Kelsey D.M. Anderson

These are 3 things most Christians don’t know about Reformation Day. 1. It is possible October 31 wasn't a random date. Some historians think Luther chose October 31st to circulate his 95 Theses (and post them on the Castle Church doors according to tradition) because the following day, November 1, was All Saints’ Day. This was a major religious celebration when large crowds of pilgrims would gather at Wittenberg's Castle Church to venerate its collection of sacred relics. So here comes Luther… and in Thesis 36 he argues that every truly repentant Christian has a right to “full remission of penalty and guilt even without an indulgence letter.” In other words, Luther was challenging the indulgence system immediately before a major religious celebration involving indulgences at his own university's church. 2. Luther was not trying to create a new branch of Christianity. Luther was a devoted Catholic monk and professor of theology. When he published his 95 Theses in 1517, his goal wasn't to start a new church, but to reform the one he was already part of. As the controversy developed, Luther wanted ordinary Christians to read the Bible themselves and believed all church teachings and traditions should ultimately be evaluated against the authority of Scripture. By 1522, some of Luther's followers were already starting to call themselves “Lutherans” but he was against that. In his work “A Sincere Admonition to All Christians to Guard Against Insurrection and Rebellion” he wrote: "I ask that men make no reference to my name, and call themselves not Lutherans, but Christians." 3. The printing press was the “social media” of that time… and it changed everything. A lot of people imagine Martin Luther as a rebellious monk who nailed his 95 Theses to a church door so the whole world would hear his criticisms of the Church. Nope. Luther wrote the theses in Latin for academic debate. Most ordinary people couldn’t read Latin. The printing press had been developed in Europe only about 70 years earlier, and printers began reproducing and distributing Luther's writings. His 95 theses spread quickly beyond Wittenberg, and German translations helped make his arguments accessible to ordinary people. In other words, Luther’s work went “viral” before “viral” was a thing. And as Luther's writings continued to spread, more and more people were being exposed to statements like these... "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." (95 Theses, Thesis 1) "We do not become righteous by doing righteous deeds but, having been made righteous, we do righteous deeds." (Disputation Against Scholastic Theology, Thesis 40) "My conscience is captive to the Word of God." (Diet of Worms, 1521) And after that, the world would never be the same.