All posts tagged: Reformation

In celebration of the church’s 3 main holidays, Christmas, Easter/Passover and Oct 31?

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Christians all over the world would probably agree that the celebration of Christ’s birth and His death and Resurrection are the two most important days in the church’s calendar. But allow me to now add a third day, Oct. 31. No, I am not referring to Halloween or even All Saints’ Day. Halloween, birthed in pagan fears, has to be the worst thing for believers to celebrate. Overindulging in sugar and wearing silly outfits often glorifying evil is strange because evil does exist. Years ago when I did security for a large corporate hotel, Halloween was the worst day of the year for the drunks, fights and all-around mayhem. Yet, we, the church, already have this date, Oct. 31, to celebrate. It is the most significant date in church history since the Book of Revelation was written. The problem is that we collectively have all but forgotten what we have and where we came from. Most Christian historians and theologians agree that the Protestant Reformation started on Oct. 31 in 1517. On that auspicious day, …

Roman Catholic officials confronted Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms to force him to recant of his heresies Painting by Anton Werner (1843-1915)/Wikipedia

Martin Luther not only believed in salvation by faith but also divine healing

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When Martin Luther pounded his 95 theses on the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517, he was trying to reform the corrupt Roman Catholic church. The impotence for this decision 500 years ago was the arrival of Johann Tetzel who was selling indulgences on behalf of the Pope who was raising money to renovate St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. The purchase allowed people to buy their way into heaven. They could even buy it for a deceased friend or relative. Tetzel said, “Once the coin into the coffer clings, a soul from purgatory springs.” In his 95 theses. Luther wrote that the Bible, not the Pope or traditions of the church, was the final authority for the believer. It stated that a person could not buy his way into heaven, salvation was based on faith alone. Luther who had his doctorate in theology and was teaching a the University of Wittenberg was struck by a passage in Romans that righteousness could only come through faith, not money: 17 For …