Martin Luther’s 95 Concerns Were Distributed in Printed Form and Essentially Went Viral Martin Luther lived five hundred years ago. He was born at the dawn of the modern era. He became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation. A key technology in birthing the modern era was the printing press. The printing press also […]
The Wave of Disunity Continues to This Day Reformation Day is one October 31. It celebrates the Protestant Reformation. I love the Reformation even though it was actually a spiritual revolution against the established status quo. (But perhaps that’s part of its allure.) After all, the root of Protestant is protest. Though the actual reformation […]
Once the People Read Luther’s 95 Theses They Pushed for a Change He Hadn’t Intended Though most Protestants know of Martin Luther’s ninety-five theses, few have ever read them. Here’s why: First written in Latin and then translated into German, neither of these versions of Luther’s ninety-five theses helps us as English-speaking readers. Several English […]
Celebrate Reformation as an Ongoing Process If you investigate what the word deconstructionism means, you may encounter a disconnected understanding, which seems to vary depending on the context. At a basic level, to deconstruct means looking at what is and asking, “Why?” This question opens the door to dismantle status quo conventions and practices to […]
Have You Ever Wondered What Martin Luther’s 95 Theses Actually Said? If so, you’re not alone. Finally, there’s an accessible guide to Luther’s most revolutionary words. Martin Luther changed the course of church history. His 95 Theses are considered a groundbreaking document that sparked the Reformation and altered countless lives. But most people today have […]
95 Theses Reveals Our Past So We Can Reform Our Present Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther’s supporters printed copies of his 95 theses and distributed them widely. The document essentially went viral. Had Martin Luther lived today, his supporters might have taken to social media to get the word out. In doing so, 95 […]
Jesus Sparked a Religious Revolution That We Must Continue to Pursue Today As Jesus’s mission on earth winds down he celebrates Passover with his disciples and goes to the Mount of Olives to pray. Then a mob comes to capture him. Jesus asks them, “Am I leading a rebellion that you must send an armed […]
The First Reformation Happened 2,000 Years Ago As the time for Jesus’s sacrificial death approaches, his enemies come to arrest him. They’re armed. This might be as a show of force or maybe because they expect trouble. I imagine Jesus smiling a bit at this weapon-wielding mob. “Do you think I’m leading a rebellion?” he […]
Dividing the Church by Forming Denominations Isn’t Biblical, and It’s Time to Move Past It Jesus prayed for our unity, that we would be one—just as he and his father are one. He yearned that his followers would get along and live in harmony. Dividing into religious sects wasn’t his plan. Yet that’s exactly what […]
The Bible Offers Little Support for a Minister to Preach a Sermon to Us at Church Many changes occurred in church practices because of the Protestant Reformation some 500 years ago. One of those changes adjusted the emphasis of the Sunday service. The reformers had concern over the focus of Sunday gatherings being on the […]