Martin Luther: Similarities And Differences

There are endless similarities and differences between the religious beliefs of Martin Luther, John Fisher, and Hans Staden. So much so between Martin Luther and Catholics such as John Fisher that the differences threw Western Europe into the chaos that followed the Protestant Reformation. One of these major differences is how each of the three believed human action led to attaining God’s grace through prayer and good works. Martin Luther’s most prominent belief was one’s faith was the only thing that contributed to receiving God’s grace, while Fisher argued actions such as prayer are necessities, and Staden, contrasting his supposedly Protestant Lutheran beliefs, believed in the manifestation of God’s grace through prayer. Luther, in his …show more content…
25). Fisher, in a sermon denouncing Luther’s beliefs, claimed yes, faith is the foundation of receiving God’s grace, but “devils have faith” too (Fisher, p. 81). Meaning, faith alone is not enough, as faith can be misplaced. Actions such as prayer are what reaffirms faith in the eyes of God, obtained through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, a part of the Trinity, which “shall abide in the universal church forever” (Fisher, p. 71-72). According to Fisher, to prove one’s faith to God, and consequently receive His grace, one needs to pray to prove they hold a true faith. Staden, despite arguing that faith alone saved him, for he “knew that if he keeps his faith, he will be saved in the end,” found his faith reaffirmed through what he believed to be the manifestation of God’s grace in response to his prayers in his recount of his captivity in True History (Staden, p. 96). Despite his most likely Protestant Lutheran upbringing, which holds the belief that prayers do nothing to attain God’s grace, Staden found he believed his prayers were answered; the manifestation of God’s grace due