immediately condemned . Sixty days were granted the Reformer and his adherents , after which , if they did not recant , they were all to be excommunicated .
That was a terrible crisis for the Reformation . For centuries Rome ' s sentence of excommunication had struck terror to powerful monarchs ; it had filled mighty empires with woe and desolation . Those upon whom its condemnation fell were universally regarded with dread and horror ; they were cut off from intercourse with their fellows and treated as outlaws , to be hunted to extermination . Luther was not blind to the tempest about to burst upon him ; but he stood firm , trusting in Christ to be his support and shield . With a martyr ' s faith and courage he wrote : " What is about to happen I know not , nor do I care to know . . . . Let the blow light where it may , I am without fear . Not so much as a leaf falls , without the will of our Father . How much rather will He care for us ! It is a light thing to die for the Word , since the Word which was made flesh hath Himself died . If we die with Him , we shall live with Him ; and passing through that which He has passed through before us , we shall be where He is and dwell with Him forever ." -- Ibid ., 3d London ed ., Walther , 1840 , b . 6 , ch . 9 .
When the papal bull reached Luther , he said : " I despise and attack it , as impious , false … It is Christ Himself who is condemned therein . . . . I rejoice in having to bear such ills for the best of causes . Already I feel greater liberty in my heart ; for at last I know that the pope is antichrist , and that his throne is that of Satan himself ." --D ' Aubigne , b . 6 , ch . 9 . Yet the mandate of Rome was not without effect . Prison , torture , and sword were weapons potent to enforce obedience . The weak and superstitious trembled before the decree of the pope ; and while there was general sympathy for Luther , many felt that life was too dear to be risked in the cause of reform . Everything seemed to indicate that the Reformer ' s work was about to close . But Luther was fearless still . Rome had hurled her anathemas against him , and the world looked on , nothing doubting that he would perish or be forced to yield . But with terrible power he flung back upon herself the sentence of condemnation and publicly declared his determination to abandon her forever .
In the presence of a crowd of students , doctors , and citizens of all ranks Luther burned the pope ' s bull , with the canon laws , the decretals , and certain writings sustaining the papal power . " My enemies have been able , by burning my books ," he said , " to injure the cause of truth in the minds of the common people , and destroy their souls ; for this reason , I consumed their books in return . A serious struggle has just begun . Hitherto I have been only playing with the pope . I began this work in God ' s name ; it will be ended without me , and by His might ." -- Ibid ., b . 6 , ch . 10 . To the reproaches of his enemies who taunted him with the weakness of his cause , Luther answered : " Who knows if God has not chosen and called me , and if they ought not to fear that , by despising me , they despise God Himself ? Moses was alone at the departure from Egypt ; Elijah was alone in the reign of King Ahab ; Isaiah alone in Jerusalem ; Ezekiel alone in Babylon . . . . God never selected as a prophet either the high priest or any other great personage ; but ordinarily He chose low and despised men , once even the shepherd Amos . In every age , the saints have had to reprove the great , kings ,
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