Confessional Lutheran Theology

Forwarded from Diet of Worms

The year is 1517. It is the day before All Saints Day, an important church festival for all devout Catholics. But something besides All Saints Day is on the minds of many people in Wittenberg, Germany. On the streets and in the shops townspeople and students are excitedly discussing something that interests and troubles them very much. As they talk, some of them point to papers they have in their hands. Let us listen in on one of the groups. “Where did you get that letter of indulgence?” “From a priest called John Tetzel. He is selling them in Jueterbock. Tetzel says that God will not punish anyone who buys an indulgence letter like this. He will not have to go to purgatory when he dies.”

“You better tell Dr. Luther about that paper and what John Tetzel is doing. I don’t think Dr. Luther will approve of it. And I’m sure that he will not like what you did. Don’t you remember that he preached a very strong sermon against the misuse of indulgences last February? Some students also told me that Luther knows what Tetzel is up to and that he is going to do something about it. Look, there is Luther now.”

They look up and see Luther walking down the steps of the Augustinian Cloister. In one hand he has a large sheet of paper, in the other a hammer. He walks resolutely down the path toward the Market Place. As he passes by the students and other groups of people, he greets them cordially but does not pause to visit with them as is his usual custom. His mind is occupied with what is written on the paper and with what he is about to do. His destination is the Castle Church. After a fifteen minute walk, he reaches the main door on the north side of the building. Without hesitation he holds the sheet of paper up, and with a few hammer blows nails it to the Castle Church door.

There was really nothing that seemed unusual in what Martin Luther had done. The church door was often used as a bulletin board for notices and news items. Nor did Luther think that what he had written would arouse more than the usual interest. His message was a list of 95 theses, or statements. In them he expressed his opinion about the sale of indulgences and the forgiveness of sins.

In the introduction, he invited his fellow professors and others to debate the theses with him. Little did Luther realize that his actions on October 31, 1517, would mark the beginning of a great reformation of the church and of the return of the pure word of God to the people of the world.

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608 viewsOct 31 at 14:52

The year is 1517. It is the day before All Saints Day, an important church festival for all devout Catholics. But something besides All Saints Day is on the minds of many people in Wittenberg, Germany. On the streets and in the shops townspeople and students are excitedly discussing something that interests and troubles them very much. As they talk, some of them point to papers they have in their hands. Let us listen in on one of the groups. “Where did you get that letter of indulgence?” “From a priest called John Tetzel. He is selling them in Jueterbock. Tetzel says that God will not punish anyone who buys an indulgence letter like this. He will not have to go to purgatory when he dies.”

“You better tell Dr. Luther about that paper and what John Tetzel is doing. I don’t think Dr. Luther will approve of it. And I’m sure that he will not like what you did. Don’t you remember that he preached a very strong sermon against the misuse of indulgences last February? Some students also told me that Luther knows what Tetzel is up to and that he is going to do something about it. Look, there is Luther now.”

They look up and see Luther walking down the steps of the Augustinian Cloister. In one hand he has a large sheet of paper, in the other a hammer. He walks resolutely down the path toward the Market Place. As he passes by the students and other groups of people, he greets them cordially but does not pause to visit with them as is his usual custom. His mind is occupied with what is written on the paper and with what he is about to do. His destination is the Castle Church. After a fifteen minute walk, he reaches the main door on the north side of the building. Without hesitation he holds the sheet of paper up, and with a few hammer blows nails it to the Castle Church door.

There was really nothing that seemed unusual in what Martin Luther had done. The church door was often used as a bulletin board for notices and news items. Nor did Luther think that what he had written would arouse more than the usual interest. His message was a list of 95 theses, or statements. In them he expressed his opinion about the sale of indulgences and the forgiveness of sins.

In the introduction, he invited his fellow professors and others to debate the theses with him. Little did Luther realize that his actions on October 31, 1517, would mark the beginning of a great reformation of the church and of the return of the pure word of God to the people of the world.

BY Confessional Lutheran Theology