Martin Luther and the Bible

Why was Martin Luther against so many of the books that are in the Catholic Bible, and some that remain in ours also? From what I have researched, he tried to get rid of some of the books we currently have, including Hebrews, James, and Revelation (and the seven Old Testament books he was successful with). He also said that "the epistle of St. James is an epistle full of straw." (He seemed to really dislike James' writings). Why did the Protestant Bible throw away so many books, ones it had before the Reformation?

Like other church leaders, Martin Luther had opinions about books of the Bible and writings that were purported to be canonical. From the start, I need to emphasize that we, as confessional Lutheran Christians, do not base any of our teachings on the opinions of Martin Luther. We recognize that he was a highly gifted individual whom God used, along with others, at a critical time in history to restore the truths of his word. Luther’s writings, however, are not the foundation of our faith. Scripture alone is.

That being said, Luther did have opinions—strong ones sometimes—on what constituted the canon. (In that regard, let me emphasize that the church did not establish the canon. God did.) Luther’s early views on the book of James are understandable: the emphasis on good works seemed to be supportive of the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of work righteousness against which he was opposed.

As time went on, he softened his views on James. Luther’s introductory remarks to the book of Romans illustrate an understanding of what the book of James stresses: “Oh, a living, energetic, active, mighty thing is this faith. It is impossible for it not to do good incessantly. Nor does it ask whether good works are to be done; but before the question is put, it has already done them and is forever doing them…Faith is a living, daring confidence in the grace of God. It is so certain that a man would die for it a thousand times over. This confidence and knowledge of divine grace makes a person happy, bold and of high spirits in his relation to God and all His creatures. The Holy Spirit creates this attitude in faith. Hence a person, without constraint, becomes willing and eager to do good to everybody, to serve everybody, to suffer all sorts of things for the love of God and to the praise of Him who has shown him such grace. So it is impossible to separate works from faith, indeed just as impossible as it is to separate heat and light from fire.” [What Luther Says, Volume I, pages 498-499]

While Luther did have questions and reservations about books like Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation, he included them in his translation of the Bible. (Incidentally, he also included the Apocrypha in his translation. He did so with the notation that those books were not to be considered equal with other books of the Bible, but they were useful for reading.)

The “Protestant Bible” did not throw away books that it had before the Reformation. By the time of Jesus, the books of the Old Testament were recognized as God’s word. Jesus himself spoke of the threefold division of Old Testament books: “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). After about three centuries, there was general consensus in the church that the New Testament books of the Bible were those written by Jesus’ apostles or their acquaintances (Ephesians 2:20). The discussions and debates in the church though did not establish the New Testament canon. God did.

If you are interested in reading more on this topic, this link will provide you with many articles.