#+---Anxiety is defined as "feelings of apprehension, dread or uneasiness." (Coon). An a~~disorder is when these feeling are severe for a prolonged or recurring length of time. Accordingto this definition, Martin Luther seems to be a dead ringer for one suffering from an anxietyvx;r disorder. The question of whether his anxiety stemmed from, physiological or divine origins is~t - ~ ,something that can never really be answered. What can be said is that Martin Luther suffered,r ,)J 7'Y V and that he channeled that suffering into what became one of the most important and longreaching periods of the Catholic church and Christianity in the western world.Luther's anxiety took the form of a sense of alienation from god and continuing doubts about./ his salvation. His crisis was "caused by an inte~.:.~~g for certitude about his salvation."(Bokenkotter~ 211). He experienced this apprehension through a series of crises that spanned hisentire life and career. Luther's religious journey began because of a crisis. Namely his near hit f'"'G'from a bolt of lightning. In a panic, he vowed to join a monastic order if he was spared. This~ ~ 'i crisis was ext~~..!!!~~an internal~ but it did foreshadow Luther's sensitivity, and set him on~,. J('" ~ the path to visionary, reformation and rebellion.)./Luther's first internal crisis came when he was saying his first mass as a priest. Heexperienced a great sense of terror and unworthiness, like a depraved worm coming before thevmost holy of judges, "how could a pigmy stand before divine majesty..." (Bainton, 31). Lutherhad a continuing sense of doubt and unworthiness before god. He would fast and pray, butalways wonder "Have you fasted enough? Are you poor enough?" (Bainton, 34). He wouldv'"engage sometimes daily in marathon confessions lasting hours, until his confessor would kickhim out, with no relief"---1811--If comfort was to come to Luther through the means already in place, Rome, the seat of theCatholic Church should have been the place to do it. This was not the case. Luther was surprisedand disheartened at the corruption he saw at the higher levels, such as mindless recitations of the V'7mass and churchmen visiting brothels (Bainton). 'P~rhaps more than that, He found no comfort inI'{ the grace of relics. Luther crawled up the steps of Pilate, a very famous and powerful relic,~ kissing the steps as he went and doubt assailed him even there.~ The continuing failure of confession led Luther to truly embrace the idea of man's sinful .--~ 1\ nature. To Luther, confession did not work because "The very nature of man is corrupt. The~ I~ penitential system fails because it is directed to particular lapses." (Bainton, 41). Because of" Luther's lack of confidence in the validity of confession, he continued to be beset by fear and~ anxiety. ('-1] ., j One of Luther's mentors at Wittenburg, Dr. Staupitz, was a mystic and vicar of the ..j~I ~~ Augustinian order. He tried to help Luther with his anxiety, and Luther experimented for a time ~1 with mystic exercises. He did at times feel the intense personal connection to God that is a ~~ hallmark of mysticism, but just as often felt even more separated and despondent than before. ~-4-1 The experienced mystics knew of the tendency towards this downfall, calling it the "dark night tof the soul". The standard advice was to persevere in the mystical practices, and the connectionwith god would once again be found. For Luther, this advice was not sufficient. He wrote aboutfeeling how "panic invaded his spirit" (Bainton, 42). Luther was later to report that at its worst,his feelings of dread and alienation were so bad that if the torment had lasted "the tenth part of~an hour, his bones would have crumbled into ashes" (Bokenkotter, 210). ,~ ~+All of these negative experiences led Luther to have an intense personal reaction ~ l..- ~+~--found it almost impossible to love a god who was presented as a harsh ?}Ilge. As is so often thecase when intense feelings are involved, love turned to hate. Luther's declaration that he ~god caused him guilt and more despair, but he had come to doubt the justness of god, and evenviewed him as a tormentor instead of a savior (Bainton). Luther's personal reconciliation withgod came from studying the gospels, and St. Paul's epistles to the Romans became the scripturehe most identified with. Luther had already accepted the depraved nature of man, when he. ~ L realized that confession was insufficient, since it dealt with individual lapses instead of the whole;Y'f. of man's sinful nature. Now Luther had to accept the jus~re of God, and that man was savedf through faith. Luther came to believe through his study of the gospels that man could not savehimself, but that God would save man by making man just. This idea not only formed the core ofLuther's journey of spiritual understanding, but also set him on the road that was to lead to hisbreak with the Catholic Church.Luther's intense religious discomfort compelled him to embrace the various forms open tohim equally as intensely. Monasti~m, confe~n, sacralttents, mysti~m, all failed him. IfLuther had been in less agony, it is possible his religious efforts would have been less whole-hearted, and this would have allowed him to attribute any lack to himself, instead of to thereligious forms he tried. His very agony and resulting dedication however, made it impossible forhim to attribute the lack of efficacy to himself, "I was a very good monk, and 1 kept the rule of~ \; (Bainton). If Luther tried as hard as he was able, and still felt this anxiety, he could only~~ conclude that that the forms of worship had failed, not he.This new outlook, relying on the gr~ of God instead of any work he could do, broughtLuther the comfort he so craved. For perhaps the first time, Luther became comfortable in the-:..i=~- -presence of god. Now that he experienced the love of God in the fonn of grace, Luther wasfinally able to love God.Luther's personal comfort came from scr{Yi6re, and it is scripture that he believed wouldprovide the vehicle for every man's salvation, not the machinations of the Catholic Church.Luther rejected forms of worship that had no precedence in the bible. This led to a rejection of allV'but two sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist. He also rejected the ideas of indulgences, thegrace of relics, the extreme importance of clergy over laity and a large degree of papal authority.Luther's new