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When I was ein younger man I studied canon law; though Erfurt was a challenge it was just to please my pa. Then came the storm, the lightning struck; I called upon Saint Anne: I shaved my head, I took my vows – an Augustinian. Refrain: Papal bulls, indulgences and transubstantiation: speak your mind against them and face excommunication. Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a reformation, papal bulls, indulgences and transubstantiation. When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St Peter’s profits soared, so I wrote a little message for the All Saints’ bulletin board; ‘you cannot purchase merit for...

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther tacked up 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg. With this act, he hoped to provoke a discussion among the scholars about the abuses of the indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church. He was not trying to create a public furor by any means, but within a fortnight, these theses had spread through the country like wildfire. The last thing Luther had in mind was to start some kind of major controversy, but nevertheless major controversy did begin. From the discussions at Wittenberg, the disputations began to accelerate and escalate. Copies of the...

It was 494 years today that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. He wanted to debate the sale of indulgences with his fellow university professors. He wrote in Latin, but a nameless visionary translated the theses into German, carried them to the printing press, and enabled their dispersion far and wide. Luther ended up with more than he bargained for, but he proved to be no coward in defending the discoveries he was making in Scripture. When the Roman church wouldn’t serve him the treat of sufficiently addressing his concerns, he was consigned to...

“Fear God and Give Him the Glory!”: The Slogan of the Lutheran Church ReformationReformation Festival Sermon on Revelation 14:6-7 by C. F. W. Walther (1881) Translated by Joel Baseley. Abridged by Charles Henrickson.“Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth, all the earth is full of your glory.” This we cry out today, O Lord our God, along with the cherubim and seraphim. For today we remember the glorious work of the Reformation of the church, which you began and gloriously brought to completion in the sixteenth century. Your glory had been taken from the very midst of your church, the glory...

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16–17). - Romans 1:16–17 If there were any doubt about the veracity of Paul’s statement that knowledge often “puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1), we only have to look at many of the assertions made by modern scholarship. For example, our advances in psychology have made many...

Longview, TX — LeTourneau University’s Socratic Club will present a free showing of a film on the life of Martin Luther at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31, in the Berry Auditorium of Glaske Building. The public is invited to celebrate with students the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany on Oct. 31, 1517, which is Reformation Day. The film runs 90 minutes. “Martin Luther is a man who changed the world,” said Martin Batts, professor of English and Socratic Club faculty adviser. “We will celebrate Reformation Day...

On Friday Pope Benedict addressed representatives of the Protestant EKD (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland), a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany, headed by Council Chair Nikolaus Schneider. The encounter took place in the former Augustinian Convent in Erfurt, which was once the home of Martin Luther. The full text of the Pope’s remarks is published below:Ladies and Gentlemen, As I begin to speak, I would like first of all to thank you for this opportunity to come together with you. I am particularly grateful to Pastor Schneider for greeting me and welcoming me...

The Protest of a Protestant Minister Against Birth Control by Rev. Matthew Trewhella Sunlight was just beginning to break over the darkness of the morning as my wife and I headed toward the entrance of the cold brick-faced building. Fear and apprehension gripped me each step of the way. A thousand questions and thoughts raced through my mind. "How much pain will there be? Why the heck did I ever do this in the first place? Maybe I should just leave." As I entered the door, I figured these were my last moments to bolt and run. I thought back...

Until the Anglican Lambeth Conference of 1930 no Christian denomination had ever said that contraception could ever be objectively right. The Washington Post, in an editorial on March 22, 1931, said of the Federal Council of Churches' endorsement of Lambeth: “It is impossible to reconcile the doctrine of the divine institution of marriage with any modernistic plan for the mechanical regulation of or suppression of human life. The Church must either reject the plain teachings of the Bible or reject schemes for the ‘ scientific’ production of human souls. Carried to its logical conclusion, the committee’s report, if carried into...

Shortly after the Reformation began, in the first few years after Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at Wittenberg, he issued some short booklets on a variety of subjects. One of the most provocative was titled The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In this book Luther was looking back to that period of Old Testament history when Jerusalem was destroyed by the invading armies of Babylon and the elite of the people were carried off into captivity. Luther in the sixteenth century took the image of the historic Babylonian captivity and reapplied it to his era...

Pope Benedict XVI is to rehabilitate Martin Luther, arguing that he did not intend to split Christianity but only to purge the Church of corrupt practices. Pope Benedict will issue his findings on Luther (1483-1546) in September after discussing him at his annual seminar of 40 fellow theologians — known as the Ratzinger Schülerkreis — at Castelgandolfo, the papal summer residence. According to Vatican insiders the Pope will argue that Luther, who was excommunicated and condemned for heresy, was not a heretic. Cardinal Walter Kasper, the head of the pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said the move would help...

It's sad to see the Roman Catholics feed on each other like this. How unsavory! As a Lutheran, I find it more important to look for the positive Christian contributions of Mr. Corapi, which are significant. And while Luther reformed the "pay for indugence" [sic] scams of early Popes, Mr. Corapi may correct the misguided investigation procedures directly related to the anxiety ridden child abuse chronciles [sic] of the Roman Catholic Church. --Anonymous, 7-10-11 [F]irst to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will...

Did Martin Luther Act Infallibly in Defining What Books Belong in the Bible? If Luther did not act infallibly: - How can Protestants be certain that they have an infallible collection of Books in Holy Scripture? - How can the Bible be the sole rule of faith, if no one knows with certainty which books belong in the Bible? If Luther acted infallibly: - How do you know?

There was once a great man who managed to upset the religious leaders of his day. They were screaming for his blood because he had both bypassed their own power structure, and had gained a large popular following. He had taught those under his influence that the traditions they had received were wrong, distortions of the Word, and called them to something far older, something far more biblical. And the world was being turned upside down. Those in authority accused the man of heresy, demanding that he cease and desist. And then, the most amazing thing happened. The history tells...

It is not lost on me that the Hamas group CAIR would hijack the annual day of remembrance from the passionate zionist and anti-supremacist, Dr. Martin Luther King. They have no shame and no respect for anyone or anything except advancing Islam and the sharia in the West. CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator and Muslim Brotherhood proxy in the largest Hamas funding trial in US history. Acccording to a captured internal document entered into evidence in that trial, their stated goal is "eliminating and destroying western civilizartion from within." CAIR is vulger, debased and utterly morally bankrupt, but they...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 3, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty is joining forces with Refo500, a project that aims to bring international attention to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Leading up to the anniversary in 2017 of Martin Luther's posting of his "Ninety-Five Theses," Refo500 is engaging with a variety of partner organizations to promote the importance of the Reformation period and its relevance for today's world. "Refo500 has the potential to help Acton bring its message about the relationship between faith and freedom to a broad and diverse audience...

On January 3, 1521, Pope Leo X issues the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, which excommunicates Martin Luther from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther, the chief catalyst of Protestantism, was a professor of biblical interpretation at the University of Wittenberg in Germany when he drew up his 95 theses condemning the Catholic Church for its corrupt practice of selling indulgences, or the forgiveness of sins. He followed up the revolutionary work with equally controversial and groundbreaking theological works, and his fiery words set off religious reformers all across Europe. In January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther. Three months later,...

Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31st or the last weekend in October in remembrance of the Reformation. Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices....

“Justification: It’s What Holds the Reformation Together” (Romans 3:19-28)Today is Reformation Day. It was on this day 493 years ago, on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, thus sparking the great Reformation of the Christian church. We are the heirs of that Reformation, blessed to be so, and so we join with Lutherans all around the globe today in celebrating that historic event and all the blessings of pure doctrine and sound practice that came from it. How do we celebrate the Reformation? By believing in and...

Truth is timeless! Neither God nor His Word are subject to change. “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89). “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Yet, we are being told today by preachers and politicians that we must change with the times and not be so unyielding in our positions regarding correct doctrine and morality. Such advice is a slippery slope to hell. In this critical hour, it is imperative that each Christian examines his or her heart in light of the Scriptures to determine exactly what God has spoken and...