This week in Christian history: Doug Phillips resigns; Protestant Reformation begins

Protestant Reformation begins – Oct. 31, 1517

This week marks the anniversary of when German monk Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, beginning what would become the Protestant Reformation.

Luther had posted the theses, or points of argument, in response to various corruptions within the Roman Catholic Church, as well as his objections to official church teaching on salvation.

Luther argued that salvation came by faith alone in Jesus Christ, and did not include works. He also argued for the Bible to be translated into everyday language, rather than just being in Latin.

In a 2017 piece, Arizona State University noted that “Luther hung the document on the door to announce an academic discussion, much like the fliers one sees around campus announcing events.”

“[H]e had no way of knowing that his writings about church doctrine would alter the course of religious and cultural history, setting off civil strife, rebellions and wars in Europe and England that would last more than 130 years and culminate in the establishment of the nation-state system,” explained ASU.

“Nor could he have known that the reverberations from this event would still be felt today, in everything from the way religion is practiced to the development of secular governance and modern capitalism.”