Luther is Not a Lolcat
The intended response to this picture is a laugh and “Haha, those corrupt and theologically incorrect Catholics with their unbiblical indulgences and Mariolatry, Luther sure showed them!” Or something like that. And that response is probably what it most often gets — which has the unfortunate result of confirming Protestants in their ignorance of Catholicism and of alienating Catholics who happen to see this dumbed-down polemical icon shared by their Protestant friends. Now, I realize that the picture is not intended to replace serious evangelical-Catholic dialogue, but on the other hand, serious evangelical-Catholic dialogue is not something that its creator was ever interested in.
“But come on, it’s just supposed to be funny!” Of course it was. That does not mean that it might not be one example of a problematic cultural trend. In politics and in popular culture (sorry, not to repeat myself), we tend to treat big ideas with witty slogans that often do nothing to help opposite sides understand each other. Witness the presidential debates: the candidates “debate” hugely important ideas which will affect ourselves, our children, and their children by using soundbites designed to draw cheers from their supporters and jeers from their opponents. If you want a careful articulation of a candidate’s position on something important, like, oh, I don’t know, immigration policy or abortion, television is not the place to find it. This is a far cry from the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858, when Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated for hours on end over multiple days — and that was just for a Senate race. Obviously our national attention span has diminished somewhat.
But my point is not to advocate a return to the glory days of the 1800s, where candidates actually had enough time to say why they believed what they did and weren’t shouted down by detractors and pundits. My point is that we cannot reduce big ideas to soundbites, much less soundbites in lolspeak. It doesn’t matter which side of the Tiber you’re on, or even if you’re across the Mediterranean in Constantinople– Luther’s break with the Catholic Church was a tragic thing and resulted in the destruction of Western Christendom’s unity. Unity was important to Jesus. He talks a lot about it in the Bible: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one” (Jn 17.11). By any standard, Protestantism is not “one”; and Protestantism and Catholicism are certainly not “one.” This is a state of affairs which is directly contrary to the will of God as expressed in Scripture. And we Protestants address it by posting pictures of Luther saying “O hai guise, I fixed ur doctrine”?
Reformation Day is not something that Protestants should exult over. It is a tragic reminder that Christ’s prayer remains yet unanswered — Christianity is not one. Reformation Day should be the occasion of prayers for unity — even if the best that Protestants can muster is that Catholics would see the error of their ways.
I am not directing my ire solely at this picture. It is a symptom of a larger problem that pervades our culture. But do remember: Luther is not a lolcat, folks. And making him talk like one only cheapens the great, ambiguous, and misunderstood project that was the Protestant Reformation.
Addendum: Saying that Luther “fixed” the Catholic Church’s doctrine with the 95 theses is hardly accurate, since those theses contain many things that Protestants today would have significant problems with. See the first link below.
Further reference:
From a Catholic: Three Reformation Day Ironies
From a Protestant: Letting Some of the Air Out of the Reformation Day Balloon
