“I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philipp and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.”
– Martin Luther
HT: tbfp
Tony Reinke 
I wonder who ole Amsdorf was? I enjoyed reading the quote. As much as I admire Knox and Calvin, brother Martin seemed to be much funner to hang out with…
James L
Yes, indeed. Calvin seemed to have been a bit starched, Luther more fun. I agree!
Nikolaus von Amsdorf was one of Luther’s closest friend and probably his most dedicated supporter. On occasion he stood up to Melanchthon when he began to deviate from Luther’s teaching on some points. He taught theology at Wittenberg and was with Luther at many crucial points in his lifetime (i.e. Leipzig debate, Diet of Worms, etc.) Though he is not as well known as Luther or Melanchthon he is worth studying as he was an influential Reformer in his time.
Luther certainly seemed to have enjoyed life – but then Christianity oughta be like that. Beer and Bible teaching… sounds good to me.
Cameo,
Many thanks! There are a lot of those guys I haven’t read much on that are worthy to be studied. I’ve been trying to find more on Calvin’s preachers, the ones who went out to France, planted churches, and suffered much for the Gospel.
Yes, me too, James. Cameo do you know of any books that talk specifically on “Calvin’s school of death”? This is an area of Calvin I’ve heard many people reference but I have not read anything directly myself. Any suggestions?
Ah, Calvinus beer and Bible teaching!
Tony
“As the chief expositor of Scripture in a bastion of biblical teaching, Calvin found himself wielding an international influence of no small proportions. A thousand of the men who had fled to Geneva to sit under his preaching eventually returned to France, carrying biblical truth with them. Knox later became the leader of the Reformation in Scotland. Others left Calvin’s side to plant Reformed churches in anti-Protestant countries such as Hungary, Holland, and England. Because persecution was certain and martyrdom common for these saints, Calvin’s school of theology became known as ‘Calvin’s School of Death.'”
– Lawson, The Expository Genius of John Calvin (Reformation Trust: 2007), pp. 15-16