Luther is the most important figure in church and secular history since St. Paul. Luther accomplished two history-changing events in his lifetime. In his Reformation he told the laity once and for all to take responsibility for their church. A message even today lost on Catholics dealing with clergy sex-abuse fallout, and Protestants who deal with who really owns their property.

And he also put to death the notion of “divine-right” of leaders, be it popes or kings, to do as they please when they please. Apart from Luther, (there) is no modern, secular nation-state as we understand it today. Apart from Luther, there is no Declaration of Independence, or 1776.

His impact in the world is best proved by the null hypothesis. “What if Luther never existed?” That can be seen by all the turbulence, death, suffering in modern Islam, as Sunni/Shia go at (it) with guns, knives and worse. Islam has never had a Martin Luther. Communism never had a Martin Luther. One is a dead ideology and the other a toxic faith for many.

Without a Luther, 500 years would have passed, but in many ways we would be in the darkness. As far as how he would view the modern world and all the fuss in the PC(USA), I doubt he would give much thought to it. The inner political/ideological issues in a minor religious sect never concerned him in (the) 15th century. Doubt it would now.

Peter Gregory

Lambertville, N.J.