To think the officials could not agree on what to do with you!... That doesn't mean we're out of
danger. So... what next? I really don't know. But I am sure God has a plan... and I have no doubt that He'll make His will known to me... somehow. HALT!
Woah! What is this?
What do you want? That's him!
Take him! MARTIN!-
Auuuuggghhh! Let me go! No- Go! Martin! MARTIN! MARTIN LUTHER! How can this be? Three of my friends... gone in one night. The plague has no favorites... My baby& My baby& That's all I can
afford for the funeral. You should go. I am not paying good money for you to miss your law
studies. But father- Go. Back to school! Judgement! This is judgement from God for our sins! Judgement from the Almighty. Judgement from the Almighty! JUDGEMENT FROM THE ALMIGHTY! Auuggghhh!!! My baby& JUDGEMENT FROM THE ALMIGHTY! No!... NO! I don't want to die... Please spare me! I'll do anything! Anything! I'm not ready to- Aaauuugghh! I'll... I'll go to mass... every day! I'll do penance... I'll- I'll leave my law studies... become a monk! I promise... But please! Auuuggghhh! God has spared me... You have spared me! And I will keep my vow. I will keep my vow! And I will do anything to be worthy of You-
anything! Lord have mercy upon me! Save me from the fires of hell! Cleanse me of my many sins! Keep me from the devil! I am doing all I can to please
You! I left my law studies, my
family! What more can I do? What more can I possibly do to deserve You? Nothing. Auuuggghh! There is nothing you can do to deserve God, Martin. Father Staupitz! I was just- Confessing your sins? You went to confession
yesterday. Father Augustus tells me you kept him in the confessional for over six hours! Six hours, Martin! How many sins could you
have committed? The poor man is exhausted. He heard sins that he never even knew existed! No sooner do I confess than... I feel pride having done so,
therefore I feel- A need to confess again! And again, and again! I'm living in hell here,
Father Staupitz. In pure darkness! And... I agree with you, Martin. Which is why I am sending you
away- to Wittenberg. To?
The university. Duke Frederick, the university's
benefactor, has put out a request for good Bible
scholars. But I- Will go! You say you are in darkness,
Martin. But you must not forget
that Christ said: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me, shall not walk in darkness but shall have... ...the light of life!" Go to the university of Wittenberg, Martin. Flood your soul with the study of the Holy Scriptures! You will find that as the light of God's word comes into your
soul... ...the darkness will flee... and you, Martin Luther... ... will become a changed man! ... enim estis salvati per
fidem... ...The one who through faith is
righteous... shall live. Righteous... ...through faith... ...faith. The one who through faith is
righteous. Not by my righteousness...
but my faith... my faith in You dear Lord... As my Saviour! My Saviour! So, professor, you are saying
that... You can neither add nor subtract
from the sacrifice that Christ made as payment for our sins on the
cross! But the Holy Scriptures... they encourage us to do good
works! As a sign of our faith-
not as payment for sin. But, surely God expects us to
pay for some of our sins. Tell me, Gustaf. Which sin can you pay for? I... well... I will tell you. None. Christ paid for all of
our sins on the cross. He came to save us because we cannot save ourselves! ... enim estis salvati per
fidem... How I wish the Holy Scriptures
were translated into our language
for all to read! By grace you are saved, through
faith- not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God- not of works... So no one can boast. Saint Paul,
the Epistle to the Ephesians. Believe me, if there is anyone
that has tried to pay for his sins... if ever a monk had tried to save himself through his monkery... It would have been me. But, it cannot be done. Christ alone saves us. But... what of purgatory then. Ah... purgatory! Where we go after death
to be purified in fire before we can gain
entrance to Heaven! A thousand years in the fire
for telling a lie! Two thousand years for
each bad thought... Tell me Gustaf. How many lies have you told? How many bad thoughts have you
had? Just today.
-Uh... Yesterday?
-Well... How about all your life up to
now? I would suggest you take some
books with you to read when you are there but...
they would only burn up! Hahahahaha! No, no, Gustaf! Only God's grace can save us. And that is the good news
of the Gospel! And that- is the good news that class is
over! You teach as if there were no holy commandments. Spalatin! I gather you listened in on my class. Really, Martin! What will become of these young men if they don't have any fear of God... if they think God has done it all for them? They will serve Him out of love, and not out of fear. Believe me, Spalatin, it makes a difference. I know! Father Martin! Klaus! Kristina! You'll never guess where I'm off
to. To pay the rent! To pay the rent! It's the first time in years that he hasn't spent it getting drunk, sir! My Klaus has changed so much! That man has experienced a change because He wants to please God and his family, out of love. That's what the Gospel does... that is what law alone cannot
do. Ah, my trusted secretary. Duke Frederick. Just in time to see the latest addition to my collection of holy relics! Look at this! A whisker from the beard of
Christ! I had it brought over from the Holy Land. It cost me a fortune but it brings my collection of relics to nearly... what was the count? 18,000 relics, sire. And I have no doubt that this one will add to the
blessings of the many pilgrims
that visit our city. I will place it between the
straw taken from our Lord's manger and the thorn taken from his crown of thorns. But... you don't seem very excited. It's the new professor, sire. Ah!... the monk,
Martin Luther. His ideas... His way of
teaching... has raised attendance at
both University and Church. And as the benefactor of both, having Luther here puts a grin on my face. Our little university must rival the one in Leipzig! Still... Let the monk alone. He seems like a good teacher. After all, Spalatin, what
possible harm can one solitary monk do? And... check mate! Ah! Your holiness wins again! Never ever, underestimate
your opponent, Aleandro. You could end up
losing everything if you do. I'll be sure to remember that, your Holiness. Speaking of which. I... uh... have been informed
that the church treasury is low once
again. Low on money, you mean. Yes. But, not empty of possibilities. I'm afraid I don't follow,
your holiness. Indulgences. Church assurances for reduced time in purgatory. We've made them available before but perhaps now is a good time
to offer more of them to the people. In exchange for a...
gift to the church. A donation. A contribution...
call it what you like. This would meet our need for
money- and do a great service to the faithful!
Friar Tetzel can convince them. After all, who wouldn't want to
avoid- the fires of purgatory! Think of your loved ones, not yet ready, suffering the agonizing purification of the fires of purgatory!
-Auuuggghhh! Oh if only someone would help
me! Think of them... at this VERY MOMENT...
suffering! But& wait!
There is hope! Your holy father...
grants an indulgence! Yes... Buy one of these and... your loved one can be spared hundreds of years
of pain and agony... for as the coin in the coffer
rings... ...a soul from purgatory
spriiinngggs! Glory! I want one for my dear mother! And one for my sweet child! I want one... I want one, too. Yes! YES! Hear the cries of
relief from your dear ones! Hear them thanking YOU! And you got this where? In Jüterbog. You're drunk! Doesn't matter! I'll buy my forgiveness
tomorrow! Delivered by the very hand of
uh... Friar Tetzel... on behalf of the Pope himself! He's been...uh... giving 'em-I
mean, selling 'em all over the
country! I paid for my sins! Says so right here! That's what the friar said! John Tetzel. People flock to him by the
hundreds. "When the coin in the coffer
rings-" Someone in Rome can buy more
things! That's not how it goes! A soul from- a soul from... a... how'd it go? Sleep it off Klaus. I know perfectly well what this false shepherd preaches. Martin! You should watch your
words! Really, Spalatin? Really? Do you really think that a piece
of paper, issued in Rome, will have any value after
someone dies? Is Klaus supposed to carry
it with him to purgatory? ...for if the Pope could free
anyone from purgatory or hell.. Why doesn't he just do it out of Christian love... or... ... is this perhaps a way to
fill is own treasure which,
rumor has it, have been emptied by his lavish and expensive lifestyle! No! Save your money! Use it for better purposes than trying to pay for your sins... or reduced time in purgatory! Listen to me clearly. No relic. no pope, or
indulgence... can do more than what Christ
alone has already done on the cross! Christ is your Savior and He has
paid all our debts to Heaven through His death on the cross! You're not smiling. Do you have to be so bold? Tell me, Spalatin. Do you love the church? The church? I am a priest. Of course I do, As do I. Should I remain silent
if I see it abused? Jesus said, Whatever you do to one of the least of my
brothers... you have done to Me! I will not be silent. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Write! That's what I'm going to do! Write! Out of love and concern
for the truth... Oh no. The pope himself cannot take away any guilt... It is the Christian who is truly repentant that receives forgiveness of sins... There is nothing in the holy scriptures about souls being freed from purgatory... ... when money is given to the
church. For as the coin in the coffer
rings... ...a soul from purgatory
spriiinngggs! Your holiness. Have you had an opportunity to read this? I did.
-Well? I was wondering if your holiness wanted to respond. To one lowly monk? For heaven's sake, Aleandro. I have more important things
to worry about than some German monk putting
his silly thoughts on paper. But they have been published all over Germany! They have affected
the sale of indulgences. Well then... you do something
about it. Me? But what can I do? Oh I don't know... uh... find someone to debate him! Show him the error of his ways. You'll be clarifying things for the people at the same time. Besides, people always love a good argument. Well, go on! If it becomes more serious, I will intervene. Oh Aleandro! Use that
theologian... Eck! Yes, he's the perfect man
for it! No one can stand before Eck and survive his cunning. But the Bible is not
easy to understand! And you argue that every person should have it in their own
language? There is no one more
qualified than the Pope to interpret the Holy
Scriptures! Though he is not above them. The Holy Scriptures are the
foundation of our Christian faith. Any man or woman, placing their
faith on the Scriptures, is more
trustworthy than the pope or any
council that ignores it. No one is above the
written Word of God! Not you, not I and not the pope! You speak like John Hus the
heretic! If speaking the truth of
scripture is heresy then... a
heretic I am. Then that is all I need to hear! I hope you're as well versed
in your history as you think you are
in your theology, Luther. And why is that? Because you would know that the
heretic Hus was burned at the stake. You may not believe in the fires
of purgatory but be assured that if you keep this up,
you will face fire nonetheless. So the monk dares to write a
book addressed to the Princes of
Germany and advise them to go
against my authority? Let him deal with my writings
now! This should make Luther think
twice about picking up his pen. I have no doubt
the faithful will rejoice at your decisive action, your
holiness. It will restore order
and silence the... how did you put it... "The wild pig that has invaded the Lord's vineyard". I'm very glad you have such
confidence in our church, my
son. Because you will personally take
this decree and deliver it to every province of Germany...
as my representative. Show Martin Luther some real
power. Excommunicated! The pope is giving me
two months to recant, to take everything I have said
back... ...or it becomes official. You know what this means. You are cast out of the
Church... and Heaven... for all eternity! No. It means, I have more
books to publish... But Martin... surely... No one, be it pope or prince,
has the authority to exclude anyone from Heaven-
the Bible makes that very clear! But how can the common people know that when the Scriptures are not in their language? This is why I cannot stop
writing. Think of how much more our people don't really know! Sigh... I understand Eck has been chosen to do the will of his master... and I shall do the will of mine. ...and all of Martin Luther's
writings are to be burned. Anyone that refuses to do so
shall also be in danger and therefore cast out of the
Church and heaven for all
eternity. Let us be rid of this heresy! Liar! Get him out of town! Quickly! Before they kill us!
Liar! The two months are nearly up... I was just thinking of replying. Good... good! If I could uh...
offer you a little advice, perhaps take a more humble
stance in your reply... a- Martin? Martin! Where are you going? To reply to the pope! Well then...
shouldn't you be at your desk? Let this be my reply to Rome. There is no turning back now. They burned books? Well, after Luther burned the
Pope's decree, the people
brought many of the church books and threw
them into the fire along with
it. Dear, oh dear. This is getting out of hand,
sire. Luther may have gone too far. Oh I don't know... Leave Luther alone, it just
might be that God is using him in ways we don't understand. He is expecting you. Eck! You're back! Bearing good news for me, I
gather. He has burned the documents.
HE DID WHAT??? They want us to send Luther to
Rome? By the Pope's request... er rather... demand. To be roasted at his feast no
doubt! No! Our professor monk
must not go to Rome or we shall never see him again. But, it's the Pope!
and Germany is part of the Holy Roman Empire!
Ruled by the Pope- but also under the authority
of King Charles V! But sire, The King is heart and
soul loyal to the Pope. But he has also decreed that
no subject of his realm shall be accused of any crime
without a fair trial. So, rather than send Luther to
Rome... ...where he has already
been condemned... we request a hearing
during the King's visit to Germany, at the counsel of
Worms. That's brilliant! Compose a letter to his majesty
at once and let's get our monk off
the roasting rack! No one will take away my star
professor without a fight! ...yes, all your princes
are accounted for, your highness, and we shall
begin the council tomorrow- What is that noise? Uh... it must be that heretic Luther arriving, your highness. Ha! Well by the sound of it, it looks like it will
be a speedy trial. Just listen to them! Sounds like they want to kill
him. Luther! Luther! The same in every town you say? Every single one. The majority
of the people stand by him heart
and soul. And how was your reception,
Master Eck, when you traveled
about with the "good news" of
Luther's excommunication? Instruct Luther to be careful in
his answers. Eck is a skilled
debater and will do his best to corner
him and put words in his mouth. I can only hope our dear monk
gets a fair hearing. Cardinal Eck...
you may proceed. We have only two questions for
you. Two questions? It was my understanding that I would be allowed to
present- Nothing. Nothing...?! You have been brought here not to present, but to answer. Did you write these? I - I did. Our second question. Are you willing to recant them? Am I willing to- The question is a simple one. Are you willing to take back everything you have written
in these books? But that's im- Answer the question! Sire, surely- Answer the question! I am attempting to! A simple "yes" or "no" will do! AND I BEG TO DIFFER! Sire... there- there is so much written in each book! I admit at times my words may
have been ill chosen but in
general- WILL YOU RECANT THE HERESY WRITTEN IN YOUR BOOKS? In all good conscience I cannot- SO YOUR ANSWER IS 'NO'! I HAVE NOT SAID THAT. YES NO YES NO YES NO-
WHICH IS IT? Let him speak! Let Luther speak! SILENCE! SILENCE! I CANNOT retract my writings
without being able to go over all the
points I have made in them! SO YOU DO NOT RECANT! YOU- NEED MORE TIME! I came here to speak with you... to share with you my thoughts... The way you question me... I need time to think, to pray. Well, Luther, it's a pity that we can't accommodate you Tomorrow! Sire? You have until tomorrow. OUT! GET THEM OUT! Satisfied? Look at the chaos you've caused- the division. Are you building
up the church Luther... or
destroying it? Isn't it about
time you thought about them,
and not about yourself? Are you building up the
church or destroying it? ...if you keep this up,
you will face fire nonetheless. Martin Luther. Do you have an answer for us? Yesterday, you said
something very wise. My dilemma... my hesitancy... has been that I have been
thinking only about myself. Therefore you are
ready to declare... That I... -will not recant! WHAT? But... You are right. My actions have
brought division! But if it is division
between truth and lies then I am for division! You're for- And as for thinking about
myself... you are also right,
for I admit I have feared the consequences of your
judgement! But I cower no more and say to
you... ...that unless I can be
instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy
Scriptures or with clear
reasoning that I am in error, then I
CANNOT AND WILL NOT RECANT ... BECAUSE IT IS NEITHER SAFE
NOR WISE TO ACT AGAINST
CONSCIENCE! HERE I STAND! I CAN DO NO OTHER! Martin! MARTIN LUTHER! MARTIN
LUTHER! I never thought
I would be accompanying you back to Wittenberg, Martin. Alive you mean? To think the officials could not
agree on what to do with you! That doesn't mean we're out of
danger. You wanted something official. I declare Martin Luther an
outlaw. Free to be hunted down and put to death. So... what next? I really don't know. But I am sure God has a plan... and I have no doubt that He'll make His will
known to me...somehow.. Whoa! What is this?
what do you want? That's him!
Take him! Martin! Aauughhhh! Please, don't! No!
- Go! Martin! Martin! Martin Luther! Where are you taking me?
-Keep going! What is going on!? I am ready to face
anything for You, Lord. I -I commend myself to You! You were not followed? I'm certain Spalatin!...
So the Duke- Has no idea where you are
so that he can answer truthfully if he is ever
questioned. I was only
instructed to have you... whisked away for
your own safety. But why- The Duke, has been pondering your message and... And? There is something else. On the night of All Souls... ...the very night that
you wrote your Theses and posted it on the church
door, the Duke had a dream. In the dream he saw a monk
writing at a church door with such
a long quill that it extended all the way to Rome, where it
toppled the crown of a lion. ... So now I have only one piece of instruction for you from our
Duke. Do as Heaven has instructed you. Write! You will be safe here. Use the pen. Write! Once I ran away in fear from a
storm... And now, by the grace of God, I am ready to walk straight into
one. In the beginning was the Word... Martin Luther's courageous stand
sparked the Protestant
reformation that swept Europe and,
eventually, the world. Convinced that the Bible is the
foundation of every Christian's
faith, Luther worked tirelessly
to translate it into German. Soon, every person in his
country could read Scripture for
themselves, and by doing so, come to
understand, as Luther himself
had, that salvation is by faith
alone. As protestant churches began to
emerge, Luther did his best to guide
them through his writings. By the end of his life, he had
written over 60,000 pages. Yet his faith in the Holy
Scriptures as the primary source of a Christian's foundation,
never changed. I'd rather that all my books
would disappear and that the Holy Scriptures
alone would be read.
