Erasmus and Martin Luther King

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Erasmus and Martin Luther King debated whether humans have the power to reach salvation or damnation on their own. It looks at how Erasmus claimed that humans do have this freedom, because we can choose to turn toward or away from God's grace. In comparison , it looks at how Luther instead claimed that humans do not have the free will to reach salvation, because we require Gods' blessing before we can do good acts. The paper then argues that Luther and Erasmus were actually making the same argument.

From the Paper:

"In the Sermon Concerning Free Will in the Erasmus-Luther Debates Erasmus not only argues that humans are free to reach salvation on their own, he also argues that God has an infinite love for man and shows us mercy. He also believes that God has the power to bless us (humans) with his grace. Erasmus argues that we (humans) have free will to receive Gods blessing. By free will, I mean a power for humans to reach salvation or damnation on their own, because we can choose to turn toward or away from Gods grace."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Domski, Mary. Class Notes. UNM. August 2006.
• Winter, Ernst F. "Discourse on Free Will." New York: Continuum Publishing Company. 1995. Pages 6-7, 102-103, 112-113.

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