Luther on "Drinking Blood with the Pope"

As most of you know, I’m not a huge Martin Luther fan. Calvin seemed to be able structure his thought. Luther was off the handle. I think the trilemma of C.S. Lewis concerning the deity of Christ can similarly be applied to Luther as well.

Martin Luther was either: 1) one of the greatest reformers of Christianity, 2) one of the worst heretics and schismatics of the Church, or 3) he was simply insane. For the sake of charity, I tend to side with the third option. Nonetheless, occasionally one comes across a good Luther quote. I heard about the following quote from David Cassidy in Austin, Texas. I chased it down and it reads:

I would rather have pure blood with the Pope, than drink mere wine with the Enthusiasts. (Luther’s Works, 37, 317)

By “enthusiasts” Luther means the Anabaptists and the other radical reformers that spun off from Luther’s movement. It is interesting that Luther preferred Rome to the other Protestant factions when it came to the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. If only today’s Lutherans felt the same way! This is a good reminder to all those “magisterial Protestants” out there who are watching their denominations give way to “enthusiasts”.

The chalice of the Precious Blood awaits you…