Luther On "Woman"
RETURN
edited 9/19/11
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By virtue of his stand against ecclesiastical abuses, Luther, an Augustian monk and ordained priest, set in motion a chain of events which altered world history. Convinced that redemption depended entirely upon faith, and that the Bible was the only infallible rule of faith and practice, he initiated demands for reform that ultimately culminated in his excommunication. Undeterred, Luther persisted in promulgating his beliefs to an ever-widening circle of the faithful laying the foundation for Protestantism. He is also known for his powerful translation of the Bible into the German vernacular and his contributions to pedagogy. To “please his father and spite the devil and the Pope,” Luther married a former nun who was rather plain and hardly designed to arouse one’s passions. Although devoted to her and their six children, Luther never hesitated to exert his patriarchal authority, for he believed that “woman is a frail vessel.” |
Martin Luther (l843--l586) |
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Never
any good came out of female domination. God created Adam master and lord of
living creatures, but Eve spoiled it all. The
evil spirit takes delight (as he did from the beginning with Adam) in using a
woman to make a fool of man -- if he cannot make him godless, as he much prefers
to do. The
hair is the finest ornament women have. . . . I like women to let their hair fall down their back, it
is a most agreeable sight. Women . . . have . . . small and narrow chests, and
broad hips, to the end they should remain at home, sit still, keep house, and
bear and bring up children. . . . A
woman is, or at least should be, a friendly, courteous, and a merry companion
in life . . . the honor and ornament of the
house, and inclined to tenderness, for thereunto are they chiefly created, to
bear children, and to be the pleasure, joy and solace of their husbands. What
defects women have, we must check them for in private, gently by word of mouth,
for woman is a frail vessel. I
wish that women would repeat the Lord’s Prayer before opening their mouths. If
women get tired and die of bearing, there is no harm in that; let them die as
long as they bear; they are made for that. |