_The Smalcald Articles.
                      Articles of Christian Doctrine
               which were to have been presented on our part
           to the Council, if any had been assembled at Mantua
               or elsewhere, indicating what we could accept
                      or yield, and what we could not._
                         by Dr. Martin Luther, 1537
                   Translated by F. Bente and  W. H. T. Dau
                                Published in:
                  _Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books
                        of the Ev. Lutheran Church_.
        (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921), pp. 453-529.
 
        THE THIRD PART OF THE ARTICLES.
         
        XIV. Of Monastic Vows.
         
        As monastic vows directly conflict with the first chief
        article, they must be absolutely abolished. For it is of them
        that Christ says, Matt. 24, 5. 23 ff.: I am Christ, etc. For
        he who makes a vow to live as a monk believes that he will
        enter upon a mode of life holier than ordinary Christians
        lead, and wishes to earn heaven by his own works not only for
        himself, but also for others; this is to deny Christ. And they
        boast from their St. Thomas that a monastic vow is equal to
        Baptism. This is blasphemy [against God]. 
         
        
 
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