On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the castle church door at Wittenberg. This event is still celebrated as the commencement of the Protestant Reformation. Luther was countering the sale of Papal indulgences. Albert of Mainz was seeking a second diocese and the title of Archbishop. Leo X wanted to construct the Sistine Chapel of St. Paul’s Basilica. Both of these endeavors required money, and the selling of indulgences provided an unscriptural means of remission of temporal punishment for sins in this life or purgatory.  When Luther received word that Tetzel was selling indulgences close to him, he called him to a debate by posting his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door. After learning of the Theses, Pope Leo memorably said, “Luther is a drunken German. He will feel different when he is sober.”  

These hardships are the backdrop of Martin Luther’s life that should be taken into account when considering his struggle with the Epistle of James. One filled with debate and quarrels with those who through manipulation of scripture place a man into bondage by religion. 
The most common citation of Luther concerning James is the famous “right strawy epistle” quote.
 
At another time he said that James was a "really dangerous and bad book," and later threatened to tear it out of his Bible and use it to heat his stove.  There was a precursor for these criticizing statements. Many of Luther's opponents were debating him fiercely on his theology of justification by faith alone or “sola fide”. Martin Luther’s opponents would no doubt have used a poor interpretation of James' epistle to counteract salvation Luther’s justification by faith alone and promote justification by works based upon the polemic of James 2:14-26. Luther wrestled with James' "not by faith alone". In fact, he once offered his doctor's cap to anyone who could reconcile it with Romans 3:28 and ridiculed at his friend, Philip Melanchthon, for endeavoring it.   
No one can properly interpret scripture without first identifying and removing his or her presuppositions placed upon the text that alters the text’s meaning. We can all put lenses on scripture, even Luther. In the midst of the Reformation Luther was certainly strongly contending for a return to the rediscovered Gospel of Justification by faith. However, early on in his zeal, he allowed these experiences of contending against the unbiblical doctrine of “justification by works” to become a presumption to his interpretation of the Epistle of James. We all view the world through the lens of a lifetime of accumulated experiences which preunderstandings affecting our attempt at proper hermeneutics. Whether we are aware of it or not, we interpret what we see, hear and read according to the framework of we have grown in. We all have certain assumptions, and we tend to form our interpretations of the Bible by what we already believe. Martin Luther’s comments are proof that even the brightest among us are susceptible to missing the authorial intention of scripture even when we have the noblest of resolves. 
