VIDEO: WHAT'S
THE BEST BOOK YOU'VE EVER READ ON THE REFORMATION?
AS WE APPROACH THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION IN 2017, I will be posting articles that help explain the massive tsunami of events of 1517 that shaped and reshaped the modern world spiritually, cultural and politically.
To wit, the art above, Breugel's
Peasant Wedding, is a
painting---one of my lifelong favorites---which captures the Protestant
Reformation emerging art tradition focusing on scenes of modern life
rather than the religious or classic themes of the Catholic Church which
many if not most reformers considered idolatrous.
Anyway, the following piece by
Tim Chester was linked at TGC is a great read:
The fourteenth century was a bad time for the papacy. For a period,
there were two rival popes and the papacy was under pressure from the
French monarchy. It wasn’t a good time for the city of Rome either—seven
successive popes abandoned Rome in favor of Avignon in France. Rome was
sidelined and Saint Peter’s Basilica fell into disrepair. The popes
returned to Rome in 1377 and then sorted out their divisions in 1417.
A hundred years on, things were looking up: in 1505, Pope Julius II
had decided to knock down the old St Peter’s and start again. He had big
plans for his own tomb and wanted a basilica to match. It was time to
make Rome magnificent once again. But that didn’t come cheap, so the
church embarked on a fundraising campaign. It was this campaign that
brought Johann Tetzel to Germany to sell indulgences, promises of time
off purgatory in exchange for cash. And so it was that on October 31,
1517, Martin Luther nailed his protest against indulgences to the door
of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
During Lent 1522, a group of students in Zurich held a sausage-themed
party. Traditionally only vegetables and fish were eaten during Lent.
But they wanted change and that meant hot dogs. The city council fined
the host of the party, albeit only a nominal amount. A few days later,
Huldrych Zwingli, the leader of the city’s church, produced a pamphlet
in support of the students. The Bible, he argued, didn’t have much to
say about sausages—there was certainly nothing about eating sausages
during Lent.
The Council convened a debate to decide whether Zwingli’s views
matched what was taught in the Bible. Zwingli won the day. But really,
he’d won before it started because the terms of the discussion assumed
the authority of Scripture. And that, rather than sausages, was the real
issue—though it’s reassuring to know that bacon sandwiches get the
thumbs up.
3. Luther’s marriage was a bit fishy.
Catholicism's focus was on becoming right with God through the
sacraments or monastic life, but the Reformers preached that being right
with God is a
gift. There’s no need to do works for God’s
benefit. It’s already a done deal—achieved by Christ and received by
faith. And that frees you up to serve your neighbour in love.
In 1523, a group of nuns contacted Luther. Convent life made no
sense, so the nuns wanted Luther to help them escape their cloistered
life. Luther enlisted a merchant who regularly delivered herring to the
convent. On April 5, the nuns escaped by hiding among the empty fish
barrels. Their families refused to take them back, perhaps because what
had just happened was still a crime under Church law. So Luther set
about marrying them off—no easy matter, perhaps, since they smelled of
fish!
Gradually, he found husbands for them all—all except one. No husband
could be found for the ringleader, Katharina von Bora. So, somewhat
against his wishes, Luther himself married her. He was forty-one and she
twenty-six. It turned out to be a good match.
4. There were 97 theses before there were 95 theses.
Luther’s famous ninety-five theses were not his first stab at
provoking a debate. A few weeks before, he’d posted ninety-seven theses.
They included an attack on the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who’d made
something of a comeback in the Medieval period. As it happens, no one
took much notice of Luther’s ninety-seven theses. Yet they were much
more central to the thought of the Reformation.
So, when Luther was summoned to account for his actions before his
Augustinian order, it was to the themes in the ninety-seven theses that
he returned. Aristotle said we become righteous by doing right acts—your
identity is the result of your actions. It’s something you
achieve. Luther said this gets things the wrong way around. In the gospel, our identity is a gift from God. It’s something you
receive.
And then our actions flow from our new identity. Unbelievers can be
constrained by laws and peer pressure, but a life of wholehearted
righteous living is only possible if God makes us new people.
In 1524, Desiderius Erasmus published an attack on Luther. Erasmus
was Europe’s leading celebrity academic. Erasmus thought people already
had enough power in themselves to do good. He defined free choice as "a
power of the human will by which a man can apply himself to the things
which lead to eternal salvation, or turn away from them." Luther
replied, "You do not realize how much you attribute to it by this
pronoun 'itself'—its very own self!—when you say it can 'apply itself';
for this means that you completely exclude the Holy Spirit with all his
power, as superfluous and unnecessary."
As far as Erasmus was concerned, we just need to try harder. But
Luther realized our problem was much more fundamental than that. Our
problem is not that we’re lazy or ignorant, but that we’re sinners deep
down to the very core of our being. So, if we’re ever going to please
God, we need a radical inner transformation. And that’s what the Holy
Spirit does.
There’s a version of the Reformation which says Catholics believed in
salvation by works and the Reformers believed in salvation by faith,
but it’s more subtle than that. In fact, Catholics talked a lot about
faith and grace. They would happily say we’re saved by grace. They would
happily say that righteousness comes by faith.
But grace for the Catholic Church is like a shot of adrenaline that
boosts your spiritual performance. And righteousness is a God-given
ability to live a righteous life—if you work at it at. Baptism gives you
a kick start and the mass gives you a boost along the way, but it’s up
to you to live a righteous life that will win God’s approval. So the net
result is grace plus works and faith plus works.
Just to be clear, the Council of Trent says, "If anyone says, that by
faith alone the ungodly are justified in such a way as to mean that
nothing else is required to co-operate in order to receive the grace of
Justification and that it is not necessary for a man to be prepared and
disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema." (Canon
IX)
The Council of Trent was the Catholic Church’s response to the
Reformation, a response it has never repudiated. The reason this
subtlety matters is that it brings the issues closer to home.
Evangelicals all know we begin the Christian life by faith. But we all
too easily slip into thinking we need to win God’s approval through our
activities. We become more Roman Catholic than we realize.
In his attack on Luther, Erasmus begins by talking about Scripture.
"I confess it is right," he says, "that the sole authority of Holy
Scripture should outweigh all the votes of all mortal men." So far so
good. But he continues, "The authority of the Scripture is not here in
dispute. . . . Our battle is about the meaning of Scripture." He goes on
to say we need the authority of the Church to determine the true
meaning of Scripture.
In other words, everyone agreed with the authority of Scripture. But
the Catholic Church placed Church tradition alongside Scripture and
claimed the exclusive right to interpret the Bible. The Reformers,
however, rejected the notion that the church establishes the
authenticity of the gospel. It’s the other way round: the gospel
establishes the authenticity of the church. They were happy to learn
from church tradition, but when push came to shove, Scripture alone is
our ultimate authority.
Again, this brings the issues closer to home. Today no evangelical
rejects the authority of Scripture. But all too often we place our
experience alongside Scripture or use experience to interpret
Scripture—rather than the other way round.
Earlier this year I stood in Piazza Martin Lutero in Rome. Yes,
they’ve named a square after Luther. In Rome. With the Pope’s blessing.
Proof surely that the Reformation is over? Sadly not. It’s true that the
rise of secularism means Protestants and Catholics often find
themselves standing together on issues of morality and religious
freedom. It’s also true that many Catholics and Protestants hold similar
theological views.
But that’s because many Catholics no longer follow the official
Catholic teaching and many Protestants have lost touch with their
Reformation roots. But the fault lines of the Reformation have not gone
away. "The Pope’s a Catholic" is the epitome of a non-news story. But,
despite the PR coming out of the Vatican, in a 1985 lecture, Pope
Francis claimed the Reformation underlies all the problems of Western
civilization, from secularism to totalitarianism. He labeled Luther and
Calvin "heretics." Lutheranism is "a good idea gone foolish" while the
"schismatic" Calvin tore apart humanity, society and the church.
The Reformation was always intended to be an ongoing project. One of its slogans was
semper reformanda.
It’s usually translated as "always reforming," but a better translation
is "always being reformed." The church is always being reformed
by God’s Word.
It doesn’t describe a movement forward to some uncharted horizon, but a
continual movement back to God’s Word. On justification, Scripture,
preaching, grace, the Holy Spirit, the sacraments, and everyday life,
evangelicals have important lessons to learn from the Reformation.
Why was the Reformation controversial in the sixteenth century? Why
does it remain controversial today? The answer, I believe, is that the
Reformation (or rather the biblical gospel it rediscovered) makes us
small and Christ big. At the heart of the Reformation was the
realization that:
- We are more helpless than we realize.
- Christ is more sufficient than we realize.
- God is more gracious than we realize.
This is what’s meant by
soli Deo gloria, "to the glory of
God alone." There’s no room in Reformation theology for human boasting.
No one can claim their salvation or their knowledge of God is down to
their intellect, morality, or religion. It’s all of God from start and
finish. That’s our great hope and confidence. Our salvation is founded
on the certain promises of God and the finished work of Christ. And if
it’s all of God from start to finish, then the glory goes to him alone.
Tim Chester (PhD, University of Wales) is a pastor
of Grace Church, Boroughbridge, and curriculum director of the Acts
29-Oak Hill Academy, which provides integrated theological and missional
training for church leaders. He is the coauthor of
Total Church and is the author of over thirty books, including
You Can Change,
A Meal with Jesus, and
Good News to the Poor.
reshaped the modern world spiritually, culturally and politically.
To wit, the art above, Breugel's
Peasant Wedding, is a painting---one of my lifelong favorites---which captures the Protestant Reformation emerging art tradition focusing on scenes of modern life rather than the religious or classic themes of the Catholic Church which many if not most reformers considered idolatrous.
Anyway, the following piece by Tim Chester was posted at TGC:
Bruegael's Peasant Wedding
is a painting that captures the Protestant Reformation artistic
tradition: focusing on scenes from modern life rather than religious or
classical themes
Source: Boundless. “Impact of the Protestant Reformation.” Boundless Art History. Boundless, 26 Sep. 2016. Retrieved 30 Oct. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-textbook/the-northern-renaissance-22/the-northern-renaissance-143/impact-of-the-protestant-reformation-625-5818/
Bruegael's Peasant Wedding
is a painting that captures the Protestant Reformation artistic
tradition: focusing on scenes from modern life rather than religious or
classical themes
Source: Boundless. “Impact of the Protestant Reformation.” Boundless Art History. Boundless, 26 Sep. 2016. Retrieved 30 Oct. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/art-history/textbooks/boundless-art-history-textbook/the-northern-renaissance-22/the-northern-renaissance-143/impact-of-the-protestant-reformation-625-5818/
IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, IT'S THE MOST INTENSE TIME OF THE YEAR, when emotions are exaggerated: sex and sexual attraction the most intense, marriage issues the most stressed, job dissatisfaction at yearly highs, yearnings for things and finances to be more, better and different are all at their peak.
MELANIA TRUMP MAKES THE UNTHINKABLE PANTS/JUMPSUIT A THING OF DAZZLING GLAMOUR WHICH DOUBLES AS EVENING WEAR as she joins her husband, Donald, as he makes his POTUS acceptance speech. It's a $4,000 Ralph Lauren white silk crepe---with one shoulder exposed, the other beautifully draped----which succeeds in asserting her movie-star, impeccable style. Melania's predecessor, Michelle Obama, also has a dazzling fashion flair and a hard act to follow. But Melania is more than up to the task.
LEAVES ARE ONLY STARTING TO CHANGE HERE IN D.C. But it's cool and crisp and everywhere I look there's gridlock.
