Most people who are celebrating the last day of October are doing it because it's Halloween.
I prefer to celebrate for a reason which has much more eternal value. October 31st, 1517 is the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This was one of the first acts in the Protestant Reformation.
What would our lives be like if not for God's move in the hearts of certain men 500 years ago? We should thank the Lord for raising up the Reformers. Some we should be thankful for include:
Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic monk, defied the church by rejecting the practice of indulgences. His 95 theses was just one of the first reforms he tried to put in place. Luther was a key figure in pointing to scripture as our primary source of authority. He proclaimed that salvation comes through the grace of God alone. He rejected most Catholic sacraments. Luther wrote many important documents including the On the Bondage of the Will. He also translated the bible into German.
John Calvin, the French Reformer, was the greatest theologian of the 1500's. Calvin wrote volumes on almost every book of the bible. His Institutes of the Christian Religion formed the first Protestant systematic theology. This work has great impact on the way we view theology even today.
William Tyndale, an Englishman, was a key figure for those of us who speak English. Tyndale was the first man to translate and then print the New Testament in the English language. His version had a great impact on the KJV. For his work, Tyndale was "rewarded" by being strangled and then burned at the stake.
Although the above three men stand out to me, there were certainly many others who at least deserve mention: John Wycliffe, John Huss, Ulrich Zwingli, Balthasar Hubmaier, Menno Simons, and John Knox.
We owe God great thanks for turning us back to His Word, at least in part, through the Reformers.
8 comments:
I wholeheartedly agree but am not sure of the candy ramifications for reformation day vs. halloween. That might be a better post for TomintheBox though...
Ed,
I never want to be accused of being legalistic when it comes to candy. Chocolate is OK by me!
What if you dressed up as one of the reformers for Halloween? Does that count?
Leah,
I remember one time when Mael dressed up as Martin Luther. He even shaved part of his head to look authentic. Now that was cool.
It must not have taken him much time to shave his head. More like get the tweezers out
Ed,
He grew more up there than I ever thought he could. Then he shaved his bald spot and the back of his neck. He even got a brown robe. It was the real deal.
Eric,
Your post was a breath of fresh air, especially as I read it after posting on Alan Knox's site.
How can a celebration of such an amazing event,be overshadowed, by what is at best, a self indulgent fun-fest?
Our children will never know the importance of the Reformation if we don't teach it, and celebrate auspicious events such as you have described.
John,
Thanks for the kind words. It really is amazing how evangelical churches do not teach much at all about the Reformation. We (my wife and I) are certainly teaching our 3 children about it.
I imagine that in the USA tonight many, many more churches will celebrate some kind of Halloween-ish fastival than will even mention the Reformation.
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