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Okla-homey
10/31/2007, 07:09 AM
Oct 31, 1517: Martin Luther posts 95 theses

http://aycu23.webshots.com/image/33622/2003589909870795855_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003589909870795855)

490 years ago on this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation.

In his theses, Luther condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the papal practice of asking payment--called "indulgences"--for the forgiveness of sins. At the time, a Dominican priest named Johann Tetzel, commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X, was in the midst of a major fundraising campaign in Germany to finance the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/32596/2003512428326570853_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003512428326570853)
Fr. Johann Tetzel..."step right up ladies and gentlemen and buy your ticket to Heaven!"

Tetzel was a born salesman. He set up his table in the Mainz town square, had lovely banners all around, and even distributed announcements complete with a little jingle to make it memorable:


"Another penny in the coffer rings, another soul to Heaven springs." -- Fr. Johann Tetzel

In theory, the person purchasing the indulgence was to repent his or her sins prior to the purchase, so that it was clear that God was doing the forgiving of the sin while the Church was merely remitting the punishment that went with it. But Tetzel did not demand repentance. You paid your money and you got your indulgence and good day to you.

http://aycu16.webshots.com/image/29375/2003544864382959237_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003544864382959237)
Copy of an authentic indulgence. Papal seal plus Fr. Tetzel's signature made it bona fide

In short, purchase of one these "sin tickets" meant you could do a sinful thing, and the Church officially waived any requirement for confession or penance. IOW, you got a "free pass." The indulgences were sold with varying levels of sin remission. One could even purchase a special indulgence which covered all sins the rest the puchaser's life which guarenteed entrance to Heaven on death. These cost more and only the wealthy could afford these.

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Pope Leo X presided over the scheme. Hey, the guy was just trying to renovate the Vatican and indulgences were easier to sell than baked goods or magazine subscriptions.;)

Since proceeds went to the Vatican to rebuild St. Peter's, the magnificent edifice that forms the centerpiece of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, was indirectly responsible for the church split.

Though Prince Frederick III the Wise had banned the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, many church members traveled to Mainz to purchase them because they were so popular.

http://aycu20.webshots.com/image/32819/2003588202574071096_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003588202574071096)
Prince Frederick III the Wise...no indulgences in my town!

When they returned from Mainz, people who traveled to purchase the indulgences showed the sin tickets they had bought to Luther, claiming they no longer had to repent for their sins. Your correspondent has no idea if they added a "nanner, nanner, poo-poo" when they flashed their indulgences to the very disgusted Martin Luther.

Luther's frustration with this practice led him to write the 95 Theses, which were quickly snapped up, translated from Latin into German and distributed widely. A copy made its way to Rome, and efforts began to convince Luther to change his tune.

He refused to keep silent, however, and in 1521 Pope Leo X formally excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. That same year, Luther again refused to recant his writings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany.

http://aycu06.webshots.com/image/31285/2003517550261592801_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003517550261592801)
Luther testifying at his hearing at Worms, presided over by cardinals and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Here, Luther is depicted at the moment he refused to recant his 95 Theses and declared to the court salvation was not for sale.

Charles V didn't buy it and at the close of the hearings, issued the famous Edict of Worms declaring Luther an outlaw and a heretic and giving permission for anyone to kill him without consequence. In many ways, it was similar to a modern "fatwa" issued by a mullah marking a person for death. Protected by Prince Frederick, Luther began working on a German translation of the Bible, a task that took 10 years to complete.

http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/31793/2003529876738558466_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003529876738558466)
Luther burning the Edict which declared him a dead man walking.

http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/31840/2003581665030068096_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003581665030068096)
Luther working on his translation of the Bible. That German language Bible was later printed by a German printer named Gutenburg. Many scholars believe giving folks a copy of the Bible, published in their native language actually fueled the Reformation because when people can read the scriptures themselves, they are less inclined to blindly accept what is preached in church as the authoritative word.

The term "Protestant" first appeared in 1529, when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V revoked a provision that allowed the ruler of each German state to choose whether they would enforce the Edict of Worms. A number of princes and other supporters of Luther issued a protest, declaring that their allegiance to God trumped their allegiance to the emperor. This edict also led to the Thirty Years War you may recall reading about in an earlier Good Morning posting this month.

http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/30196/2001671864235423114_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001671864235423114)
Luther painted in life in 1533, sixteen years after he rocked the world.

They became known to their opponents as Protestants; gradually this name came to apply to all who believed the Church should be reformed, even those outside Germany. By the time Luther died, of natural causes, in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.

http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/31204/2003582567266086905_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2003582567266086905)

swardboy
10/31/2007, 08:00 AM
Thanks Homey!

Unfortunately the pendulum usually swings too far, and the rise of Calvinism under John Calvin was one result of Luther's brave efforts. In its extremity, Calvinism takes free will totally out of the equation regarding salvation.

soonerinabilene
10/31/2007, 08:13 AM
I was explaining this to a friend of mine that didnt understand how the church split. As I explained the nailing of the theses to the door, she got this horrified look on her face. I asked what was wrong, and she said, dead serious, How do you nail feces to a door?

TUSooner
10/31/2007, 09:38 AM
Sehr gut, Homey!

Widescreen
10/31/2007, 10:09 AM
The movie Luther which is represented in Homey's 1st picture is actually pretty good. I'm not sure how historically accurate it is but I'm sure all the main points are there. I recommend it. The Roman Church was astonishingly corrupt at that time and the indulgences were simply a leading indicator.

Okla-homey
10/31/2007, 10:49 AM
indulgences/sin tickets = carbon credits.:D

LoyalFan
11/1/2007, 07:52 PM
Old Martin Luther...He had a dream! (and it didn't involve welfare, reverse discrimination, dropouts, and illegimate children...nor bad taste in clothing, kid's names loaded with apostrophes, or a victim mentality fostered and nurtured by "Reverends".)

LF

And...he composed THIS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiRpUtVByxU

royalfan5
11/1/2007, 08:12 PM
Last Sunday was fun, being rRformation Sunday and all. We got to break out this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Mighty_Fortress_is_Our_God, and the red vestments. Nothing like a Lutheran pep rally.

badger
11/1/2007, 08:40 PM
I'm Lutheran.

I do not believe Luther ever had any intention of starting a religion or a religious following. Rather, he wanted to change the ways of the church he was already part of - the Catholic church.

Luther was excommunicated and as he was no longer a Catholic priest, he got married and said it was one of the most fulfilling parts of his life. He was German himself, so he had a largely German audience to share his Reformation ideas about. Thus, many German-American areas of the country - like Wisconsin and even those lakers in Minnesota - are largely Lutheran.

Lutherans celebrate this Reformation as well as other major church holidays. However, as our "founder" was Catholic, we share many of the same beliefs and traditions. My home church back in Wisconsin would have community services with all local congregations together for mass, especially.

While the pope excommunicated Luther, there seems to be no hard feelings between the two denominations. I found it ironic when Pope John Paul II said that through faith alone we reach salvation - the very thought that got Luther excommunicated many years ago by JP2's predecessor.

royalfan5
11/1/2007, 09:21 PM
I'm Lutheran.

I do not believe Luther ever had any intention of starting a religion or a religious following. Rather, he wanted to change the ways of the church he was already part of - the Catholic church.

Luther was excommunicated and as he was no longer a Catholic priest, he got married and said it was one of the most fulfilling parts of his life. He was German himself, so he had a largely German audience to share his Reformation ideas about. Thus, many German-American areas of the country - like Wisconsin and even those lakers in Minnesota - are largely Lutheran.

Lutherans celebrate this Reformation as well as other major church holidays. However, as our "founder" was Catholic, we share many of the same beliefs and traditions. My home church back in Wisconsin would have community services with all local congregations together for mass, especially.

While the pope excommunicated Luther, there seems to be no hard feelings between the two denominations. I found it ironic when Pope John Paul II said that through faith alone we reach salvation - the very thought that got Luther excommunicated many years ago by JP2's predecessor.
Wow, we're almost up to 5 Lutherans on the board.

GottaHavePride
11/1/2007, 10:18 PM
If that last painting is accurate... Martin Luther = Kelsey Grammer.

47straight
11/4/2007, 04:04 PM
While the pope excommunicated Luther, there seems to be no hard feelings between the two denominations. I found it ironic when Pope John Paul II said that through faith alone we reach salvation - the very thought that got Luther excommunicated many years ago by JP2's predecessor.


You obviously haven't seen the nebraska lutheran's attempts in the SO to dogpile almost any catholic thread into a lutheran tent revival. And I'd say your summation of JP's statement and the reason for luther's excommunication to be very, well, lutheran-centric. ;)

The differences might seem small until you get two very devout members from each trying to make a relationship work. I might have been married by now otherwise.

royalfan5
11/4/2007, 04:12 PM
You obviously haven't seen the nebraska lutheran's attempts in the SO to dogpile almost any catholic thread into a lutheran tent revival. And I'd say your summation of JP's statement and the reason for luther's excommunication to be very, well, lutheran-centric. ;)

The differences might seem small until you get two very devout members from each trying to make a relationship work. I might have been married by now otherwise.
You make it sound like it's somehow my fault the Catholics are wrong about a lot of things.:texan:

Okla-homey
11/4/2007, 07:49 PM
You make it sound like it's somehow my fault the Catholics are wrong about a lot of things.:texan:

Perhaps you should just agree to disagree on some stuff. That's how I manage to get along with my Catholic kin. Heck, I even stood as godfather at of my little papist nephews' baptisms. As such, I promised to raise him Catholic if his parents (my bro. and s-i-l) croak while he's little. I meant it too.

That said, I ackowledge its harder inside a marriage to be unequally yoked. Too bad its intellectually dishonest to convert to Catholicism while reserving some Protestant positions on a few issues.

royalfan5
11/4/2007, 07:52 PM
Perhaps you should just agree to disagree on some stuff. That's how I manage to get along with my Catholic kin. Heck, I even stood as godfather at of my little papist nephews' baptisms. As such, I promised to raise him Catholic if his parents (my bro. and s-i-l) croak while he's little. I meant it too.

That said, I ackowledge its harder inside a marriage to be unequally yoked. Too bad its intellectually dishonest to convert to Catholicism while reserving some Protestant positions on a few issues.
If I can't make fun of Catholics, what fun is there in being Lutheran? Besides the obvious things of course.

Frozen Sooner
11/4/2007, 09:43 PM
Wow, we're almost up to 5 Lutherans on the board.

If it helps, I was baptised Lutheran.

critical_phil
11/4/2007, 09:56 PM
there's a bunch of Lutherans just east of edmond.

they don't particularly strike me as a religious bunch, with all the meth and trailer houses and what not.

royalfan5
11/4/2007, 10:07 PM
If it helps, I was baptised Lutheran.
I'll call it 4.5 then.

Okla-homey
11/5/2007, 06:10 AM
If it helps, I was baptised Lutheran.

Most of my relatives on my pop's side are Lutheran. He converted from Lutheranism to the "One True Faith" (Southern Baptist) ;) when he met this Ardmore chick in the 1950's and they got married.

You may not be aware of this, but the midlands of South Carolina (from which pop hails) have an extremely high concentration of Lutherans. Initial settlement of the area was largely between 1730 and 1766 when the colonial South Carolina government offered incentives for foreign Protestants to settle what was then the backcountry. Newberry County is the only county in SC where Lutherans outnumber Baptists and Methodists.

Hamhock
11/5/2007, 08:04 AM
Thanks Homey!

Unfortunately the pendulum usually swings too far, and the rise of Calvinism under John Calvin was one result of Luther's brave efforts. In its extremity, Calvinism takes free will totally out of the equation regarding salvation.


yea, some people think God's elect were chosen before the foundation of the world.

47straight
11/5/2007, 08:06 AM
You make it sound like it's somehow my fault the Catholics are wrong about a lot of things.:texan:

:D

47straight
11/5/2007, 08:23 AM
That said, I ackowledge its harder inside a marriage to be unequally yoked. Too bad its intellectually dishonest to convert to Catholicism while reserving some Protestant positions on a few issues.


There is a lot deep stuff in this. It will always be a tough question of how to be a good Catholic if you do not believe in XYZ. The shortest answer is twofold: 1) it depends on the issue (is it a basic tenet of the faith covered in the Creed or is it the pastoral decision about music by your pastor?) and 2) does it even result in you doing something 'wrong'?

Okla-homey
11/5/2007, 09:01 AM
There is a lot deep stuff in this. It will always be a tough question of how to be a good Catholic if you do not believe in XYZ. The shortest answer is twofold: 1) it depends on the issue (is it a basic tenet of the faith covered in the Creed or is it the pastoral decision about music by your pastor?) and 2) does it even result in you doing something 'wrong'?

Personally, I have to draw the line at Mary as "co-redemptress."