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This month marks the 500th anniversary of the posting of Martin Luthers Ninety-Five

Theses, long considered the start of the Reformation. Luther is a hero to me and many other
Protestants for his courage, his conviction, and his rediscovery of the truth of justification by
faith alone.

It may seem out of place to interrupt our celebration of Luthers legacy by discussing some of
the darker aspects of his life and thought. Thats how some reacted earlier this week when I
tweeted a link to an article called Luthers Jewish Problem, which lays out in all its
awfulness the anti-Semitic turn of Luther in his later years. I agreed with the article in saying
that we must look this evil square in the face and not explain it away.

The truth is the truth. And truth is not served by hagiography and exalted biographical
sketches that minimize our heroes flaws. I believe Luther, who never minced words
regarding sin and evil, would recommend we not minimize his sins.

Marred Heroes

Besides, if you love church history, you find yourself in this position on a regular basis. Most
of the men and women on whose shoulders we stand are marred by sin in awful ways.

John Chrysostom is one of the ancient commentators I read most regularly and quote
from most often in my sermons. When I bump up against some of his anti-Semitic
remarks, they always disappoint and unnerve me.
Augustines Confessions is my favorite book of all time, yet I cannot avert my eyes
from some of the egregious ways in which he and other church fathers spoke about
women.
Jonathan Edwards, the greatest American theologian and the man whose work inspired
John Pipers vision of finding our delight in God, owned slaves.
William Carey gave his all for the sake of Gods mission in India, yet his treatment of
his wife during a time of mental instability was, at the very least, negligent.
Al Mohler recently described the shock and revulsion he felt when he came across a
vile, racist comment from James P. Boyce, the founder of Southern Seminary (my
alma mater).
Karl Barth, arguably the most influential theologian of the 20th century, maintained an
adulterous relationship for decades.
A. W. Tozer, whose writings stir up in me a passion for God, was distant and cold
toward his wife and children.
This year, Ive been making my way through Taylor Branchs marvelous trilogy on
Martin Luther King Jr., and the civil-rights movement from 1955-68. Even as my
admiration for King has grown, Ive been deeply disturbed by the magnitude of his
frequent betrayal of Coretta and shocked by more than one of his obscene comments
uttered in private.

When we come into contact with serious character issues and egregious sins in our heroes, we
may be tempted to toss all their works into the fire, to tear down their statues or strip their
names off buildings. Why honor such tainted people?

But the best way to honor great men and women in the past is to do so holistically. We should
not explain away their sins and imagine them as flawless; nor should we stand over them with
a self-righteous posture, as if we can look down upon the people who carry us on their
shoulders. Instead, we should note how easy it is for goodness and evil to become intertwined,
and we should receive this news as a warning.

Sin As Parasite

In seminary, I remember reading Cornelius Plantingas book Not the Way Its Supposed to Be:
A Breviary of Sin. In a chapter called Parasite, Plantinga points out how evil and good
aspects show up in many reform movements.

The sobering fact is that reforms need constant reforming. Rescuers need rescue.
Amendments need amendment. . . . Evil contaminates every scalpel designed to remove it.
(79)

Plantinga explains how this reality affects even those people whose work is, largely, a force
for good in the world:

Evil always appears in tandem with good. . . . In general, good and evil grow together,
intertwine around each other, and grow out of each other in remarkable and complicated
ways. (80)

Plantinga relies on Augustines definition of evil as privation in order to describe sin as a


parasite:

. . . an uninvited guest that keeps tapping its host for sustenance. Nothing about sin is its
own; all its power, persistence, and plausibility are stolen goods. Sin is not really an entity
but a spoiler of entities, not an organism but a leech on organisms. Sin does not build shalom;
it vandalizes it. (89)

Seeing sin as a parasite has helped me come to grips with some of the shocking sins in the
lives of people Ive long admired. The parasite targets the healthy, the strong, and the good.
Thats how the sin grows in power.

Good is original, independent, and constructive; evil is derivative, dependent, and


destructive. To be successful, evil needs what it hijacks from goodness. . . . The smartest
blows against shalom are struck by people and movements of impressive resourcefulness,
strength, and intelligencethat is to say, by people and movements gifted by the very God
and with the very goodness that their sin attacks. (89)

The parasitic nature of sin accounts for certain facts that otherwise puzzle us. It accounts for
the fact that, in various complicated and ironic ways, good and evil keep showing up, and
even growing up together. . . . Sin is fruitful just because, like a virus, it attaches the life force
and dynamics of its host. (90)

Gratitude for Sinful Saints

Where does all of this leave us? With deep gratitude for sinful saints.

During this season of celebrating the Reformation, I am happy to lift up Reformation heroes. I
love Martin Luther for his zeal and courage in proclaiming the precious truth of justification
by faith alone, no matter the cost to him personally. I am grateful to God for him.
Luthers anti-Semitism, egregious as it is, does not lead me to abandon his rediscovery of
justification; it leads me to lean harder into it. Heres the glorious truth: the reality Luther saw
so clearly provides the answer to the sin he didnt.

In other words, Luther discerned the reality of justification by faith alone better than he
discerned the sinfulness in his own heart and life. And its that reality of justification by faith
alone that levels us all and drives us to our kneesthankful for the clear example of
horrendously flawed theologians articulating the only doctrine that gives hope to all of us who
are horrendously flawed. Its only in the security of being wrapped up in the righteousness of
Christ that we can say, Challenge me, Lord. Change me, Lord. Expose my wickedness.

In the end, when death came for Luthers mortal body, and the last of his parasitical sinfulness
was destroyed, his final words contained no more vile epithets toward the Jews, but only a
deathbed confession of his Jewish Messiah: We are beggars; this is true.

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