Reformation Day: 7 lesser-known facts about Martin Luther

6. Had a complicated view of the New Testament book of James

Luther is known for translating the Bible into German and emphasizing that the Apocrypha was not part of the Bible proper, possibly leading to its general rejection among Protestants.

Some have charged that Luther wanted to remove the New Testament book of James from the Bible, with critics claiming that this was because the book supposedly contradicted his views.

“Therefore St James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it,” Luther once wrote.

However, according to Anglican theologian Martin Foord, Luther did not actually want to remove James from the Bible, but considered it a lower tier than any New Testament books.

“Luther held to a two-tiered view of the [New Testament], or what has been called a canon within the canon,” wrote Foord in a piece published by The Gospel Coalition. “So, whilst Luther wished to place James outside of the ‘chief’ books, he did not wish to exclude it from the NT entirely.”