podcasts / In Our Time / episode / question
Question

Why did Erasmus first support Martin Luther and then break with him, according to Eamon Duffy?

Answered from Archive: Erasmus · In Our Time · 2026-10-19

Eamon Duffy says Erasmus first heard Luther's justification by faith as his own message of simple trust in Jesus, and argued for him before the Elector Frederick and the Emperor. But he distrusted Luther as a monk and professor of theology, and could not accept his negative view of human nature. Pressed by Thomas More, Cardinal Wolsey and Pope Adrian to take sides, he chose free will, an issue on which he truly disagreed.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-10-19). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode

Q1Why did Erasmus call himself Erasmus of Rotterdam, according to Diarmaid MacCulloch on In Our Time?Q2What did Eamon Duffy say about the manuscripts behind Erasmus's 1516 Greek New Testament?Q3How did Erasmus's translation of metanoete undermine the sacrament of penance?Q4What did Jill Kraye say Erasmus thought about pagan philosophers like Socrates?Q6How did Jill Kraye explain the free will debate between Erasmus and Luther on In Our Time?Q7What are Erasmus's Praise of Folly and Adages about, according to Jill Kraye?Q8How was Erasmus regarded by the Catholic Church after his death, according to Diarmaid MacCulloch?
Transcribe your links. Paste a YouTube, Google Drive or podcast link and WhipScribe gives you the transcript. Transcribe a link →