It's a matter of critical importance, according to Luther, as to whether we think in the

final analysis our salvation is the work of God or it is something that to a certain degree

is accomplished by our own efforts and our own striving and our own merit.

Throughout church history, some people have maintained that man is totally free to choose salvation or rejected.

In the 16th century, a debate of her free will erupted between Martin Luther

and the Dutch theologian Erasmus, the debate that continues today in the church. Hello and welcome

to renewing your mind, and over the next few Saturdays, R.C. Sprole will help us understand this

controversial topic of man's will. Here's R.C. now on Martin Luther, Erasmus, and the bondage of the will.

One of the most fascinating duels that ever took place in the theological arena between theologians

was the duel that erupted in the 16th century between probably

the most respected Catholic humanistic scholar of the era and Martin Luther.

It was Desiderus Erasmus of Rotterdam, the man who reconstructed the received text of the

New Testament, who was known around the world for his great scholarship and acumen, who in

the early stages of the Reformation sided with Luther and who wrote the

praise of folly, which was a bitter, sarcastic satire against the corruptions of the clergy

within the Catholic Church.

But nevertheless, when it came to the cardinal issues of the Reformation itself, Erasmus

broke with Luther and remained faithful to the Roman Catholic Church and then set about

to critique the teachings of Martin Luther.

And the debate was prompted in 1524 when Erasmus published his work entitled

The Diatribe Concerning Free Will, in which he gave an exhaustive and comprehensive critique

of the theology of Luther and the Reformers.

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