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Will the Theologians Please Sit Down  /  Chapter 16: How the Theologians Entrenched Themselves  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 4
Luther ranked books (John/Paul/Peter as “kernel and marrow,” James as “an epistle of straw”) and claimed a Christian could know what is “necessary and good” without Matthew, Mark, and Luke; how does that hierarchy reshape the center of Christianity, and what do you think second-century Christians would have found alarming about it?
Another way to ask: Luther treated some Bible books as more important than others and said you could know what matters without the Gospels. How does that shift what feels like the center of Christianity, and why might second-century Christians have been shocked by it?

Direct Answer Bercot argues Luther’s ranking shifts Christianity’s center away from Jesus’ direct teachings toward Paul as the main interpretive guide, even implying the Synoptic Gospels are optional. He says second-century Christians would be alarmed because it sidelines the Gospels that contain “the bulk of Christ’s teachings.”

Support from Transcript:

  • Luther’s quoted hierarchy: “John’s Gospel and St. Paul’s Epistles… and St. Peter’s First Epistle are the true kernel and marrow.”
  • Luther says it would be “advisable for every Christian” to read those first and most.
  • Luther claims these books teach “all that is necessary and good… even though you would never… see or hear any other book or doctrine.”
  • Luther’s dismissal: “St. James’s Epistle is really an epistle of straw.”
  • Bercot responds that Luther claimed a Christian could know what’s necessary “without ever reading… Matthew, Mark, and Luke,” calling it “outrageous,” because those contain “the bulk of Christ’s teachings.”
  • He adds: “According to Luther, if you want to learn about the gospel of Jesus, go to Paul,” and says “The second-century Christians would have been stunned.”
Discussion Follow-ups If a tradition treats some New Testament books as the “real gospel,” what happens to obedience to Jesus’ commands found most clearly in the Gospels?

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