Things Martin Luther(s) Didn’t Say

In 1521 the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V – a serious minded young man, summoned Martin Luther for a formal hearing before the Diet of Worms.  He was ordered to give an answer of “yes” or “no” to the question: “Will you recant?” Luther asked for a day of grace in order to answer the question.

The next day Luther stood before the assembled council and gave his answer – which was much more than the one word the council demanded.

He would recant nothing:

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.

 And then came those two short sentences, immortalized by the first editor of Luther’s collected works

“Here I stand. I can do no other!”

But as inspiring as those two simple statements are – it’s not likely that Luther actually said them.  They are not found in the earliest versions of the speech and were not recorded by witness to the proceedings.

They are, in a word, propaganda.

But does that matter?  Whether Luther said those very words or not, they do, indeed, encapsulate Luther’s attitude and actions.  They are TRUE words if not FACTUAL words.

A little over a year ago now, in the moments after it was announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed (murdered), I – like many others – shared a quotation, allegedly from a different Martin Luther- Martin Luther King Jr.- without checking it’s authenticity.

I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.

                                                                                                             

While the second part of that quotation comes from Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 book Strength to Love,  MLKjr. didn’t actually write that first sentence. Yet it is something that, I believe, he would have said.

Does it matter that Martin Luther didn’t actually say “Here I stand. I can do no other” ?  We know that he lived that statement even if he didn’t speak it.

Does it matter that Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t actually write the words “I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.”  We know that he lived that way.

Which is more important?  Does it matter?