John Calvin and Martin Luther come to mind for many Presbyterians as heroes of the Reformation. But women also played significant roles, and thanks to a new six-part series from Theocademy, their stories have become more accessible.
Built into the old city walls of Geneva, Switzerland, is a monument where the key players of a movement that challenged and changed the religious landscape of the 16th century — and centuries to come — stand larger than life.
Many of us have heard that the United States’ form of government was influenced by the practices and beliefs of Presbyterians who crossed the ocean to find religious freedom. Even today, our local municipal meetings and sessions of Congress mirror what takes place in church meeting rooms as elected ruling elders lead each congregation. However, we may not always know how traditional Reformed theology has influenced the beliefs that are the bedrock of the Constitution.
It was so loud.
Sometime in the midst of shouting to a volunteer about what was next, I realized, it’s so loud.
The music was blasting from speakers that hadn’t been used for some time. The projector was purring with images of life. The kitchen was clanging with volunteers trying to get food to the table. Children were squealing as they ran around balloons and new friends. And the adults were laughing, and laughing, and laughing.
October 31, 2017, marks 500 years since Martin Luther published his 95 theses disputing the practice of selling indulgences as a substitute for true repentance.
As Presbyterians prepare to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this Sunday two prominent Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) theologians say it is an opportunity for the church to reconsider history — and how it tells the story of the past 500 years.
As the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is celebrated later this month, that seems to be the case. Just as printing presses rushed to distribute copies of the 95 Theses that Luther reportedly nailed to a church door on Oct. 31, 1517, publishers have released a number of books in the past year on Luther, his fellow Reformers and the lasting impact of his action, which ultimately led to the schism in Christianity between Catholics and Protestants.
In late October 1517, an obscure Augustinian monk teaching in a minor German university offered a set of propositions, inviting an academic debate. Many Presbyterians can picture Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, but we are hard-pressed to say what the theses were about, and why they sparked a movement that both reformed and divided the church.
