Reformation Day

Tomorrow is 499 Anniversary of Reformation Day! On October 31st, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the City Church door in Wittenberg. He also sent a letter with his grievances to the Bishop of Augsburg which is how we are sure October 31st is the proper date. The Reformation was a Godsend to get us back to the source, The Gospel and the Holy Bible. Martin Luther was not the sole proprietor of this Reformation, there were forerunners such as Jan Hus and contemporaries such as John Calvin, John Wycliffe, John Bunyan, Zwingli, and many more. Ironically, this is the first Reformation  Day that The Roman Catholic Church will be honoring, Pope Francis I is paid homage to Luther and the Reformation for first time in history. Being a Church history buff I often have to debunk people who say Protestantism is only 499yrs old. The truth is Protestantism stood on this humanist motto, "E pluribus unum: Back to the Sources." While Renaissance humanists championing this motto started reading Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, Martin Luther lead Christian humanists back to the Scriptures of Paul, St. John, and the Alpha and Omega Himself. Protestantism is a return to Early Christian (circa 30-100 A.D.) before distorted notions emerged among some of the Church Fathers who thought they could merit salvation by good works oppose to the truth that it is "By Grace we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 2:8-9, cross ref Romans 11:6, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10).

Martin Luther had set out to Reform the Roman Catholic Church, His 95 Thesis was an attempt to address the grievance with Indulgence industry of the Catholic Church. Indulgences were certificates that penitent Christians could buy for remission (forgiveness) of the sins of themselves or dead family members in Purgatory. The Roman Church had made a circus out of it, promising salvation to both the "quick and the dead" for a few coins. The famous John Tezel, indulgence seller was known for this quip, "When a coin in coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs." Martin Luther having become acquainted with the Gospels in Wittenberg Seminary found no mention of Indulgences in Scripture, and so made his protests public on the door of City Church. Luther had every intention of reforming the Roman Church until he realized after his audience with Cardinal Cajetan that the Church of Rome would not recant the abuse of indulgences. Luther found himself then in a battle, becoming a true Fedei Defensor (defender of faith) by championing the Scriptures but finding himself in peril at the Diet of Worms, where he had to convince Emperor Charles V of Germany and Roman Clergy that he was no heretic. There he defended his published works, "To The Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Freedom of a Christian, On The Babylonian Captivity," and after the hearing he was kidnapped by Fredrick The Wise and kept in castle for ten months. During that time Luther's words which were aided by Printing Press and the common German Language spread about Germany and Europe for that matter. Luther would return to the world to find Protestantism in full swing, iconoclasm (image breakers) and radicals claiming Luther's authority. Luther protected the nobles, had to betray the Peasant Revolt, and endorsed their massacre for the good of Christendom and Germany.

Martin Luther's success at restoring the Church back to sources, The Scriptures, to discern Christian faith, dogma, and tradition was a great boon to us Christians. At last we were freed from false pieties, and the "Colossians 2:23" (). But Luther legacy sadly is tainted later by his anti-Semitic sentiments after being rejected by Jews and arguably PTSD, survivor guilt, guilty conscious over Peasant Revolt outcome, and return to the idea that the Roman Church should have been reformed, not another schism. Luther was a complex man, as the adaptation of his life so well put, "People look to me for guidance, they shouldn't, they want me to be fixed star, but I am wandering planet." (Luther 2003). Luther's legacy is that he like the Apostle Paul fearlessly champion the Gospel and the Scriptures at the cost of his own life, safety, and well being. Luther was certainly not perfect, but it is because of his zeal that The Reformation really lifted off; success in Germany, the most powerful nation at the time in Europe, made the reformations in other countries courageous. It is because of Luther and the Reformers we have access to Holy Bible that teaches us true religion and orthodox Christianity. For that we owe Luther and the others a great debt of gratitude.

Sources:

Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: A History (2005)

Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language (4th Edition)

Joseph Fiennes, Luther (2003)