The Lutheran Bible

Foremost among Lutheran teachings is the insistence, shared with all Protestant traditions, that the Bible is the sole source of religious authority. The new centrality of the Bible had dramatic consequences. Luther understood the need for a Bible in the German vernacular, for only if the Bible was accessible could its teachings be appreciated. While in hiding Luther completed his translation of the New Testament into German. This translation allowed people to study the word of God on their own without requiring interpretation by clergy. He hoped that this would allow ordinary people to be transformed by the Bible on their own. As the first mass-produced book it became a common possession in German homes.  

Luther’s example of making available a vernacular Bible was followed by reformers throughout Europe, such as William Tyndale in England. Catholic theologians promptly recognized the powerful weapon Luther had created and undertook to provide vernacular translations of their own. None of them, however, possessed the literary cogency of Luther’s translation or of the translation produced early in the 17th century under the direction of King James I of England.