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The Real Issues of the Reformation

An informed person, asked what lay at the root of Martin Luther’s theology, immediately answers, “Justification by faith alone.” Logically, and in Luther’s own mind, this is true. But it is questionable to what extent this was the actual driving force of the Reformation. The doctrine of justification is subtle indeed, provoking fierce arguments even among people who ostensibly share the same beliefs. It is likely that relatively few people in the sixteenth century really understood the issue, much less was it the crucial question for most of them. What then was?