Martin Luther On The Use of Images Part 1

I will be doing a series of post on Luther's stance on the use of images in worship. This is a subject I have been thinking about over the past few months. I feel that this is an issue that the each congregation needs to think about and come to a decision on. I hope you enjoy.

Introduction

When one thinks of Martin Luther they may reflect upon the ninety-five theses he nail to the church at Wittenberg, or his defense at the Diet of Worms. For some his teaching on justification by faith alone is what they remember most. All of these events and teachings are fundamental to understanding who Luther was. However, another area of Luther’s life that was very important to him was the use of images. This paper will seek to explain Luther’s position on images, it will provide a critical analysis of his arguments and lastly, it will present an application for life and ministry.

The Story That Lead to Luther’s Response

Andreas Bodenstein Karlstadt became a prominent leader of the Reformation around 1517. Karlstadt had moved to radical positions on many theological issues including the use of images. He concluded that images should be destroyed because they were being used as idols. On January 24th, 1522 the city council in Wittenberg passed an ordinance which required the removal of images from all the churches. Then three days later on January 27th, 1522 Karlstadt published a pamphlet entitled, On the Removal of Images. Central to his argument was the idea that the use of images was idolatry, he believed that worshippers were offering honor to images and not to God. Furthermore, he rejected the idea that images were some kind of Bible for the illiterate. He did not believe the honor given to an image by an illiterate believer could be passed on to what the image represented. Karlstadt built his biblical arguments from the Mosaic Law in which he argued that the first and second commandments were eternally valid prohibitions against images. Karlstadt argued that in the New Testament, Paul showed a great distaste for the flesh and argued that it had no value in understanding the divine.[1] It was because of Karlstadt’s actions that Luther responded so strongly. Luther returned to Wittenberg on March 6th 1522 and annulled the ordinances of the city council and stopped the removal images. He then responded to Karlstadt in the form of eight sermons known as the Invocavit and with a treatise entitled, Against the Heavenly Prophets.[2] Both of these works laid out the majority of Luther’s position on images.

Luther’s Arguments for Images

Luther responded to Karlstadt’s argument that the Scriptures forbid images by referring to passages that appear to teach the exact opposite. He used four examples from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. He cited the altars erected by Noah and Abraham (Genesis 8:20; 12:7), the cherubs on the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:18; 37:7), and Paul and the sculpture on the ship (Acts 28:11). He responded to Karlstadt’s arguments based on the first and second commandment by saying, “ What is forbidden here is the adoration and not the making of images…one can have or make images, but one should not adore them.”[1] For Luther the prohibition against making “graven images” refers to the first commandment, “you shall not have other gods beside me.” Furthermore, Luther distinguished between exterior idolatry, which included the cult of images, and a more dangerous interior idolatry, namely the idols which every person has in their heart.[2] He did not regard the discussion on the first commandment as very important and he doubted whether the iconoclasts would be convinced of his arguments anyways. Luther found it interesting to say that images were forbidden in Scripture when God had given Moses strict commandments on how to build the ark. In those instructions God gives Moses detailed instructions on where the cherubim are to be placed and how they are to look (Exodus 25:18-20). Luther argues that if God did not intend for us to have images then he would not have commanded Moses to place the cherubim on the very placed he was to worshipped. In regards to Paul in Acts 28:11 Luther believed that Luke placed this story into the text to show that outward things could do no harm to a believers faith so long as they were not trusted in.[3] Luther also argued that Moses erected the image of the brazen serpent before the people of Israel. He asks if Moses, who gave the Law forbid the making of images then why did he in turn make one? Luther again attacks Karlstadt with Scripture by referring to Paul’s address to the Areopagus in Acts 17. Here Paul walks around and sees all of the idols of the city and he confronts the crowds and calls out their idolatry but he never overturns the idols. Luther writes,
“He preached against their idols, but he overthrew none by force. And you would rush in, create an uproar, break down the altars and overthrow the images? Do you really believe you can abolish the images on this wise? Nay, you will only set them up more firmly.”[4]

In regards to making images Luther wrote, “But it is impossible for me to hear and bear it in mind without forming mental images of it in my heart. For whether I will or not, when I hear of Christ, an image of a man hanging on a cross takes form in my heart, just as the reflection of my face naturally appears in the water when I look into it. If it is not a sin but good t have the image of Christ in my heart, why should it be a sin to have it in my eyes?”[5]
[1] Ibid, 19.

[2] Ibid, 6.

[3] Martin Luther, Works of Martin Luther: Volume 6 (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1932), 406.

[4] Ibid, 405.

[5] Carl C. Christensen, Art and the Reformation in Germany (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1979), 55.

[1] Sergiusz Michalski, The Reformation and the Visual Arts: The Protestant image question in Western and Eastern Europe (London: Routledge, 1993), 21.

[2]Ibid, 19.