(Regest.)
Since Lohmüller was traveling to Germany, he did not want him to leave without a letter to Luther. He reports about Gerhard Westerburg, 3) Doctor of Laws, from Cologne, who had sought a position in the schools to be established in Königsberg, especially a lecture in theology; now he had also come to the court of the prince. Brismann had already seen Westerburg 20 years ago in Carlstadt's house, when the enthusiasts from Zwickau, Stork and Marcus, were coming and going. Afterwards, Westerburg married the sister of Carlstadt's wife in the village of Segren near Wittenberg. Even today, he is full of annoying opinions and superstitious errors, such as the preaching of the gospel in the underworld and the purification of the souls of Christians in purgatory. Also many other ungodly errors were in a confession of faith, which he had handed over to the Duke of Prussia. However, he knows how to cunningly conceal and cover up his errors, just like the fanatics in Silesia. Therefore Brismann prays: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has graciously preserved us and our churches in Prussia from M[artin] Cellarius, from the false prophets of the Silesians and the Dutch, may he save them from this drunken Westerburg, who has drunk and blasphemed the ungodly errors of Muenzer, Stork, Marcus, Zwingli, Sebastian Frank, Carlstadt, and all the enthusiasts, may he also graciously deign to deliver us and our church, and especially our prince, Amen."
From Msc. Dresd. C 342 after a copy of Seidemann printed in K. Krafft and W. Krafft, Briefe und Documente, p. 84.
2) What Seidemann contributes to the explanation of these letters in De Wette, Vol. VI, p. 496, note 2, does not serve the point.
3) The same was present at Luther's conversation with Carlstadt at Jena in 1524 (see St. L. Ausg., Vol. XV, 2030 and 2036).
Letters from the year 1542. No. 2968 to 2971.
No. 2968.