Martin Luther’s actions help shape history

Imagine a lone monk walked briskly towards the Wittenberg Church on the chilly morning of Oct. 31, 1517. The ragged wind blew lustily across the nearby Elbe River in Germany, causing the monk to pull his rough black robe closer. In his left hand, he grasped a collection of papers that ruffled in the autumn wind, threatening to scatter them away into the town.

He gazed up at the soaring pinnacles of the massive church. Martin Luther reached the wooden church doors, which were already covered with various proclamations nailed to the weathered medieval door.

He raised his hammer and nailed the 95 Theses to the door. Little did he know this action would be considered by many as an event that sculpted the course, not only for the church of the day, but also changed how the world viewed Christianity.

This Oct. 31, marks the start of the Reformation 500 years ago. This is an event so large that the impact is still felt in 2017. The Reformation affected a plethora of events and has even contributed to the freedoms we have today.

Martin Luther’s motivation for posting the 95 Theses was simple; he saw corruption in the Church and wanted to address it. Luther came to see these corruptions through studying the Bible, something that was not common practice in that day.

Luther’s 95 Theses had many complaints, but one of the biggest issues was the practice of selling indulgences. An indulgence was a document that the Catholic Church sold that granted the forgiveness of sins. Luther found no basis for this in the Bible and was troubled, this is what led him to post his Theses.

One of the other things that bothered Luther was the teachings of the Reformation, many of which Luther found to be false. This is why he came up with several doctrines to define what people should believe, among these are Sola Fide (faith alone merits salvations) and Sola Scriptura (scripture is the ultimate authority, not church tradition).

Having earned her Master’s in English and studied Reformation Theology in conjunction with 16th Century English Literature, leadership advisor Aubri Foster shared her thoughts on the magnitude of this historical event.

“In American culture today, separation of church and state is the norm,” Foster said. “Our expectations of each institution hinge upon the assumption that neither the church nor state will intersect at any given time. Many of the freedoms that we enjoy today are because of those who have gone before us. This newfound freedom meant that the questioning of religious (and/or political) authorities was no longer taboo. The people were able to read the scriptures for themselves, examine practices that were antiquated, and write with an independence not afforded them previously.”

Bible teacher Donn Rojeski shared his perspective as to why this event is still relevant today.

“The Reformation is relevant to virtually all of Western civilization because it so totally changed not only the religious, but also the political and cultural landscapes,” Donn said. “Prior to the Reformation, there was little room for ANY challenge to the power of the Church either spiritually or politically. Daily life revolved around the decisions and actions of the Church as much as the town councils. Through the struggles during the Reformation, tolerance of the beliefs of others gradually became the norm. Our ability today to disagree with a minimum of backlash is a major result of the Reformation.”

Senior Joey Huang shared her perspective on why the Reformation was a turning point in history.

“We should remember this event because, as Christians, it is important to understand theology and history of churches,” Huang said. “The Protestant Reformation was the beginning point of religious reforms and the shaping of different branches of Christianity. It also pushed for the development of European history as monarchs sought greater power by escaping the control of the Catholic church.”

As such this day has become a major celebration among various people. It is seen by many as a positive alternative to Halloween, a holiday avoided by some for its association with evil.

This assumption is not totally unmerited as the holiday has its roots in a Celtic holiday. The Celts believed that on this day the spirits of the dead could come into the land of the living. They constructed bonfires and wore costumes to ward off the spirits, hence the tradition of dressing up for Halloween.

When the Celtic lands were converted to Catholicism, the Catholic church made Nov. 1 All Saints Day and Oct. 31, All Hallow’s Eve, in an attempt to Christianize the festivities. All Saints Eve eventually became known as Hallow’s Eve (hallow meaning holy). This was eventually shortened to Halloween.

This information in combination with this being the 500th anniversary of the Reformation makes the celebration of the Reformation even more attractive those want a valid substitute for Halloween.

Macie Thompson, ‘19, spoke about how the Reformation is significant because it gave people the opportunity to worship God freely.

“The Reformation was when the Protestants left the Catholic Church,” Thompson said. “The significance of this event is that people were given the opportunity to read God’s word. This event is important today because we now have the freedom to worship God, love in Him and sing our praises.”

Prior to the Reformation, Churches were taught by priests in Latin, the language that the Bible was written in during that period. The downfall of this, however, was that many could not understand Latin. In fact, the priests themselves often did not understand it.

Charles Gong, ‘20, talked about how the Reformation gave people the opportunity to read the Bible for themselves.

“The Reformation was a movement to reform the Catholic Church from its abuses and corruption,” Gong said. “It was significant because it made people start getting Bibles for themselves and interpreting the word for themselves. It showed you are saved by faith not by works. It is important today because its ideas allow us to have our own perspective of what and who God is.

Brayden Iest, ‘21, talked about how the Reformation was a turning point for Christianity.

“The Reformation was the turning point for spreading Christianity across Europe,” Iest said. “Without it, there would be a lot less Christians in the world. We should remember it because many people made sacrifices that were necessary for us to have Christianity today.”

This is what makes the 500th anniversary of the Reformation such a landmark event. It has had a major impact on Christianity and changed the course of history.

The author used these sources for the article: Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition and History.com.

For more articles please read: Fulton District is open for business or Sophomores reflect on Museum of Tolerance trip.

This author can be reached via twitter @matthewsue1 and via email: Mathew Sue.