The Smalcald articles, also known as the schmalkald articles, refer to the description of the Lutheran doctrine documents that Martin Luther wrote in 1537 to be reviewed in a Schmalkaldic League meeting. Luther was a known ecclesiastical reformer who inspired the Reformation and promoted the doctrines and culture of Lutheran through his teachings and writings (Anderson, 2019). Through the articles, he called upon the Church to return to Bible teachings. As a result of the teachings through the Smalcald articles, new traditions were formed within Christianity. It also led to the formation of a counter-Reformation reaction by the Catholic.
Luther began to write the articles in 1536 after being given the assignment by the Lutheran Elector John Frederick. The articles were written to help in preparation for the general church council. Luther’s intention was that the articles would be regarded as his theological last will and testament. However, he feared that other people might misinterpret the teachings (Anderson, 2019). An in-depth analysis of the articles reveals that Luther had the intention of making the Christian faith and traditions his long-term testimony.
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The Smalcald Articles were divided into three parts. The first part was aimed at confirming at affirming the creedal confessions of the Trinity. Both the Lutherans and Roman Church agreed with the points in the first part of the articles. In the second part, Luther taught about the work of Jesus Christ and redemption. Here, Luther arranged the doctrine information in a manner that was difficult to deny even if the council had a different opinion. The third part contained information on the treatment of doctrines and Lutherans’ discussions with reasonable people (Anderson, 2019). Luther’s chief article, which he introduced at the beginning of the second part, taught about Jesus Christ as the Lutherans’ God and Lord, who died the sins of human beings. The Schmalkaldic meeting failed to adopt the teachings of the articles. However, they were incorporated in the “corpora doctrinae,’ a document which was later accepted.
Reference
Anderson, M. R. (2019). Luther and the Trajectories of Western Pilgrimage. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage , 7 (1), 6.
