Halloween vs the Reformation

I was pleasantly surprised when perusing Cameron Cloud's Blog Nephos today. I was introduced to Reformation Day.

Reformation Day commemorates a very important day which sparked very important events in Church History. Reformation Day commemorates the begining of The Reformation.

On October 31 (which is also Halloween), 1517 Martin Luther nailed a proposal on the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the Catholic doctrine and practice of indulgences. In Latin Catholic theology, an indulgence is the remission granted by the Church of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven by God. Luther's proposal is more popularly known as the 95 Theses.

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. The act of nailing a proposal to a public place, such as Luther did, was also common academic practice of the day and served as an invitation to debate. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran, Reformed and Anabaptist traditions were born.

While there were many issues and debates surrounding the Reformation, this day in 1517 and the posting of the 95 Thesis on the Church doors, is concidered the event which began the Protestant Reformation.

Alongside Martin Luther are many other great theologians who were precursors to or actively involved in the Reformation. These men include:

John Wycliffe (1330-1384) He attacked what he saw as corruptions within the church, including the sale of indulgences, pilgrimages, the excessive veneration of saints, and the low moral and intellectual standards of ordained priests.

Wycliffe also repudiated the doctrine of transubstantiation, held that the Bible was the sole standard of Christian doctrine, and argued that the authority of the Pope was not grounded in Scripture. Some of Wycliffe's early followers translated the Bible into English, while later followers, known as Lollards, held that the Bible was the sole authority and that Christians were called upon to interpret the Bible for themselves. The Lollards also argued against clerical celibacy, transubstantiation, mandatory oral confession, pilgrimages, and indulgences.

John Huss (1369-1415) A Bohemian priest, excommunicated in 1410, and burned at the stake for heresy in 1415. His death lead to the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. Huss followed Wycliffe's teachings closely, translating Wycliffe's Trialogus into Czechoslovakian, and modeling the first ten chapters of his own De Ecclesia after Wycliffe's writings. He believed in predestination, regarded the Bible as the ultimate religious authority, and argued that Christ, rather than any ecclesiastical official, is the true head of the church.

Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) A Swiss theologian and leader of early Reformation movements in Switzerland. Vigorously denounces the sale of indulgences in 1518.

John Calvin (1509-64) A French theologian and reformer who fled religious persecution in France and settled in Geneva in 1536. He instituted a form of Church government in Geneva which has become known as Presbyterian. He insisted on reforms including: the congregational singing of the Psalms as part of church worship, the teaching of a catechism and confession of faith to children, and the enforcement of a strict moral discipline in the community by the pastors and members of the church. Geneva was, under Calvin, essentially a theocracy. Calvin is most notably remembered for his part in officially establishing the Doctorines of Grace, also known as Calvinism.

John Knox (1513-1572) An ardent disciple of Calvin, Knox established Calvinistic Protestantism as the national religion of Scotland. He left a powerful political legacy within the Calvinist or Reformed branch of Protestantism, a political legacy known as Presbyterianism.

Henry VIII (1491-1547) - Although I would not call Henry VIII a great theologian, he did have a major role in the Reformation. After his excommunication by the Pope for marying Anne Boleyn in 1533, and having the archbishop of Canterbury sanction the divorce from his first wife, Catherine. In 1534, Henry had Parliament pass an act appointing the king and his successors supreme head of the Church of England, thus establishing an independent national Anglican church.
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Click here to read the 95 Thesis.