It may at first sight appear that Luther's central doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone must divide him from the humanists, but this notion would seem entirely erroneous, for it depends upon a misreading of Luther's anthropology and upon an anachronistic misuse of the term ‘humanist’. Let us clear the ground by a brief glance at each of these points.

Luther's rigorous interpretation of St Paul, which deprives man of all power to save himself, refers to the higher plane of human destiny: the plane of salvation. Luther does not make us automata on the worldly plane, where man does enjoy Free Will and cannot disclaim responsibility. Considering the all-importance of salvation, Luther devoted a quite surprising amount of his writings and activities to the problems of fallen mankind in this terrestrial life, problems about which something could be done, and on which his own ceaseless counselling could be genuinely serviceable. Whatever we may think of his theology, his practical views – on everything from the structure of the Holy Roman Empire down to the organization of grammar schools – are in general marked by bold common sense and forthright expression. In the second place, let me restate what I regard as the proper use of the word humanist, the meaning with which it was normally invested from the late fifteenth century to the nineteenth.