Martin Luther

===Bigamy of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse: 1539–1540===
From December 1539, Luther became involved in the designs of [[Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse#Bigamous marriage|Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse]] to marry a lady-in-waiting of his wife, [[Christine of Saxony]]. Philip solicited the approval of Luther, Melanchthon, and Bucer, citing as a precedent the [[Polygamy in Christianity|polygamy of the patriarchs]]. The theologians were not prepared to make a general ruling, and they reluctantly advised the [[landgrave]] that if he was determined, he should marry secretly and keep quiet about the matter because divorce was worse than [[bigamy]].<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3: 206. For a more extensive list of quotes from Luther on the topic of polygamy, see page 11 and following of [https://www.cuw.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/_assets/theological-journal/v3i1-Fall_2015.pdf Luther's Authentic Voice on Polygamy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120194507/https://www.cuw.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/_assets/theological-journal/v3i1-Fall_2015.pdf |date=20 January 2019 }} Nathan R. Jastram, Concordia Theological Journal, Fall 2015/Spring 2016, Volume 3</ref> As a result, on 4 March 1540, Philip married a second wife, [[Margarethe von der Saale]], with Melanchthon and Bucer among the witnesses. Philip's sister [[Elisabeth of Hesse, Hereditary Princess of Saxony|Elisabeth]] quickly made the scandal public, and Philip threatened to expose Luther's advice. Luther told him to "tell a good, strong lie" and deny the marriage completely, which Philip did.<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:212.</ref> Margarethe gave birth to nine children over a span of 17 years, giving Philip a total of 19 children. In the view of Luther's biographer [[Martin Brecht]], "giving confessional advice for Philip of Hesse was one of the worst mistakes Luther made, and, next to the landgrave himself, who was directly responsible for it, history chiefly holds Luther accountable".<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:214.</ref> Brecht argues that Luther's mistake was not that he gave private pastoral advice, but that he miscalculated the political implications.<ref>Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93, 3:205–215.</ref> The affair caused lasting damage to Luther's reputation.<ref>Oberman, Heiko, ''Luther: Man Between God and the Devil'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006, 294.</ref>