certainly have gone to the stake like so
many other reformers.
Muntzer the Messiah
In 1520, the year the Pope excommunicated Luther, one of Luther’s most ardent young followers was already preparing to go further than the master. His name was Thomas
Muntzer, and he had spent years studying the Fathers of the Church and reading their works in Greek and Hebrew. Now, in the town of Zwickau, he came under the influence of a strange messiah named
Niklas Storch. Storch was a self-taught weaver who was convinced that the end of the world was at hand. First the Turks would conquer the world, then the Antichrist would rule over it; then
God’s Elect would rise up and defeat the wicked in battle. When that happened, the Last Judgement would begin.
When he met Storch, Thomas Muntzer was already growing dissatisfied with the teachings of Luther. Luther taught that man does not need the Church to forgive his sins; he only needs faith in God. Muntzer went a step further. Man can actually communicate with God and hear his voice. Once this happens, a man becomes the vessel of the holy spirit, and he actually becomes God .
Muntzer, who had been a bookish young man, now suddenly abandoned reading, and went preaching among the poor, particularly the silver miners and the weavers of Zwickau. He said such unpleasant
things about the Catholics in the area, and even about Luther, that the Town Council dismissed him. His friend Storch led an uprising, which had to be suppressed by force. Many weavers were
arrested. Muntzer went off to Prague – which, a century later, was still seething with anger about the execution of John Huss – and told his audiences that he was founding a new Church
which would consist solely of the Elect. The Town Council lost no time in expelling him.
He became a wandering preacher for the next two years, suffering great hardship – which only deepened his sense of mission. In 1523 he was invited to become curate in the small Thuringian
town of Allstedt, where he performed the Latin service in German, and became a celebrated preacher. Peasants came from miles around to hear him. But so did Duke John of Saxony, who was worried
about what he heard of this revolutionary firebrand. At his request, Muntzer preached a sermon stating his belief that the Millennium was at hand, and would be preceded by great battles and
appalling suffering. Duke John went away looking deeply thoughtful, and Muntzer congratulated himself on impressing him.
Perhaps he did. But when some of his followers came to Allstedt, telling him that they had been evicted from their homes by their landlords, he began to change his opinion of Duke John, and
preached a sermon declaring that tyrants were about to be overthrown and the Millennium about to begin. Martin Luther heard about Muntzer’s messianic ideas, and wrote an open letter to the
Princes of Saxony warning them about Muntzer. Muntzer replied with a pamphlet accusing Luther of being (with some confusion of the sexes) the Whore of Babylon, and a corrupt slave of the ruling
classes.
This was hardly fair to Duke John and his elder brother Frederick the Wise, who were amongst the most tolerant princes of the time. Luther had raised tremendous political storms, most of which
centred in their territories, and they were doing their best to remain open-minded. So they sent for Muntzer and asked him what the devil he thought he was up to. The hearing at which he was asked
to defend himself lasted several days. In all probability, he would have been sent back to Allstedt with a warning to behave himself. But Muntzer decided not to wait for the result. He climbed over
the Weimar city wall one night and made his way to the city of Mulhausen, which was in the midst of a power struggle between the poor – led by another revolutionary called Heinrich Pfeiffer
– and the respectable burghers. The burghers soon ejected him. But a few months later, Pfeiffer took power from the Town Council
many other reformers.
Muntzer the Messiah
In 1520, the year the Pope excommunicated Luther, one of Luther’s most ardent young followers was already preparing to go further than the master. His name was Thomas
Muntzer, and he had spent years studying the Fathers of the Church and reading their works in Greek and Hebrew. Now, in the town of Zwickau, he came under the influence of a strange messiah named
Niklas Storch. Storch was a self-taught weaver who was convinced that the end of the world was at hand. First the Turks would conquer the world, then the Antichrist would rule over it; then
God’s Elect would rise up and defeat the wicked in battle. When that happened, the Last Judgement would begin.
When he met Storch, Thomas Muntzer was already growing dissatisfied with the teachings of Luther. Luther taught that man does not need the Church to forgive his sins; he only needs faith in God. Muntzer went a step further. Man can actually communicate with God and hear his voice. Once this happens, a man becomes the vessel of the holy spirit, and he actually becomes God .
Muntzer, who had been a bookish young man, now suddenly abandoned reading, and went preaching among the poor, particularly the silver miners and the weavers of Zwickau. He said such unpleasant
things about the Catholics in the area, and even about Luther, that the Town Council dismissed him. His friend Storch led an uprising, which had to be suppressed by force. Many weavers were
arrested. Muntzer went off to Prague – which, a century later, was still seething with anger about the execution of John Huss – and told his audiences that he was founding a new Church
which would consist solely of the Elect. The Town Council lost no time in expelling him.
He became a wandering preacher for the next two years, suffering great hardship – which only deepened his sense of mission. In 1523 he was invited to become curate in the small Thuringian
town of Allstedt, where he performed the Latin service in German, and became a celebrated preacher. Peasants came from miles around to hear him. But so did Duke John of Saxony, who was worried
about what he heard of this revolutionary firebrand. At his request, Muntzer preached a sermon stating his belief that the Millennium was at hand, and would be preceded by great battles and
appalling suffering. Duke John went away looking deeply thoughtful, and Muntzer congratulated himself on impressing him.
Perhaps he did. But when some of his followers came to Allstedt, telling him that they had been evicted from their homes by their landlords, he began to change his opinion of Duke John, and
preached a sermon declaring that tyrants were about to be overthrown and the Millennium about to begin. Martin Luther heard about Muntzer’s messianic ideas, and wrote an open letter to the
Princes of Saxony warning them about Muntzer. Muntzer replied with a pamphlet accusing Luther of being (with some confusion of the sexes) the Whore of Babylon, and a corrupt slave of the ruling
classes.
This was hardly fair to Duke John and his elder brother Frederick the Wise, who were amongst the most tolerant princes of the time. Luther had raised tremendous political storms, most of which
centred in their territories, and they were doing their best to remain open-minded. So they sent for Muntzer and asked him what the devil he thought he was up to. The hearing at which he was asked
to defend himself lasted several days. In all probability, he would have been sent back to Allstedt with a warning to behave himself. But Muntzer decided not to wait for the result. He climbed over
the Weimar city wall one night and made his way to the city of Mulhausen, which was in the midst of a power struggle between the poor – led by another revolutionary called Heinrich Pfeiffer
– and the respectable burghers. The burghers soon ejected him. But a few months later, Pfeiffer took power from the Town Council
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