Protestant Reformation

As has been noted often on Presbyterians of the Past, this year is the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther posting his theses regarding some of the practices of Roman Catholicism, but those of us with Presbyterian and Reformed interests seem to have turned it into another Calvin 500th birthday remembrance. The Lutheran and Reformed confessional […]

One of Martin Luther’s works from his multitude of writings is titled Table Talk. It includes observations he made while at table with colleagues and friends. Luther did not write Table Talk, but it contains his words as they were copied down by some of those who heard his off-the-cuff comments while enjoying food from […]

Scott M. Manetsch’s Calvin’s Company of Pastors: Pastoral Care and the Emerging Reformed Church, 1536-1609, Oxford, 2013, paper 2015, presents a lesser known aspect of John Calvin’s life and work. Calvin is not often described in a pastoral context by those who write about his life. For example, Robert Godfrey’s, John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor, […]

Several years ago while wandering through what is increasingly becoming harder to find, a bookstore, I ran across a copy of Susan Brigden’s, London and the Reformation. I would have loved to have purchased it but the sticker price was too high for my budget. Over the years I have checked for used copies online […]

In April 1917 the United States, after a prolonged attempt by the Wilson administration to maintain neutrality, declared war on Germany. The next month the general assemblies of the two largest American Presbyterian denominations convened for their annual proceedings. October 31, 1917 would be the four-hundredth anniversary (quadricentennial) of the posting of Luther’s theses. So, on […]

The following article is about the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in England. It is the first of some occasional articles that will be posted for the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his theses in Wittenberg. Even though interest in the wedding in 2011 has passed, one of the ministries provided […]

The year 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, which were posted on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg to provide points of debate regarding the papacy’s use of indulgences. Indulgences allowed a parishioner to reduce or eliminate time in purgatory for sins. The theses posting is considered the beginning of the Reformation. Even though there had […]

The following article is divided into two sections. The first section provides information about the invention of movable type printing by Johann Gutenberg and the operation of his innovative technology; the second section considers the importance of printing for the propagation and success of the Reformation by looking at how Martin Luther embraced the process […]

This year Reformation Day marks the 499th remembrance of Martin Luther’s presentation of his theses against Roman Catholicism’s use of indulgences and it anticipates the celebration of the quincentennial in 2017. Luther presented the theses–originally titled A Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences–by nailing them to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg. […]

In this last posting of the series of articles remembering Reformation Day 2015 some brief comments regarding resources for study of the Reformation will be provided, a short definition of indulgences will be given, sacerdotal will be defined, some comments made regarding B. B. Warfield’s article “The Ninety-Five Theses in their Theological Significance,” and there will be […]

Keeping with the Protestant Reformation theme for the postings in October, T. C. Johnson’s book, John Calvin and The Genevan Reformation: A Sketch, Richmond, 1900, will be the subject of this antiquarian review. The book is available in PDF on Presbyterians of the Past and can be downloaded by clicking Download Now! However, before getting into […]

On Reformation Day, the posting of Martin Luther’s theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg is remembered as the event that launched the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s initial intention was to reform Catholicism and not replace it with another church; Luther’s work, at least in the early years, was submissively reforming rather than […]