Posted on 02/05/2015 9:29:51 AM PST by RnMomof7
What caused the Reformation?
Many people might answer that question by pointing to Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.
But if you were to ask Luther himself, he would not point to himself or his own writings. Instead, he would give all the credit to God and His Word.
Near the end of his life, Luther declared: “All I have done is put forth, preach and write the Word of God, and apart from this I have done nothing. . . . It is the Word that has done great things. . . . I have done nothing; the Word has done and achieved everything.”
Elsewhere, he exclaimed: “By the Word the earth has been subdued; by the Word the Church has been saved; and by the Word also it shall be reestablished.”
Noting Scripture’s foundational place in his own heart, Luther wrote: “No matter what happens, you should say: There is God’s Word. This is my rock and anchor. On it I rely, and it remains. Where it remains, I, too, remain; where it goes, I, too, go.”
Luther understood what caused the Reformation. He recognized that it was the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God preached by men of God in a language that the common people of Europe could understand and when their ears were exposed to the truth of God’s Word it pierced their hearts and they were radically changed.
It was that very power that had transformed Luther’s own heart, a power that is summarized in the familiar words of Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
During the late middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church had imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language, a language the common people of Europe did not speak. The Reformers unlocked the Scriptures by translating them. And once the people had the Word of God, the Reformation became inevitable.
We see this commitment to the Scriptures even in the centuries prior to Martin Luther, beginning with the Forerunners to the Reformation:
In the 12th century, the Waldensians translated the New Testament from the Latin Vulgate into their regional French dialects. According to tradition, they were so committed to the Scriptures that different Waldensian families would memorize large sections of the Bible. That way, if Roman Catholic authorities found them and confiscated their printed copies of Scripture, they would later be able to reproduce the entire Bible from memory.
In the 14th century, John Wycliffe and his associates at Oxford translated the Bible from Latin into English. Wycliffe’s followers, known as the Lollards, went throughout the countryside preaching and singing passages of Scripture in English.
In the 15th century, Jan Huss preached in the language of the people, and not in Latin, making him the most popular preacher in Prague at the time. Yet, because Huss insisted that Christ alone was the head of the church, not the pope, the Catholic Council of Constance condemned him for heresy and burned him at the stake (in 1415).
In the 16th century, as the study of Greek and Hebrew were recovered, Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, with the New Testament being completed in 1522.
In 1526, William Tyndale completed a translation of the Greek New Testament into English. A few years later he also translated the Pentateuch from Hebrew. Shortly thereafter he was arrested and executed as a heretic—being strangled and then burned at the stake. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Tyndale’s last words were “Lord, Open the King of England’s Eyes.” And it was just a couple years after his death that King Henry VIII authorized the Great Bible in England—a Bible that was largely based on Tyndale’s translation work. The Great Bible laid the foundation for the later King James version (which was completed in 1611).
The common thread, from Reformer to Reformer, was an undying commitment to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, such that they were willing to sacrifice everything, including their own lives, to get the Word of God into the hands of the people.
They did this because they understood that the power for spiritual reformation and revival was not in them, but in the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:16–17). And they used the Latin phrase Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) to emphasize the truth that God’s Word was the true power and ultimate authority behind all they said and did.
It was ignorance of Scripture that made the Reformation necessary. It was the recovery of the Scripture that made the Reformation possible. And it was the power of the Scripture that gave the Reformation its enduring impact, as the Holy Spirit brought the truth of His Word to bear on the hearts and minds of individual sinners, transforming them, regenerating them, and giving them eternal life.
Are you really going to claim that a reference to “the Vatican”, along with the phrase “effin’ Catholics” and “should be destroyed” is a simple reference to a section of real estate in the city of Rome?
What is your evidence that the poster is a ‘protestant?’
.
I saw it as a child, the son of a Mehodist minister. I saw it throughout my last 6 years from some of my fellow students and school teachers.
Of course, what I saw was mostly anecdotal and just mocking, but in one instance my coach told me flat out that ministers were equivalent to priests, and so since I was a priest's son, I was a bastard. That's hard to forget.
Since he was advocating the extermination of Muslims and Catholics, he probably wasn’t either of those, and the odds of him being a Buddhist or Hindu are very small.
And out of such morass, eventually, brave men and women from the American colonies in 1776 declared their independence from the King of England. And the Pope had nothing to do with it.
Amen.
I always thought that the reason for the reformation, was because of the false doctrines that had crept in.
The more they are opposed and refuted, the more desperately driven some become in posting more of the same manner of propaganda.
You would think they learned that type of thing from somebody. Burning Christian literature and people also.
Indeed i did. I have seen certain RCs here commending the Spanish Inquisition and the burning of heretics, and calling for the extermination of Prots, but missed the like by a Prot. here.
Luther
I figured there were more reasons. It appears to me that Luther was a great man, regardless of what some may say, but I wonder if he would be spinning in his grave, if he knew people would use his name, as a denominational name? Somehow, I doubt he ever had that in mind, and I am pretty sure he would not approve at all.
Just fewer idols that all
I hear ya!
no, No, NO!!!
The 'doctrines' remained as PURE as the driven snow.
It was the PRACTICES that got sullied.
“My God, what have I done? Even the milkmaids think they can interpret Scripture!” - Martin Luther.
At least he got that one right.
“In 1526, William Tyndale completed a translation of the Greek New Testament into English. A few years later he also translated the Pentateuch from Hebrew. Shortly thereafter he was arrested and executed as a heretic—being strangled and then burned at the stake. According to Fox’s Book of Martyrs, Tyndale’s last words were “Lord, Open the King of England’s Eyes.” And it was just a couple years after his death that King Henry VIII authorized the Great Bible in England—a Bible that was largely based on Tyndale’s translation work. The Great Bible laid the foundation for the later King James version (which was completed in 1611).”
Hang on a minute. (no forthcoming pun intended) We are berating the Catholic Church for burning folks at the stake, etc., etc. etc. Yet pointing to Henry VIII as a paragon of Protestant virtue? Didn’t he lop off a couple of his wives heads? Put to death a few dozen (or hundred) folks?
But it’s all good because Ol’ Hen put together the “Great Bible?”
Come on man.
“During the late middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church had imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language, a language the common people of Europe did not speak. The Reformers unlocked the Scriptures by translating them. And once the people had the Word of God, the Reformation became inevitable.”
Here’s another whopper. Who writes this stuff anyway? So, every Catholic walked around preaching in Latin? No catholic saint, and there were many, preached to the people in their native language?
“Imprisoned God’s Word in the Latin language.” I suppose dishonesty doesn’t really matter when your attacking Rome.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.