Time To Reform Our View Of The Reformation?
Heroes of the Faith|July - September 2017

Five hundred years ago a cataclysmic change was begun in the Western church when a renegade monk nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg.

David Little
Time To Reform Our View Of The Reformation?

This sparked off a series of events, both theological and secular, whose beneficial effects have filtered down into society to this very day.

Unfortunately recently, perhaps because of moves towards ecumenical unity, there has been a tendency for protestants to be somewhat apologetic about the reformation. The recent joint statement by the archbishops of canterbury and york, saying that: “the reformation was a process of both renewal and division among Christians in Europe,” and that, “many Christians will want to give thanks for the great blessings they have received to which the reformation directly contributed,” is surely understating what was a glorious shake-up of a worldly and corrupt church which changed the whole outlook of the Western world.

Looking at pre-reformation Europe, we see a society that was completely dominated by religious dogma, much of which was nowhere to be found in the new testament. What’s more, this dogma was imposed by an oppressive religious theocracy which, with certain noble exceptions, had lost all touch with the teaching of Christ. Ceremony and superstition had replaced the radical message of Jesus. Freedom of thought was frowned upon, and even teaching your children to pray in English could be a capital offence.

So what benefits did the Reformation bring, both to the church and to society?

The first and most important was the rediscovery of the great doctrine of justification by faith which had been buried beneath the welter of archaic church law, tradition and indulgences. Luther was not the first person to see it was clearly in the bible, but he was the conduit through which the message was published throughout the length and breadth of Western christendom.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July - September 2017-Ausgabe von Heroes of the Faith.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der July - September 2017-Ausgabe von Heroes of the Faith.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS HEROES OF THE FAITHAlle anzeigen
Telling Tales About Canterbury
Heroes of the Faith

Telling Tales About Canterbury

How those tall stories of pig's bones and gospel heroes contain more than a hint of reality.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
October - December 2019
Sophie Scholl
Heroes of the Faith

Sophie Scholl

The Young Woman Who Defied Hitler

time-read
9 Minuten  |
October - December 2019
Jonathan Goforth Revivalist Apostle To China
Heroes of the Faith

Jonathan Goforth Revivalist Apostle To China

Jonathan Goforth was born, the seventh of eleven children, in February 1859 near London, Ontario, in Canada. His parents were hard-working farmers and, if the young Jonathan learned about the things of God through his devout mother, he also learned hard work from his father, who once went to Hamilton for food and walked all the way back through the bush – a distance of 70 miles – with a sack of flour on his back!

time-read
8 Minuten  |
October - December 2019
John Wycliffe
Heroes of the Faith

John Wycliffe

Morning Star of the English Reformation.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
October - December 2019
Billy Nicholson The Irish Whitefield
Heroes of the Faith

Billy Nicholson The Irish Whitefield

William Patteson Nicholson (1876-1959) was a Presbyterian preacher and evangelist born in Bangor, Co Down. Nicknamed ‘The Tornado of the Pulpit’, Nicholson spent his early years on his father’s cargo ship, but began to preach in 1899 at the age of 23. He was known for his ‘men-only’ meetings and straightforward language. In the Belfast shipyard of Harland & Wolff, a ‘Nicholson shed’ was erected to house stolen tools that newly converted workers returned as a result of Nicholson’s preaching!

time-read
6 Minuten  |
October - December 2019
Wth Richards - Pentecostal Statesman
Heroes of the Faith

Wth Richards - Pentecostal Statesman

During the ’60s and early ’70s, a dynamic Welsh preacher achieved what many of his peers at that time thought impossible: he was able to be fully Pentecostal in outlook, pastor a thriving and growing church, and yet also command the deepest respect of christians from many different denominations.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
#30 Apr-Jun 2017
The Parachute Padre
Heroes of the Faith

The Parachute Padre

An unlikely war hero who volunteered to serve miles behind enemy lines alongside one of the most ferocious fighting units of the British Army

time-read
8 Minuten  |
October – December 2017
Time To Reform Our View Of The Reformation?
Heroes of the Faith

Time To Reform Our View Of The Reformation?

Five hundred years ago a cataclysmic change was begun in the Western church when a renegade monk nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
July - September 2017
The Big Picture
Heroes of the Faith

The Big Picture

The much-acclaimed film ‘Hidden Figures’ is the heart-warming real life story of three African-American women who worked on the space programme in Virginia in the 1950s.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
#30 Apr-Jun 2017
The Cambridge Seven
Heroes of the Faith

The Cambridge Seven

How a move of God among Britain’s students answered the desperate prayer of a missionary on the other side of the world.

time-read
10 Minuten  |
#30 Apr-Jun 2017