St. George and Luther and Lutherans Today

This Friday, October 31st is the Feast of the Reformation. On that date in 1517, Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses.

For Monday of the Week of Pentecost 24 in the fine prayer book, For All the Saints, is a short biography of Saint George by the Rev. Bruce Wilmot Adams. The selections below are from it. We know the legend that St. George slew a dragon."Legend has it that the city of Silene in Libya was besieged by a fierce dragon. Instead of trying to destroy, tried to appease the beast with sheep and goats. Such fare only increased the size and the appetite of the fearsome creature. After all concessions failed, the king decided to offer the princess--his own daughter--as a sacrifice."According to the legend, St. George slew the dragon and saved the princess.

George lived in the 4th century. The Emperor was Diocletian and his general of the army was Galerius. It seems George knew the Emperor and Galerius, "...under whom he had served during the Persian campaign". George decided to go, "...on a mission to appeal for clemency on behalf of his fellow-Christians."

"Friends begged George not to go, for his own safety’s sake. He replied: 'If you are alive and hear that I am dead, do me the kindness, for Christ’s sake, to take my bones to my native city and bury them there.' George set out on his mission to Nicodemia, accompanied by his servant Passicrates. Because of the killings of Christians in Britain—many of them Roman soldiers—George had by this time resigned from the army."

"Passicrates confirms George’s bold confession, and his appeal for the cessation of persecution. In the name of Jesus, George dared to warn the emperor of the consequences of tyranny. Without compassion, Diocletian had him incarcerated, tortured, starved and beaten. He was later tried by Galerius. After confessing his faith, George was beheaded on Good Friday, 23 April 303 AD...

"As thousands of Christians in the fourth century perished under the emperor, Diocletian, he struck a medal and built a column to celebrate his triumph. On the column he engraved, Extincto Nomine Christianorum—the name of Christ has been extinguished. What self-deception! Diocletian and Galerius died and were soon forgotten. St. George is with Christ (Rev. 7:14), but his name and confession against idolatry and evil continue to stir many Christian hearts and churches across the earth. "

In fact, the first English speaking Lutheran Congregation founded in London in 1762 was St. George’s Lutheran Church.

Besides that obvious connection with the Lutheran or Evangelical Church, there is a more significant connection to Luther and the Lutheran Church today. Rev. Adams wrote:

"(The legendary aspects of St. George) shows up the lie in the willingness of some churchmen who imagine that 'the old evil foe' (Lyric of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" by Martin Luther) can be assuaged through concessions--even endless discussions! Confessional Lutherans do well to remember that Satan thrives on compromise."

We must remember that the first question in the Holy Scriptures is quite early on: “Did God say…?” (Genesis 3:1) Remember: we are the generation that has incorrectly made the noun “dialogue” into a verb. In Adam and Eve’s desire “to be like God” they were pleasing themselves and thereby appeasing the serpent. But the serpent is not appeased. He is ravenous, prowling about, always seeking someone to devour (cf. 1 Peter 5: 8). The real dragon that St. George faced was the denial of Christ Jesus in the idolatry of the state and the Emperor.

Tyrants and tyrannies are more brutal than any dragon could ever be. They can devour whole peoples and nations and denominations. Luther fought the dragons of his time: legalism, works righteousness, confusion of Law and Promise, the idolatry of the Papacy, which all took away and would rob us from the merits and work of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone, by grace alone for terrified sinners. Sinners terrified by those dragons. The dragons could not be appeased. There can no compromise.

Our dragons are some of the same and with them: relativism, secular humanism, and not the proper distinction between Law and Promise, but their divorce. This not so great divorce results in license and immorality. We can not ‘dialogue’(sic) with the dragons. There is only one response to that ancient dragon, the Serpent and it is dogmatic and literal and comes from the lips of our Lord Himself: “It is written”. He said it not one once but thrice (St. Matthew 4: 1-11). Here with St. George and Luther and all the white-robed martyrs we must say, Here we stand, we can do no other. Our conscience is captive to the Word of God alone. God help us.