On a recent trip to Florida I decided to take some movies with me to watch on my iPad. One of the movies that I took, which I have watched a few times, is the movie Luther. Quite honestly I don’t know how true to life it is as I have never done a bunch of reading on Luther, but from what some of my Luther friends tell me it is a good representation of this mans life. The story line of this movie is the fascinating tail of how Luther helped start the reformation.

One storyline I found described the movie like this:

The movie, Luther, is a biography of Martin Luther, the 16th-century priest who led the Christian Reformation and opened up new possibilities in exploration of faith. The film begins with his vow to become a monk, and continues through his struggles to reconcile his desire for sanctification with his increasing abhorrence of the corruption and hypocrisy pervading the Church’s hierarchy. He is ultimately charged with heresy and must confront the ruling cardinals and princes, urging them to make the Scriptures available to the common believer and lead the Church toward faith through justice and righteousness.

The most famous of quotes of Martin Luther and the climax of this movie is at the point when he is asked to recent of his writings. He replies:

Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me.

If you have not seen this movie I would encourage you to watch this as a family and reflect upon the courage of this monk and praise the Lord for Luther’s obedience to the Scriptures. It is available for rent or purchase through iTunes and on sale through Amazon.com. I am sure I will have more to write as I continue to reflect upon the life and ministry of Martin Luther.