There are endless similarities and differences between the religious beliefs of Martin Luther, John Fisher, and Hans Staden. So much so between Martin Luther and Catholics such as John Fisher that the differences threw Western Europe into the chaos that followed the Protestant Reformation. One of these major differences is how each of the three believed human action led to attaining God’s grace through prayer and good works. Martin Luther’s most prominent belief was one’s faith was the only thing that contributed to receiving God’s grace, while Fisher argued actions such as prayer are necessities, and Staden, contrasting his supposedly Protestant Lutheran beliefs, believed in the manifestation of God’s grace through prayer. Luther, in his infamous work On the Freedom of a Christian, declared “that in faith a Christian has enough,” and nothing else can attribute to the grace of God (Luther, p. 24-25). In Luther’s eyes, one can obtain faith through “the holy gospel, the word of God preached by Christ,” and nothing else, such as prayer, can attribute to one’s salvation (Luther, p. 20). For if one prays to God to reaffirm their faith, they never had a solid foundation of faith and belief to begin with, and to Luther, “one can offer God no greater dishonor than not to believe in Him” (Luther, p.
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25). Fisher, in a sermon denouncing Luther’s beliefs, claimed yes, faith is the foundation of receiving God’s grace, but “devils have faith” too (Fisher, p. 81). Meaning, faith alone is not enough, as faith can be misplaced. Actions such as prayer are what reaffirms faith in the eyes of God, obtained through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, a part of the Trinity, which “shall abide in the universal church forever” (Fisher, p. 71-72). According to Fisher, to prove one’s faith to God, and consequently receive His grace, one needs to pray to prove they hold a true faith. Staden, despite arguing that faith alone saved him, for he “knew that if he keeps his faith, he will be saved in the end,” found his faith reaffirmed through what he believed to be the manifestation of God’s grace in response to his prayers in his recount of his captivity in True History (Staden, p. 96). Despite his most likely Protestant Lutheran upbringing, which holds the belief that prayers do nothing to attain God’s grace, Staden found he believed his prayers were answered; the manifestation of God’s grace due to “evidence of God’s divine intervention” (Staden, p. 93). Contrary to what one might expect, in terms of how Luther, Fisher, and Staden’s beliefs of how an individual’s act of prayer affects God’s grace, Staden’s beliefs fell closer to those of the Catholic Fisher as they both believed, in some way or another, praying led to God’s grace, while Luther opposed the idea that anything other than faith contributed to God’s grace. In their interpretations of how good works affect one’s faith, Luther and Staden’s beliefs fall more in line with each other as they believed good works have no effect on one’s ability to attain God’s grace, while Fisher argued, like prayer, good works are necessary in order to attain God’s salvation and grace. Luther’s beliefs about good works correlated with his beliefs on prayer, as good works “must not be done in the opinion that man thereby becomes
25). Fisher, in a sermon denouncing Luther’s beliefs, claimed yes, faith is the foundation of receiving God’s grace, but “devils have faith” too (Fisher, p. 81). Meaning, faith alone is not enough, as faith can be misplaced. Actions such as prayer are what reaffirms faith in the eyes of God, obtained through the eyes of the Holy Spirit, a part of the Trinity, which “shall abide in the universal church forever” (Fisher, p. 71-72). According to Fisher, to prove one’s faith to God, and consequently receive His grace, one needs to pray to prove they hold a true faith. Staden, despite arguing that faith alone saved him, for he “knew that if he keeps his faith, he will be saved in the end,” found his faith reaffirmed through what he believed to be the manifestation of God’s grace in response to his prayers in his recount of his captivity in True History (Staden, p. 96). Despite his most likely Protestant Lutheran upbringing, which holds the belief that prayers do nothing to attain God’s grace, Staden found he believed his prayers were answered; the manifestation of God’s grace due to “evidence of God’s divine intervention” (Staden, p. 93). Contrary to what one might expect, in terms of how Luther, Fisher, and Staden’s beliefs of how an individual’s act of prayer affects God’s grace, Staden’s beliefs fell closer to those of the Catholic Fisher as they both believed, in some way or another, praying led to God’s grace, while Luther opposed the idea that anything other than faith contributed to God’s grace. In their interpretations of how good works affect one’s faith, Luther and Staden’s beliefs fall more in line with each other as they believed good works have no effect on one’s ability to attain God’s grace, while Fisher argued, like prayer, good works are necessary in order to attain God’s salvation and grace. Luther’s beliefs about good works correlated with his beliefs on prayer, as good works “must not be done in the opinion that man thereby becomes