Reformation 1

Reformation





1327 words
It truly seems to me that if this fury of the Romanists should continue, there is no remedy except that the emperor, kings, and princes, girded with force and arms, should resolve to attack this plague of all the earth no longer with words but with the sword. . . . If we punish thieves with the gallows, robbers with the sword, and heretics with fire, why do we not all the more fling ourselves with all our weapons upon these masters of perdition, these cardinals, these popes, and all this sink of Roman sodomy that ceaselessly corrupts the church of God and wash our hands in their blood so that we may free ourselves and all who belong to us from this most dangerous fire? (Martin Luther, 1521; Kreis 2002, 2009)
The plague (1348) unleashed a rampage of death across Europe unprecedented in recorded history.   Three years later nearly half of Europe's population roughly 25 million people were victimized (EyeWitness to History).   Out of the ashes of the plague came the Renaissance, a renewal of art, religion, and culture.   At the height of the Renaissance on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther challenged the Roman Catholic Church when he nailed his 95 Thesis to the Castle Church at Wittenburg.
Preceding Luther's 95 Thesis was a letter that he sent to the Archbishop of Mainz in 1517 begging him to cease the sale of indulgences (Kreis 2002, 2009).   Luther argued that paying the church money for the forgiveness of sins was amoral.   He fervently believed that forgiveness could only be granted through grace.   His basis for this is Romans 1:17, "for the injustice of God is revealed from faith to faith in that it is written for the just shall live by faith.   To summarize, Luther based his movement on that the only way to obtain the forgiveness of sins was through the belief of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that by His grace all sins are forgiven.
Martin Luther's timing was impeccable. All Saints Day was crowded...