While the world around us is busy today with Halloween festivities, followers of Jesus have something far more significant to celebrate! On October 31, 1517, a German Catholic monk named Martin Luther protested against the tactics employed by Pope Leo X in raising funds to pay for the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Frustrated by huge debt, Leo was unsuccessful in obtaining necessary funding from the Venetian bankers upon whom the Church had come to rely. He therefore seized upon the idea of raising the money from the faithful of the Church, by guaranteeing that their payments to Rome would effectively purchase an early transport from Purgatory to Heaven for deceased relatives. The basis for this was the authority believed to be inherent in the Pope's position as successor to Peter, to whom Christ had given "the keys to the kingdom."
Luther objected to this, finding no scriptural grounds for the practice, nor any justification in the annals of Church tradition. He formulated his objections in 95 statements, now known as his 95 Theses, which he posted on the town bulletin board, which happened to be the castle church door in his town of Wittenberg, Germany. Students of Luther subsequently used modern technology - the printing press - to reproduce Martin's objections, and then spread them throughout Germany. Popular response was strong, creating the beginning of an uprising now known as the Protestant Reformation.
Over the ensuing decades, Luther's initiative resulted in significant reforms within and outside of the Roman Catholic Church, most particularly the placing of the Word of God into the hands of the laity in their own language. You and I - and all of Christendom - benefit today from this wonderful gift!
SO, as you read your Bible this week, you might say a prayer of thanks for a humble German monk who insisted that the Church both adhere to and unleash the Word of God. In a very real sense, Luther's efforts led to you having the Bible in your hands, and as a result, in your heart.
Happy Reformation Day! You can read Luther's 95 Theses here:
Sola biblica,
Larry
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