Some More Facts about the Reformation October 19, 2016
* Before I close the series of blogs on the Reformation I want to share a few interesting facts about that special time in history:
A. A new technological invention fanned the flame of the Reformation and the religious change during the Protestant Reformation. What was it? The Movable Type Printing Press. The movable type printing press was invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. Before the invention of the movable type printing press, printing was a tedious job, and as a result, literature was not very accessible to the public. Blocks were carved out of wood, and then discarded. When J. Guttenberg created the technique that allowed setting individual letters together to print a page things changed dramatically. Printing books and pamphlets became easier and less expensive. Because of this invention, people could more readily afford to buy books. The first book to be printed from the movable type was the Bible. Luther & his supporters published countless books, flyers and pamphlets.
B. Martin Luther’s Salary – Even though he was a professor and pastor, his income was needed to be supplemented. His expenses were always high. Always having students at his house, Catharine von Bora had a hard time administering the finances of the family. But the income of the Luther family was supplemented by Frederick the Wise – Luther’s protector – Frederick had extra income from the over 16,000 relics which tourist came to see. Most of these relics were fake and superstitious articles and tourist paid to see them. You see… tourist traps existed already back then…
C. Luther’s Protector - Frederick was raised up by God to protect him, without him Luther would have been destroyed by the church and pope early on. Frederick the Wise was just far enough from Rome, strong enough, and smart enough to keep Luther alive. It was actually under Frederick’s order that M. Luther was “kidnapped” and taken to his castle where he translated the Bible.
D. Why did Luther post the 95 Theses on All Saint’s Day? Well, The church had replaced pagan Halloween with All Saints' Day, which was a huge time for people to come and venerate the saints and the collection of relics. The manner in which All Saint’s Day was celebrated was not in harmony with the Bible at the time of Reformation… (The first person to give us a short explanation why, will receive a small prize… winner to be announced next week.) But… anticipation of the huge crowd may be why Luther posted when he did.
E. Reformation and Discoveries of New Land - Columbus discovered America only 9 years after Luther's birth. Maybe God prepared America at this time for refugees of the religious persecution coming from the backlash against the Reformation…
F. Who is known as the "Morning Star of the Reformation"? John Wycliffe. Because he lived before the Reformation began, John Wycliffe is called the "Morning Star of the Reformation". Born around 1329 and educated at Oxford University, Wycliffe was an outstanding scholar who could not accept the doctrines of the Roman church. He became the first man to translate the entire Bible into English. Wycliffe was harassed by priests, monks, and friars, and his books were banned in England. Although he died in 1384, the Roman church condemned his beliefs and at the Council of Constance in 1415 ordered his writings be burned. Finally, in 1428 the pope ordered that Wycliffe's remains be dug up and burned. Today we still have the Wycliffe Bible Translators. They have translated the Bible in many languages.
G. John Huss… was a reformer from Bohemia who was condemned along with Wycliffe’s writings at the Council of Constance. He was born around 1374 to a poor family. Encouraged by his mother to get an education, he studied theology and philosophy at the University of Prague. Huss became a great preacher causing a movement for reformed Christianity to break out in Bohemia. Alarmed at the growth of support Huss was getting, the Roman church persuaded Huss to go to the Council of Constance in order to explain and defend his beliefs. Repeating his idea that the pope can make mistakes, he refused to recant his belief that the church meant all believers, not just popes and priests. (Martin Luther did not recant his beliefs either… “I can no other!”) Even though Huss had gone to Constance with a safe-conduct guarantee, he was condemned by the Council and burned at the stake in 1415. His last words were, "Lord, unto Thy hand I commend my spirit". During his life he preached basically the same message as Luther but 100 years earlier in Prague. He is considered the national hero of the Czech Republic. His huge statue is in the center of Prague.
H. Where did the Reformation take hold? The Reformation only succeeded in countries which were never controlled by the Roman empire. Ex-Roman countries stayed with Catholicism, which was also tied in with a political commitment to Rome. A century after the Reformation and continuing to today, the Lutheran Protestant Reformation countries became more prosperous and prominent than the Catholic countries, due to the teachings of the Reformation.
* Well, before I leave you today, I want to encourage you with the word of the apostle Paul: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13. Don’t ever be fooled by ideas, philosophies, or principles for life that do not match what God tells us in Scripture. God bless us all.
Rev. Don Sonntag
* Before I close the series of blogs on the Reformation I want to share a few interesting facts about that special time in history:
A. A new technological invention fanned the flame of the Reformation and the religious change during the Protestant Reformation. What was it? The Movable Type Printing Press. The movable type printing press was invented around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg. Before the invention of the movable type printing press, printing was a tedious job, and as a result, literature was not very accessible to the public. Blocks were carved out of wood, and then discarded. When J. Guttenberg created the technique that allowed setting individual letters together to print a page things changed dramatically. Printing books and pamphlets became easier and less expensive. Because of this invention, people could more readily afford to buy books. The first book to be printed from the movable type was the Bible. Luther & his supporters published countless books, flyers and pamphlets.
B. Martin Luther’s Salary – Even though he was a professor and pastor, his income was needed to be supplemented. His expenses were always high. Always having students at his house, Catharine von Bora had a hard time administering the finances of the family. But the income of the Luther family was supplemented by Frederick the Wise – Luther’s protector – Frederick had extra income from the over 16,000 relics which tourist came to see. Most of these relics were fake and superstitious articles and tourist paid to see them. You see… tourist traps existed already back then…
C. Luther’s Protector - Frederick was raised up by God to protect him, without him Luther would have been destroyed by the church and pope early on. Frederick the Wise was just far enough from Rome, strong enough, and smart enough to keep Luther alive. It was actually under Frederick’s order that M. Luther was “kidnapped” and taken to his castle where he translated the Bible.
D. Why did Luther post the 95 Theses on All Saint’s Day? Well, The church had replaced pagan Halloween with All Saints' Day, which was a huge time for people to come and venerate the saints and the collection of relics. The manner in which All Saint’s Day was celebrated was not in harmony with the Bible at the time of Reformation… (The first person to give us a short explanation why, will receive a small prize… winner to be announced next week.) But… anticipation of the huge crowd may be why Luther posted when he did.
E. Reformation and Discoveries of New Land - Columbus discovered America only 9 years after Luther's birth. Maybe God prepared America at this time for refugees of the religious persecution coming from the backlash against the Reformation…
F. Who is known as the "Morning Star of the Reformation"? John Wycliffe. Because he lived before the Reformation began, John Wycliffe is called the "Morning Star of the Reformation". Born around 1329 and educated at Oxford University, Wycliffe was an outstanding scholar who could not accept the doctrines of the Roman church. He became the first man to translate the entire Bible into English. Wycliffe was harassed by priests, monks, and friars, and his books were banned in England. Although he died in 1384, the Roman church condemned his beliefs and at the Council of Constance in 1415 ordered his writings be burned. Finally, in 1428 the pope ordered that Wycliffe's remains be dug up and burned. Today we still have the Wycliffe Bible Translators. They have translated the Bible in many languages.
G. John Huss… was a reformer from Bohemia who was condemned along with Wycliffe’s writings at the Council of Constance. He was born around 1374 to a poor family. Encouraged by his mother to get an education, he studied theology and philosophy at the University of Prague. Huss became a great preacher causing a movement for reformed Christianity to break out in Bohemia. Alarmed at the growth of support Huss was getting, the Roman church persuaded Huss to go to the Council of Constance in order to explain and defend his beliefs. Repeating his idea that the pope can make mistakes, he refused to recant his belief that the church meant all believers, not just popes and priests. (Martin Luther did not recant his beliefs either… “I can no other!”) Even though Huss had gone to Constance with a safe-conduct guarantee, he was condemned by the Council and burned at the stake in 1415. His last words were, "Lord, unto Thy hand I commend my spirit". During his life he preached basically the same message as Luther but 100 years earlier in Prague. He is considered the national hero of the Czech Republic. His huge statue is in the center of Prague.
H. Where did the Reformation take hold? The Reformation only succeeded in countries which were never controlled by the Roman empire. Ex-Roman countries stayed with Catholicism, which was also tied in with a political commitment to Rome. A century after the Reformation and continuing to today, the Lutheran Protestant Reformation countries became more prosperous and prominent than the Catholic countries, due to the teachings of the Reformation.
* Well, before I leave you today, I want to encourage you with the word of the apostle Paul: “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13. Don’t ever be fooled by ideas, philosophies, or principles for life that do not match what God tells us in Scripture. God bless us all.
Rev. Don Sonntag