The sudden interest of “The Hindu" on Martin Luther, the founder of “Protestant Christian religion" might be the article appearing in the Gaurdian and picked up by it, but the Catholic tirade against him have been well-known, as is evident from the way of reporting.

The dirt on Martin Luther is out  by Kate Connolly

---

http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/29/stories/2008102956982000.htmScientists trawl through his household wasteThe ex-monk’s claim of poverty stand dismissed

---

Berlin: German scientists have reconstructed an extraordinarily detailed picture of the domestic life of Martin Luther, the 16th-century reformer and father of Protestantism. This they did by trawling through his household waste uncovered during archaeological digs on sites where he used to live.Martin Luther
(1483-1546) Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Beer tankards, grains of corn, cooking pots, even his toilet are among the finds dug up during the five-year project in the three places in Germany he spent his life. The items include his wife’s golden wedding band, a collection of 250 silver coins and the medicines used to treat his various ailments from angina to constipation.

Some of the finds have upset the Protestant church in Wittenberg where the ex-monk lived with his wife, the ex-nun Katharina von Bora, and their six children. It has termed “religiously irrelevant” evidence that the family used to throw dead cats into the rubbish bin and that the nails Luther used to secure his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, which led to his ex-communication from the Catholic Church and launched the Reformation, were in fact drawing pins.

This picture shows the nailing of his 95 theses to the church doorProtestants from around the world are expected to flock to an exhibition at the history museum in Halle, where some of the discoveries will go on display.

Despite the widespread belief that Luther lived in poverty, evidence suggests he was a well-fed man weighing in at a hefty 150 kg when he died in 1546 at the age of 63. A search through the kitchen waste offers proof that the family ate well. There are clues that they regularly dined on roast goose and the tender meat of piglets, while during fasting periods they tucked into expensive fish including herring, cod, and plaice. Partridge and song-birds often graced the Luthers’ dinner table.

The claim by historians which will arguably be most upsetting for followers is the recently uncovered written evidence that it was not, as thought, a lightning bolt which led to the then 21-year-old’s spontaneous declaration he wanted to become a monk. Rather, it was his desperation to escape an impending arranged marriage. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/27/martin-luther-protestantism

In fact, such findings were publishhed in 2004 itself, as reproduced here for convenience and critical analysis of such “news-planting" by “The Hindu" now after nearly five-years!
Friday, 22 October, 2004, 12:21 GMT 13:21 UK

Luther"s lavatory thrills experts

Archaeologists in Germany say they may have found a lavatory where Martin Luther launched the Reformation of the Christian church in the 16th Century. The stone room is in a newly-unearthed annex to Luther"s house in Wittenberg.

Luther is quoted as saying he was “in cloaca", or in the sewer, when he was inspired to argue that salvation is granted because of faith, not deeds.

The scholar suffered from constipation and spent many hours in contemplation on the toilet seat.

‘Earthy Christianity"

The lavatory was built in the period 1516-17, according to Dr Martin Treu, a theologian and Luther expert based in Wittenberg.

“ We still don"t know what was used for wiping in those days “
Dr Martin Treu

“What we have found here is something very rare," he told BBC News Online, describing how most buildings preserved from that era tend to have served a grander function.

The toilet is in a niche set inside a room measuring nine by nine metres, which was discovered during the excavation of a garden in the grounds of Luther"s house.

Dr Treu said there can be little doubt the toilet was used by Luther, the radical theologian who argued for a more “earthy Christianity", which regarded the entire human body - and not just the soul - as God"s creation.

The Reformation, which resulted in Europe"s Protestant churches, is usually reckoned to have begun when Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg"s Castle Church on 31 October 1517.

The theses attacked papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by church officials, among other things.

Structural concerns

Luther left a candid catalogue of his battle with constipation but despite this wealth of information, certain key details remain obscure - such as what the great reformer may have used in place of toilet paper.

“We still don"t know what was used for wiping in those days," says Dr Treu. The paper of the time, he says, would have been too expensive and critically, “too stiff" for the purpose.

And while it is probable that the inspiration that led to Luther"s reforms occurred on this toilet, it is impossible to prove it beyond doubt, Dr Treu says.

Future visitors to Wittenberg"s Martin Luther museum will be able to view the new find, though structural concerns mean they will not be free to test its qualities as a toilet.

The following has been a typical catholic anti-Luther writing:

Martin Luther"s Toilet Flushed Out

By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News

 

Oct. 25, 2004 — German archaeologists have discovered the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation — a stone toilet on which the constipated Martin Luther wrote the Ninety-Five Theses that launched the creation of Europe"s Protestant churches.

Scholars had always known that the 16th-century religious leader suffered from acute constipation and spent hours in contemplation on the toilet seat.

Another Possible Writing Spot?   “ Luther refers to a secretus locus monachorum hypocastum or cloaca; that is the monk"s secret place, the sweat chamber or the toilet.

“Luther refers to a secretus locus monachorum hypocastum or cloaca; that is the monk"s secret place, the sweat chamber or the toilet," the late American psychoanalyst Erik Erikson wrote in his best selling book “Young Man Luther."

Despite Luther"s candid account of his daily battle, nobody knew the location of his “cloaca" (Latin for sewer) where he made his reformatory discovery.

“We just had no idea where this sewer was," Stefan Rhein, the director of the Luther Memorial Foundation, told reporters.

The “secret place" of constipation and revelation remained unknown until excavation work to plant a garden in the grounds of Luther"s house in Wittenberg, south-west of Berlin, brought to light an annex of his house.

Among the remains, the archaeologists found a nine-by-nine meter (about 30-by-30 foot) room, a vaulted ceiling, and a niche with the 450-year-old toilet.

Though it was made of stone blocks, the toilet was very advanced for its time, featuring a 30-centimeter-square (about 12 inches) seat with a hole and a cesspit attached to a drain.

According to Rhein, the finding represents an important human side of Luther, on whose texts scholars concentrated for centuries.

Martin Luther (1483-1546), a priest who taught biblical theology at Wittenberg University, is credited with starting the Reformation when he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg on Oct. 31, 1517.

Among other things, the Theses attacked papal abuses and the selling of indulgences by church officials, saying that salvation is granted because of faith, not money.

Under the religious leader, and with the support of German princes, a large number of Christians split from the Roman Catholic Church.

Along with the toilet, the archaeologists also found the remains of a floor heating system — an advanced feature that might have made Luther"s time in the lavatory a bit more comfortable.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 7:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.