It's Complicated

Thomas Müntzer plays a rather interesting role in history. He is a complicated character, making strides in the reformation of the church and even larger strides for the ideas of Marxists. Little is known about his up bringing except that he was the son of a burgher (a member of the wealthy bourgeoisie). He was given a humanist education, becoming a linguist, learning Greek, Hebrew and Latin. Also, completing a course in Biblical theology. Müntzer later became a priest and during this time he became attracted to the works of Martin Luther.

            He studied the works of Luther and was said to have listened to his lectures. However, after all the teachings Müntzer viewed Luther’s ideology of “scripture alone”. With educational background Müntzer felt the need to come to his own conclusions on the interpretation of the Bible.  He took a more extremist view, regarding the passages in revelation.  The apocalyptic passage portrayed the classic struggle between the righteous and evil. It was difficult for him to separate the word from a spiritual and separate perspective, which could be attributed to part of the cause of the peasants revolt. He translated that struggle into the class struggle between the peasants and the wealthy. His revolutionary concept of the inevitable conquest of the anti - Christian earthly government and the thesis that the someone people themselves were the instruments of God and would have to execute this change. He believed that the peasants would lead the struggle against the enemies of the Holy Spirit in the last days, which he believed was the in mid 16th century. (Britannica) During the peasant revolt t he peasants had great faith in Müntzer and later assured his followers that in upcoming war that there would be a divine intervention and their lives would be spared. However, as history states, there was no divine intervention but instead a mass slaughter.

            Yes, this was very tragic but what really intrigued me is how Marxists view this a very crucial part in their history.  Marxists believed that after the apocalypse the world would become a proletariat state where the workers own and run everything. They saw the uprising and his ideologies a foreshadowing of their version of the future.  When East Germany became a communist state they told stories of how Müntzer was a hero, A tragic hero, tragic because of his death. He was a “part of history’s inevitable, inexorable move towards the East German State.” (PBS)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/muentzer.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/397713/Thomas-Muntzer

http://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%BCntzer,_Thomas_(1488/9-1525)#1987_Update