Mickey Mattox, Flack Family Foundation Chair and Professor of Theology at Hillsdale College, discussed the role Martin Luther played in both the Catholic and Lutheran church throughout history and ways he has been misunderstood during Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School’s annual Reformation Heritage Lectures.

Mattox, a Catholic Luther scholar, spoke on Oct. 30 about the “myth and history” of the Catholic understanding of Luther.

“What we know about Luther today has made him more interesting, less predictable,” Mattox said.

Discussing differing views of Luther’s faithfulness or lack thereof to historic Catholic doctrine and practice, Mattox asked, “Is there a Catholic Luther?” The mystery of the person means we may not ever fully know Luther, he said.

“We won’t really comprehend him, even if we get to know him,” Mattox said.

There are heroic tales of Luther in Protestant legend and Catholic lies and innuendos, both used to present a view of Luther that is incomplete, Mattox said. Over time, numerous Catholic scholars found a Luther who, while clearly separate from Catholics on some issues, was worthy of respect and of being read, Mattox said.

In his second lecture, Mattox revisited the work of theologian Heiko Oberman, a Luther scholar who argued for understanding Luther in his proper historical context and “cut Luther down to size,” including pointing out what he believed were the fallacies of calling the pope the antichrist, rejecting the papacy as a whole and Luther’s revival of the belief in the nearness of Christ’s return, Mattox said.

Discussing the history of Lutheran scholarship, Mattox said the preservation of historic German sites, including Luther’s home, revealed the family was more well off than we might think.

Luther was a “complicated” man in “complicated times,” Mattox said. Still, his impact was far-reaching and meaningful, he said. Luther argued for Christians to be able to maintain their freedom of conscience and for priests to have freedom to marry – though Mattox offered that the total dismissal of the value of celibacy for God is a detriment to the Protestant church and can hurt single people in the church. Luther also contributed to the church’s hymnody, contributed greatly to theological study and, most importantly, placed the Gospel at the center of the church and Christian life.

Whatever one’s assessment of Luther, he has something to offer us all, Mattox said.

Visit the Beeson store in the coming weeks to purchase this year’s recordings.