Good Catholic Gone Less Than Good: Martin Luther

Martin Luther was once an Augustinian friar who later broke away from the Church. He had some radical things to say about the priesthood, papacy, purgatory (I’m on a “P” roll) and other distinctively Catholic teachings. However, Luther did not reject all things Catholic. Here are 4 distinctively Catholic things that Martin Luther regarded as biblical and had an affectionate reverence for.

The Blessed Virgin Mary

Martin Luther had a great love for the Blessed Mother. In one sermon, Luther recognized two Catholic dogmas: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary and Mother of God (Theotokos). In another, he recognized the Immaculate Conception.

Hobby Lobby and the Supreme Court Ruling

Hobby Lobby does not have any moral objections to contraception, in fact, they already provide various contraceptives in their health plan, even before the mandate was put in place. They object to certain contraceptives that are potentially abortifacient, like Plan B and others (4 in total). Back in 1993, a law was passed called Religious Freedom Restoration Act which passed 435-0 in the House and 97-3 in the Senate and declared: "governments should not substantially burden religious exercise without compelling justification." If there is a compelling justification to burden a religious exercise, then the government must "demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest." That is exactly what happened in the Supreme Court's ruling: 

"Under RFRA, a Government action that imposes a substantial burden on religious exercise must serve a compelling government interest, and we assume that the HHS regulations satisfy this requirement. But in order for the HHS mandate to be sustained, it must also constitute the least restrictive means of serving that interest, and the mandate plainly fails that test. There are other ways in which Congress of HHS could equally ensure that every woman has cost-free access to the particular contraceptives at issue here and, indeed, to all FDA-approved contraceptives."

For a good summary, click here.