This year, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, I’ve decided to do another round of “Reformation Day Ironies.” This year’s theme is “Luther against the Reformation,” looking at the various ways that Martin Luther spoke against the Reformation he helped to spark, including what he had to say on the papacy, teaching authority, and schism.
Tag: Lutheranism
Faith Alone v. Forgiving Trespasses: How the Lord’s Prayer Contradicts the Reformation
Lines from the Lord’s Prayer, in various languages.From the Eucharist Door at the Glory Facade of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain. It’s Lent in Rome. That means it’s time for one of the great Roman traditions: station churches. Each morning, English-speaking pilgrims walk to a different church for Mass. This morning, on the way to… Continue reading Faith Alone v. Forgiving Trespasses: How the Lord’s Prayer Contradicts the Reformation
Reason #8 to Reject the Reformation: Heterodoxy
While not all of the causes of the Protestant Reformation were theological, some of them undoubtedly were. So St. Edmund Campion, in the eighth of his Ten Reasons against the Reformation, addressed some of these. Specifically, he considers certain “impossible positions” that the Reformers held “on God, on Christ, on Man, on Sin, on Justice, on Sacraments, [and] on… Continue reading Reason #8 to Reject the Reformation: Heterodoxy
Reason #1 to Reject the Reformation: The Canon of Scripture
St. Edmund Campion, S.J. Today is the feast day of one of my favorite Saints, St. Edmund Campion (1540-1581). As an Anglican, he was one of Oxford University’s brightest students, personally welcoming Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the University. He went on to become an Anglican deacon, but his seminary formation exposed him to… Continue reading Reason #1 to Reject the Reformation: The Canon of Scripture
The Dark Side of Martin Luther
Yesterday was Martin Luther’s 531st birthday, and today is the Feast Day of St. Martin. It seems like a fitting time to give an honest assessment of some of the darker parts of Luther’s legacy, and consider their implications. There’s a popular Luther narrative that plays out a little like Star Wars. A humble son… Continue reading The Dark Side of Martin Luther
Can All Christians Agree to a “Mere Christianity”?
Martin Luther, illustration from Die Gartenlaube (1883) Martin Luther and many of the original Protestant Reformers believed that “the all-clear Scriptures of God” were so clear that “if many things still remain abstruse to many, this does not arise from obscurity in the Scriptures, but from their own blindness or want of understanding, who do not… Continue reading Can All Christians Agree to a “Mere Christianity”?
Did Luther Want to Start His Own Church?
Front page of Exsurge Domine,Pope Leo X’s bull calling Martin Luther to repent In a piece arguing that God is the Author of schism (contrast with Galatians 5:19-20, which condemns schismatics) the Orthodox Presbyterian Church elder Brad Winsted recites the now-standard Protestant claim that Luther didn’t really want to start his own church: One of the obvious… Continue reading Did Luther Want to Start His Own Church?
Two More “Reformation Day” Ironies
In addition to being Halloween, October 31st is “Reformation Day,” celebrating Martin Luther’s defiant act of nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on this day in 1517 (more on this soon). For the last two years, I’ve used the day to point out the unintentional ironies of Reformation… Continue reading Two More “Reformation Day” Ironies
A Fascinating Concession By Albert Mohler
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is apparently startled by how much Evangelicals like Pope Francis, and is trying to scare them away from him by reminding them that we disagree whether justification is by faith, or by faith alone: Mohler noted that Pope Benedict XVI famously affirmed the doctrine of justification by… Continue reading A Fascinating Concession By Albert Mohler
Two More Reformation Day Ironies
Last year, I compiled a list of three Reformation Day ironies. In a nutshell, they were that Reformation: (1) is celebrated by making graven images of Reformers who hated images;(2) is intended to Christianize a “pagan” holiday, yet is celebrated by many of the same Evangelicals who refuse to celebrate Christmas for fear that it’s… Continue reading Two More Reformation Day Ironies