Luther: “There are as many sects and creeds as there are heads." A Simple Response

 Here's a blast from my past. One of Rome's defenders posted the following:

“There are as many sects and creeds as there are heads. One denies baptism, another rejects the sacrament, another invents a world between this and the Last Day… No peasant is so rude as to boast that he knows more about the Scriptures than all the ministers.”

Even Martin Luther knew sola scriptura was a mess. You people are going to be confused and divided forever until the protestant movement finally goes extinct.

This was one of the first obscure Luther quotes that interacted with when this blog was still a toddler. There are a number of detailed Beggars All entries on this quote. However, I see that I've never provided a simple clutter-free explanation of this quote. Here's how to respond:

1. Ask For a Reference: Kudos to any defender of Rome that provides a meaningful reference on this quote (it rarely happens). This text is from Sendschreiben an die Christen zu Antwerpen, "The Letter of Doctor Martin to the Christians of Antwerp" (April, [25?] 1525). It is scheduled to for a fresh English translation in an upcoming volume of Luther's Works. As of the writing of this entry, this letter can be found beginning at WA 18:547 (with the quote in the second paragraph on the same page). A partial old English translation can be found here. 

2. Put the Quote in Context: The letter written to warn Antwerp of radical leaders and groups during the peasant uprising. The peasants had sporadic outbursts of violence previous to their great uprising in the spring of 1525. Luther was very aware of the peasant situation. He had personally visited some of the peasants and was almost killed by them. Charismatic leaders spurred them on, using religion as part of the motivation to violently revolt against the establishment. Luther was aware of these charismatic peasant leaders, and wrote against them, and also to warn Antwerp. Is this letter Luther admitting "sola scriptura is a mess"? Absolutely not. It's describing Luther's lament over radical leaders misusing the Scriptures and misleading the people. In fact, he says these radicals were sent by the Devil to torment him. He describes the devastating effect of the Devil, who, Luther says, was at peace in his papal fortress, but now with the Gospel being loudly proclaimed, must find a different way to keep men enslaved to sin and darkness.