The Manifesto of the Reformation - Luther vs. Erasmus on Free Will

The clash betweenMartin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus over the issue of free will is ‘one of the most famous exchanges in western intellectual history’.1 In this article, we will examine the background to the quarrel between these two professors, and two of the central themes of Luther’s response to Erasmus—the clarity of Scripture and the bondage of the will. In doing so it is critical to be aware that studying these things ‘operates as a kind of litmus test for what one is going to become theologically’.2 Ignoring the contemporary relevance and implications of these crucially important topics will not be possible; whether thinking about our approach to the modern reformation of the church, our evangelism, pastoral care, or interpretation of the Bible there is so much of value and vital importance that it would be a travesty to discuss them without at least a nod in the direction of the twenty-first century church. From Luther’s perspective, as Gerhard Forde rightly says, this was not just one more theological debate but ‘a desperate call to get the gospel preached’.3

This is a fundamentally significant dispute historically since it involved key players in the two major movements of the sixteenth century: Erasmus the great renaissance humanist and Luther the Reformation Hercules.4 The debate between these two titans reveals not only the reasons behind ‘humanism’s programmatic repudiation of the Reformation’5 but also a clear view of the heartbeat of the Reformation itself since, as B. B. Warfield wrote The Bondage of the Will is ‘the embodiment of Luther’s reformation conceptions, the nearest to a systematic statement of them he ever made. It is the first exposition of the fundamental ideas of the Reformation in a comprehensive presentation; it is therefore in a true sense the manifesto of the Reformation’.6 If modern evangelicals have lost Luther’s clarity and faithfulness to Scripture on this issue of free will, we will have lost something very precious and foundational indeed. To read more click here.

To read Martin Luther's The Bondage of the Human Will online or to download it, click here.