Ok, so my post title is a little dramatic, but not far from the truth. On August 6th, 1524 Martin Luther writes an open letter to nuns which includes the words:<\/p>\n
“Though womenfolk are ashamed to admit to this, nevertheless Scripture and experience show that among many thousands there is not a one to whom God has given to remain in pure chastity. A woman has no control over herself.\u00c2\u00a0 God has made her body to be with man, to bear children… He has also ordered man and woman to be in marital union. Suffice it to say that no one needs to be ashamed over how God has made and created him, not having been given the high, rare mercy to do otherwise.”<\/em><\/p>\n I can understand why the Catholic church does not care for him even some 500 years later. I can also understand why I find him sometimes frustrating, sometimes embarrassing, and sometimes utterly delightful…<\/p>\n The full letter appears below with the full passages in context translated from the original German.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To Several Nuns From Wittenberg Translated from Weimarer Ausgabe<\/p>\n translated by To the free nuns, my dear sisters in Christ, written with a Mercy and peace in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior!<\/p>\n Dear sisters, I have received both of your letters and am aware You are correct that there are two reasons for which life at the However, if the sisters do allow you to leave, or at least let The second reason is the flesh: Though womenfolk are ashamed to It is too much to write about here and not al all necessary, Written in Wittenberg, Martinus Luther<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ok, so my post title is a little dramatic, but not far from the truth. On August 6th, 1524 Martin Luther writes an open letter to nuns which includes the words: “Though womenfolk are ashamed to admit to this, nevertheless Scripture and experience show that among many thousands there is not a one to whom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1086,1097,466,1089,1092,1084,1093,1087,1103,1083,469,1100,986,1091,1080,1088,1070,1085,1090,1099],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3C0LX-VG","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3577,"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576\/revisions\/3577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conradaskland.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nby Martin Luther<\/p>\n
\n6 August 1524<\/p>\n
\nBriefe aus dem Jahre 1524 No. 733 -756
\n(Letters of the Year 1524 Nos. 733 – 756)<\/p>\n
\nErika Bullmann Flores<\/p>\n
\nfriendly disposition:<\/p>\n
\nof your concerns.\u00c2\u00a0 I would have answered you sooner if there had
\nbeen messengers available, and I also have been very busy.<\/p>\n
\nconvent and vows may be forsaken: The one is where men’s laws
\nand life within the order are being forced, where there is no
\nfree choice, where it is put upon the conscience as a burden.
\nIn such cases it is time to run away, leaving the convent and
\nall it entails behind. If this is your situation, where you are
\nnot freely choosing the cloister, where your conscience is being
\nforced, then call your friends.\u00c2\u00a0 Let them help you escape and,
\nif the law allows, take care of you or provide for you.\u00c2\u00a0 If
\nfriends and parents are unwilling to help, obtain help from
\nother goodly people, regardless of whether your parents become
\nangry, die or recover.\u00c2\u00a0 For the soul’s well-being and God’s will
\nare above all, as Christ says (Matth. 10:37): “Anyone who loves
\nfather or mother more than me, is not worthy of me.”<\/p>\n
\nyou freely read and hear the Word of God, then you must remain
\nwithin and join them in their works, such as spinning cooking
\nand the such, even though you have no confidence in it.<\/p>\n
\nadmit to this, nevertheless Scripture and experience show that
\namong many thousands there is not a one to whom God has given to
\nremain in pure chastity. A woman has no control over herself.
\nGod has made her body to be with man, to bear children and to
\nraise them as the words of Genesis 1:1 clearly state, as is
\nevident by the members of the body ordered by God Himself.
\nTherefore food and drink, sleep and wakefulness have all been
\ncreated by God. Thus He has also ordered man and woman to be in
\nmarital union. Suffice it to say that no one needs to be ashamed
\nover how God has made and created him, not having been given the
\nhigh, rare mercy to do otherwise.\u00c2\u00a0 All this you will amply learn
\nand read and hear proper sermons about when you come out. I have
\nabundantly dealt with these issues in the book about monastic
\nvows, avoiding men’s teachings, sermons about
\nmarried life, item) in the Postil proven and established as
\ntrue. If you read these, you will find enough instruction about
\nvarious things, be it confession or whatever.<\/p>\n
\nbecause I am convinced that you will leave the cloister, if one
\nor both of these reasons pertain to you as you have written.
\nOnce there is freedom in choosing to join an order, anyone who
\nis so inclined can join. Just so the Counsel of Bern in
\nSwitzerland has opened the most famous Cloister K\u00c3\u00aenigfelden, and
\nany maiden can freely leave, remain or move in, and they allow
\nher to take with her whatever she has brought in. May the Lord
\nbless you, and pray for me.<\/p>\n
\nthe day of Sixti Martyris
\n(Aug. 6) 1524.<\/p>\n