Those who would characterize the Reformation by the hammer and the theses nailed to a church door have a very small and distorted view of it. More than this act and the whole of Luther's often provocative statements, there is in the Lutheran Reformation an embodiment of catholicity and Scriptural faithfulness which begged the world to notice. That Rome proceeded with a counter-reformation council and the radical reformers cast off all constraints to ditch what should have been preserved should not diminish the value of this movement. Take a look at this link for several illustrated timelines of the Reformation.
Below are some videos of the Reformation and Martin Luther's legacy:
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When I was a youth attending a Catholic elementary school in the quiet village of Northport, NY, I asked one of the Parish priests if we are supposed to read the Bible. I remember his reply, even as it was given 70 years ago; he exclaimed, “No, it is not necessary, we will tell you what you need to know.” Our small village near Main Street had a Presbyterian church on the corner opposite the Catholic Church. It was a grand white structure with a high steeple pointing into the sky. Further down Main Street, there was an Episcopal Church as well. Since we lived near Main Street, and spent our time in the village center and park, I was unaware of denominational churches outside of the areas I walked as a child. But the point is that Catholic school was a focal point of our family’s religious life, and we believed that no other church was the “true church,” because the Lord had established it Himself, not other denominations, and set up the Papal system with Peter as the first Pope. We earnestly believed this as we were taught no other consideration was viable. There was no outward prejudice against Protestants, just the recognition that they did not belong to the true church. I think this way of thinking permeated the Roman church at its beginning, once it was organized, but unfortunately sectarian violence and political conflict took Christianity down a tenuous path. I came out of Catholicism with my wife, but as we searched for a new church, the confusion of determining which denomination to join was a difficult one. So we simply decided it would have to be a Bible believing church which held the fundamentals of the Gospel and the elements of the faith as Christ taught, and it would be free of encyclicals and Papal directives which had little to do with Jesus, and more relevant to the power and influence of the RCC. As we look at the Reformation and its influence, and the Counter Reformation, and centuries of religious wars, we might look at the Reformation as a personal transformation as well as an enduring political and religious transformation. We must determine if we ourselves have been reformed? Do we believe in the Bible, that it is inerrant and our authority? This was the point of the Reformation. Soli Deo Gloria
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