Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry is named after a door. It’s the door on which Martin Luther posted 95 topics for discussion in October of 1517. On Mondays we want to encourage discussion about Church history. What has happened in the past often has a lot to do with how we will need to view the present and look to the future. History is not just names and dates. It’s about real people doing real things in the real world. What happened after 1517? Let’s see.
Mondays are for Church History - 9/5/16
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present Day. Revised and Updated ed. Vol. 2. New York: HarperCollins, 2010b. Kindle Electronic Edition.
Chapter 3 “An Uncertain Decade” Loc. 663-826.
After the Edict of Worms, giving Luther until mid-May of 1521 to recant, there were several rapid steps of negotiation with members of the Diet of Worms. By the time the emperor was free to arrest Luther, he had been abducted and taken into protective custody (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 670). While in custody, he began a translation of the Bible, which remains an influence on the German language. Meanwhile, others, especially Andreas Karlstadt and Philipp Melanchthon, continued the work of reformation (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 678). Some excesses grew at Wittenberg, provoking Luther to leave his isolation (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 693). At this time, papal and imperial attention was distracted by other conflicts. Gonzalez gives a brief summary of a number of situations, particularly a peasants’ uprising which involved Luther (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 737). Luther had difficulty articulating the responsibility of nobility to peasants and vice versa. Another controversy involved the release of nuns from a convent and their subsequent marriages (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 752). Meanwhile, debate between Luther and the moderate Roman humanist Erasmus was pursued regarding free will (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 774). Various Diets were conducted during this time but until 1530 in Augsburg, the Edict of Worms was not clearly enforced or overturned. In Augsburg (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 797), there was doctrinal discussion and the presentation by Philipp Melanchthon of the Augsburg Confession, which was rejected by the emperor and accepted by many others. The common and widespread acceptance of the Augsburg Confession set the stage for a war between Rome and the “League of Schmalkalden” (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 813), presenting a unified front in favor of Luther’s theology. This was again interrupted by a common enemy, Islam, invading Europe and seeking to capture Vienna.
All the work of Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry, including this blog, is supported by the generosity of people like you. Please consider joining our team of prayer and financial supporters. Read more here!
Mondays are for Church History - 9/5/16
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Reformation to the Present Day. Revised and Updated ed. Vol. 2. New York: HarperCollins, 2010b. Kindle Electronic Edition.
Chapter 3 “An Uncertain Decade” Loc. 663-826.
After the Edict of Worms, giving Luther until mid-May of 1521 to recant, there were several rapid steps of negotiation with members of the Diet of Worms. By the time the emperor was free to arrest Luther, he had been abducted and taken into protective custody (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 670). While in custody, he began a translation of the Bible, which remains an influence on the German language. Meanwhile, others, especially Andreas Karlstadt and Philipp Melanchthon, continued the work of reformation (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 678). Some excesses grew at Wittenberg, provoking Luther to leave his isolation (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 693). At this time, papal and imperial attention was distracted by other conflicts. Gonzalez gives a brief summary of a number of situations, particularly a peasants’ uprising which involved Luther (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 737). Luther had difficulty articulating the responsibility of nobility to peasants and vice versa. Another controversy involved the release of nuns from a convent and their subsequent marriages (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 752). Meanwhile, debate between Luther and the moderate Roman humanist Erasmus was pursued regarding free will (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 774). Various Diets were conducted during this time but until 1530 in Augsburg, the Edict of Worms was not clearly enforced or overturned. In Augsburg (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 797), there was doctrinal discussion and the presentation by Philipp Melanchthon of the Augsburg Confession, which was rejected by the emperor and accepted by many others. The common and widespread acceptance of the Augsburg Confession set the stage for a war between Rome and the “League of Schmalkalden” (Gonzalez 2010b, Loc. 813), presenting a unified front in favor of Luther’s theology. This was again interrupted by a common enemy, Islam, invading Europe and seeking to capture Vienna.
All the work of Wittenberg Door Campus Ministry, including this blog, is supported by the generosity of people like you. Please consider joining our team of prayer and financial supporters. Read more here!
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