Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween--Er--I Mean, Happy Reformation Day!

494 years ago today, a monk named Martin Luther started a revolution. Historian Kirsten Birkett explains:
"On [31 October 1517], Luther nailed his famous [95] theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Such complaints were not unusual or particularly offensive, as they were used as a basis for debate, and Luther intended no more than that. He had not counted on the fact that his complaint actually went to the heart of the existence of the church at all.  
Though it wasn't Luther's intention, this became the traditional date that marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

For a good and readable account of the Reformation, see Kirsten Birkett's The Essence of the Reformation. http://www.matthiasmedia.com/the-essence-of-the-reformation

Also, watch this four minute clip from the excellent 2003 film "Luther." The film depicts the famous standoff at the Diet of Worms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5P7QkHCfaI

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