Yes, Oct. 31 is Halloween, a day of candy, costumes and mischief. But it is also Reformation Day, a time when Protestants celebrate the birth of the Protestant Reformation. In the U.S., Reformation Day is mainly marked by Lutherans and members of the Reformed Church. In some churches it has developed into a holiday meant to rival Halloween. But does it? Let us ‘Splain . .
A German scholar and monk named Martin Luther was upset that a representative of the Catholic Church was coming to his hometown of Wittenberg, a little backwater of a town, to raise money for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The church planned to sell “indulgences” — a way of winning remission from penance in this life or in purgatory by making a donation to the church. There was a popular saying of the time: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” Luther wasn’t having that,...
Dr. Steven J. Lawson | 6/23/2017
