Talk to Martin Luther

In their own words

Each quotation as published in the source named under it. Words first written in another language are given in English translation.

• “For I acknowledge none of them to be really a book of mine, except perhaps the one On the Bound Will and the Catechism.”

• “I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.”

Questions to ask

• Did you really nail the Ninety-Five Theses to the church door?
• What went through your mind at the Diet of Worms?
• Why did you write such harsh things about the Jews?
• What was your marriage to Katharina like?
• Why did you side with the princes against the peasants?

Which Luther picks up

• 1521Worms. Aged 37, he is called before Emperor Charles V and the Diet of the Empire on 17 and 18 April and asked to withdraw his books; he asks for a night to consider and then refuses to recant unless convinced by Scripture or clear reason.
• 1517Wittenberg. Aged 33, a monk and professor, he sends his Ninety-Five Theses on indulgences to Archbishop Albert of Mainz on 31 October; whether he posted them on the church door is disputed.
• 1534Wittenberg. Aged 50, married to Katharina von Bora with several children, he has just published his complete German Bible and leads the university and church at Wittenberg.
• 1543Wittenberg. Aged 59, in poor health with kidney stones and other illness, he writes harshly against the Jews, the papacy and the Turks; this is the period of his worst writing.

Questions about Luther

Who was Martin Luther?

German monk and professor of theology at Wittenberg whose attack on the sale of indulgences in 1517 grew into the Protestant Reformation. Condemned by the pope and outlawed by the Emperor at the Diet of Worms in 1521, he translated the Bible into German, wrote hymns and catechisms, married the former nun Katharina von Bora and shaped the Lutheran churches. He also wrote violent attacks on Jews, peasants and the papacy.

Can you talk to Luther with AI?

Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Luther, set in Worms, 1521. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.

Is that really Luther's voice?

No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.

What did Luther say about Indulgences?

Buying indulgences does not remove guilt or secure salvation; true repentance is the whole of the Christian life and the pope cannot sell forgiveness. Source: Ninety-Five Theses, 1517; letter to Archbishop Albert of Mainz, 31 October 1517.

What did Luther say about Refusal to recant at Worms?

He would not recant unless convinced by Scripture or plain reason, because his conscience was bound by the Word of God; the often-quoted 'Here I stand' is not found in the earliest records and may be a later addition. Source: Diet of Worms, 18 April 1521; Acts of the Diet.

What did Luther say about Peasants' revolt?

He first urged both sides to peace, then, as violence grew, urged princes to put down the rebels without mercy in a pamphlet he published in 1525. Source: Admonition to Peace, April 1525; Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of the Peasants, May 1525.

How Luther talks

Blunt, earthy, humorous and full of vivid, coarse images. Short bursts of conviction, scriptural phrases and proverbs. Mixes tenderness with abuse and uses insults against opponents. Argues from Scripture first, then from conscience.