Day 03 - Erfurt/Eisenach

Day 4 is in the books, and we are hitting the sack in Eisenach, in the shadow of the Wartburg Castle. 

We woke up in Erfurt and walked to the Augustinian Monastery, where a young Luther became a monk and doubled down on what he believed were the activities that could merit him salvation. 

Our eccentric and delightful guide, Malcolm, led us through the monastery into Luther’s cell, where he wrestled with how a righteous God could accept him. 

We were then led into a small room, where Luther and other Augustinian monks would meet regularly for services, confession, and teaching. 

Dan walked us through Galatians 2 and Paul's question about the authority of men who sought to strip the gospel of its “good news”. We then brought that question into the Reformation era with the “idea of the day”: Who is in charge? 

We talked about authority in the church and the Reformation ideas about the “Solas”:

Sola Fide, or Faith Alone

Sola Gratia, or Grace Alone

Sola Scripture, or Scripture Alone

Solus Christus, or Christ Alone

And then to tie it all together: Sola Deo Gloria, or “to God Alone be the Glory”

After reflecting on those, we enjoyed Thuringia sausages. We went to Eisenach and the Wartburg Castle, where Luther lived in 1521 in seclusion and under protection from his benefactor, the elector Frederick the Wise. 

It was in the Castle, initially built in 1067, where Luther worked on his monumental translation of the Bible from Latin into German. We saw the room where it happened and ended the day with a lovely dinner in a cellar restaurant with traditional German fare. 

Tomorrow we are off to the Coburg Castle and then Nuremberg for the night.