STEVE KOZAR + DANIEL LONG: ILLEGITIMATE BAPTISM

 (7) My Response to Sean Christie of Revealing Truth on the Topic of Baptism - YouTube 

Daniel Long and Steve Kozar's exposés of the Azusa Street "revival", John G Lake, Charles Parham, William Branham etc. are well-researched and accurate. Ironically, it is very remiss of these men not to have dug up the dirt on their own cult leader Martin Luther, and there is plenty of dirt to be had! Arguably Martin Luther's wickedness exceeds that of all the false teachers Kozar and Long have exposed!

Daniel Long on the validity of infant baptism

Long: "If you are going to say that somebody who was baptized in the Catholic Church did not have a valid baptism, then you have to say that Martin Luther didn't have a valid baptism, Calvin, any/all of the reformers, and the early church fathers were all baptized as infants. Are you saying that their baptism was an illegitimate baptism and that they all should have been rebaptised?"  YES, that it precisely what I am saying.. although I do not acknowledge the claim that Luther and Calvin were true believers. (Matthew 7:16).

The argument that believers do not need to undergo believers baptism if they have undergone infant baptism is extremely weak and is not validated by the scriptures. Luther went to extreme lengths to validate the doctrine of infant baptism. However, his arguments depend upon tradition and his appeals to the scriptures regarding the faith of infants are dubious: “Since our baptizing has been thus from the beginning of Christianity and the custom has been to baptize children, and since no one can prove with good reasons that they do not have faith, we should not make changes and build on such weak arguments.” {1} 

Thousands of believers have been denied valid baptism as a result of this demonic teaching. (1 Timothy 4:1). Baptism is the very first commandment required of those who have repented and believed the gospel. To prohibit baptism to genuine converts is a very weighty matter indeed! These teachers will have to give an account to the Lord for this wicked teaching when the time comes. (Hebrews 4:13).   

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38).

Luther - A drunkard and glutton

The widespread belief that Luther lived in poverty is easily debunked. Luther was massively obese and weighed a hefty 150kg (23st 8lb) at his death in 1546 at the age of 63. {2} Luther was a glutton and a drunkard, and by his own admission he indulged himself to excess. Apparently, he drank up to two litres of fortified wine with every meal in addition to large quantities of beer.

Luther: "What other cause do you think that I have for drinking so much strong drink, talking so freely and making merry so often, except that I wish to mock and harass the devil who is wont to mock and harass me." {3} 

"By his own admission, Luther put on a few extra pounds in his later years. During a business trip (of sorts) to Eisleben (his place of birth) several days before his death, he joked to friends that he would shortly return to Wittenberg and "give the worms a fat doctor to feast on." In actual fact he never made it back to Wittenberg. He passed away in Eisleben early in the morning on 18 February 1546." {4} 

Luther - As He Was

(Death Mask by Lucas Fortnagel - Leipzig, University Library)

Luther and the scriptures!

Luther's first German translation of the scriptures omitted 25 books (i.e., Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Jonah, Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (i.e., Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation. Luther referred to the Epistle of James as "straw not worthy to be burned in my oven as tinder".  He referred to other books as "Judaizing nonsense". {5} 

Luther and the Peasants Revolt   

Beginning in 1524 and ending in its suppression in 1525, the Peasants' Revolt began as a result of abuses cited by the peasants by the government and the church. Luther is often credited with the role of encouraging the Peasants' Revolt. However, he maintained allegiance to the German Princes against the violence of the rebels. Luther openly condemned the peasants and called for their brutal suppression, arguably inciting the demise of more than 100,000 peasants and facilitating further oppression of the lower classes."(German: Wider die Mordischen und Reubischen Rotten der Bawren) Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants typifies Luther's reaction to the Peasants' War, and alludes to Luther's concern that he might be seen to be responsible for their rebellion." {6} 

Quotes from Luther:

Tract Against the Murderous and Thieving Hordes of Peasants, published in May 1525: "Therefore, let everyone who can, smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one must kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you, and a whole land with you".

“To kill a peasant is not murder; it is helping to extinguish the conflagration. Let there be no half measures! Crush them! Cut their throats! Transfix them. Leave no stone unturned! To kill a peasant is to destroy a mad dog! – If they say that I am very hard and merciless, mercy be damned. Let whoever can stab, strangle, and kill them like mad dogs”[Erlangen Vol 24"

"I have killed all the farmers in their rebellion; all their blood is on my neck.."

Luther's condemnation of the Anabaptists

The most distinctive belief of the Anabaptists was believer's baptism. The Anabaptists repudiated infant baptism as a blasphemous formality. They maintained that infants and young children are not accountable for sin until they become aware of good and evil and can exercise their own free will, repent, and accept baptism. The Anabaptists were mercilessly persecuted by the Reformers and most of the early Anabaptist leaders died in prison or were executed. Protestants were especially fond of “baptizing” Anabaptist heretics by drowning them in rivers.

Ken Rathbun: "Writing against the Anabaptists regarding the matter of faith and baptism, Luther strenuously denied that faith needed to be present in order to baptize. He even turned the argument around and stated that the 'rebaptizers' could never know for sure if anyone really had faith. Luther left open the question of whether infants could have faith in some mysterious way: 'There are Scripture passages that tell us that children may and can believe, though they do not speak or understand. . . . I grant that we do not understand how they do believe, or how faith is created. But that is not the point here.' {7}

"August 7th, 1536, a synod was convened at Hamburg to devise the best means of exterminating the Anabaptists. Not one voice among all the delegates was raised in favor of the Anabaptists. Even Melancthon voted to put all those to death who should remain, obstinate in their errors. The ministers of Ulm demanded that heresy should be extinguished by fire and sword. Those of Augsburg said: “If we have not yet sent any Anabaptists to the gibbet, we have at least branded their cheeks with red iron!? {8} 

Luther and the Jews

Luther's hate-filled vitriol against the Jews is legendary. He wrote at least five treatises on the subject of the Jews, including The Jews and Their Lies in 1543. 

Luther's seven recommendations to church and state authorities for actions concerning the Jews: 

Their synagogues and schools should be burned to the ground, their houses should be “razed and destroyed”; their “prayer books and Talmudic writings” should be confiscated; their rabbis should be “forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb”; they should be denied safe-conduct on the highways; usury should be prohibited to them and their gold, silver, and cash should be taken from them; finally, they should be subjected to harsh labor.

Luther can also take responsibility for influencing Hitler and the Holocaust.

For Daniel Long to read aloud swathes of Luther's large catechism is scandalous. Luther was a gluttonous monster whose understanding of the scriptures was deeply flawed. We should mark and avoid those who promote the aberrant teachings of this imposter. (Romans 16:17).

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 cf. Proverbs 23:20).

 

1. The Reformers' Defense of Infant Baptism - Faith Baptist Bible College
2. Researchers dig up the dirt on father of Protestantism | Religion | The Guardian
3. To Spite the Devil | Lapham’s Quarterly (laphamsquarterly.org)
4. Martin Luther: Fat Reformer? - Reformation 21
5. Luther's canon - Wikipedia
6. Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants - Wikipedia
7. The Reformers' Defense of Infant Baptism - Faith Baptist Bible College
8. The reformers and their uncivilized behavior against the anabaptists | Bjorkbloggen