{"id":4096,"date":"2008-10-31T09:12:59","date_gmt":"2008-10-31T15:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/?p=4096"},"modified":"2013-06-11T07:44:27","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T13:44:27","slug":"happy-reformation-day-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/happy-reformation-day-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Reformation Day!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Reformation Day<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Some of you are thinking “What the heck?! It’s halloween! Or maybe at least All Saint’s Eve or All Hallow’s Eve<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

And yes that’s true – but you can find out about that other holiday somewhere else.<\/p>\n

Instead – we’ll celebrate Reformation Day around this here blog. Reformation Day is the celebration of the anniversary of Martin Luther<\/a><\/strong> posting his 95 Thesis<\/a> on the church doors of the Whittenberg in Germany.<\/p>\n

What was initially posted as a Luther’s hope to start a debate in the things he was learning and reading about as a Biblical professor, started a revolution (reformation) in the church – leading to his excommunication from the church and the protest<\/em>ant movement.<\/p>\n

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light,
\nthe following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg,
\nunder the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther,
\nMaster of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in
\nOrdinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that
\nthose who are unable to be present and debate orally with us,
\nmay do so by letter. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I doubt Luther had any idea that his 95 Thesis, posted on Oct. 31, 1517, would end up being spread so rapidly to “the people” with the help of a recent invention of Johann Gutenberg<\/a>, known as the “printing press<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Who would have thought that the masses would begin reading, thinking about and debating these “high level theological thoughts” like sacramental penance vs inward repentance, the fallacy of the pope, the remittance of sin by the pope and indulgences used to build sanctuaries for the church? I mean seriously, ordinary folks can debate these kind of things?! “That’s heracy!” — or so the church thought at the time (and many continue to think today).<\/p>\n

Imagine what might happen if folks started talking about God and debating theology in the bars and pubs of today? Imagine if there was some sort of medium that might spread these ideas and discussions around the world? Imagine if suddenly our theology stopped coming from trained pastors and priests who study for years at schools of higher education and suddenly started coming from Joe Six Pack at your local pub and was shared with folks via Twitter<\/a> or Wikipedia<\/a> or other emerging websites<\/a> to Joe Plumber who lives in Russia or Idaho? Imagine if theology was debating and discussed and lived out in community rather than simply handed down by one central source<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Yeah we wouldn’t want that to happen today. Far from it.<\/p>\n

I heard a couple great thoughts today while listening to some of Martin Luther’s<\/strong> bio<\/span> today via Tripp Fuller<\/a><\/strong> and Craig Atwood<\/a><\/strong> (hint – you should listen to this great podcast<\/span> as well and these are loose quotes from memory) ::<\/p>\n

“I came to see Christ as my Savior rather than the hangman.”<\/p>\n

“Folks got real nervous when Martin Luther began to take his faith seriously.”<\/p>\n

“The priests and religious leaders start to get real nervous when people get excited about religion.”<\/p>\n

So today I celebrate Reformation Day. Today I celebrate Priests in the Hood<\/a> (aka the Priesthood of the believers) and hope you do too.<\/p>\n

Here are Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis translated to English (and in the original intention of these thesis, your debate, comments and discussions are welcome here) :: <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

DISPUTATION OF DOCTOR MARTIN LUTHER ON THE POWER AND EFFICACY OF INDULGENCES <\/p>\n

OCTOBER 31, 1517 <\/p>\n

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter. <\/p>\n

In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. <\/p>\n

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam
\n agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be
\n repentance. <\/p>\n

2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance,
\n i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by
\n the priests. <\/p>\n

3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no
\n inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers
\n mortifications of the flesh. <\/p>\n

4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as
\n hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward
\n repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom
\n of heaven. <\/p>\n

5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any
\n penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his
\n own authority or by that of the Canons. <\/p>\n

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that
\n it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God’s
\n remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases
\n reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in
\n such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely
\n unforgiven. <\/p>\n

7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same
\n time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His
\n vicar, the priest. <\/p>\n

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and,
\n according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying. <\/p>\n

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us,
\n because in his decrees he always makes exception of the
\n article of death and of necessity. <\/p>\n

10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who,
\n in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for
\n purgatory. <\/p>\n

11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of
\n purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown
\n while the bishops slept. <\/p>\n

12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not
\n after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition. <\/p>\n

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are
\n already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be
\n released from them. <\/p>\n

14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the
\n imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity,
\n great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear. <\/p>\n

15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say
\n nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of
\n purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair. <\/p>\n

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair,
\n almost-despair, and the assurance of safety. <\/p>\n

17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror
\n should grow less and love increase. <\/p>\n

18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that
\n they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of
\n increasing love. <\/p>\n

19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all
\n of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness,
\n though we may be quite certain of it. <\/p>\n

20. Therefore by “full remission of all penalties” the pope
\n means not actually “of all,” but only of those imposed by
\n himself. <\/p>\n

21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who
\n say that by the pope’s indulgences a man is freed from every
\n penalty, and saved; <\/p>\n

22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which,
\n according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this
\n life. <\/p>\n

23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission
\n of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission
\n can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very
\n fewest. <\/p>\n

24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the
\n people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding
\n promise of release from penalty. <\/p>\n

25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over
\n purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate
\n has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish. <\/p>\n

26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in
\n purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not
\n possess), but by way of intercession. <\/p>\n

27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles
\n into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory]. <\/p>\n

28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the
\n money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result
\n of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God
\n alone. <\/p>\n

29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be
\n bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and
\n Paschal. <\/p>\n

30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much
\n less that he has attained full remission. <\/p>\n

31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also
\n the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most
\n rare. <\/p>\n

32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their
\n teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation
\n because they have letters of pardon. <\/p>\n

33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the
\n pope’s pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man
\n is reconciled to Him; <\/p>\n

34. For these “graces of pardon” concern only the penalties of
\n sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man. <\/p>\n

35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that
\n contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls
\n out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia. <\/p>\n

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full
\n remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of
\n pardon. <\/p>\n

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in
\n all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is
\n granted him by God, even without letters of pardon. <\/p>\n

38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the
\n blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in
\n no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the
\n declaration of divine remission. <\/p>\n

39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest
\n theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people
\n the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition. <\/p>\n

40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal
\n pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at
\n least, furnish an occasion [for hating them]. <\/p>\n

41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest
\n the people may falsely think them preferable to other good
\n works of love. <\/p>\n

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend
\n the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of
\n mercy. <\/p>\n

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor
\n or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons; <\/p>\n

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes
\n better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more
\n free from penalty. <\/p>\n

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in
\n need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons,
\n purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation
\n of God. <\/p>\n

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more
\n than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary
\n for their own families, and by no means to squander it on
\n pardons. <\/p>\n

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is
\n a matter of free will, and not of commandment. <\/p>\n

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting
\n pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for
\n him more than the money they bring. <\/p>\n

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope’s pardons are
\n useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether
\n harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God. <\/p>\n

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the
\n exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St.
\n Peter’s church should go to ashes, than that it should be
\n built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep. <\/p>\n

51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope’s
\n wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many
\n of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money,
\n even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold. <\/p>\n

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain,
\n even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself,
\n were to stake his soul upon it. <\/p>\n

53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the
\n Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order
\n that pardons may be preached in others. <\/p>\n

54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon,
\n an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this
\n Word. <\/p>\n

55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons,
\n which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell,
\n with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which
\n is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred
\n bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies. <\/p>\n

56. The “treasures of the Church,” out of which the pope.
\n grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among
\n the people of Christ. <\/p>\n

57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident,
\n for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so
\n easily, but only gather them. <\/p>\n

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even
\n without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man,
\n and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man. <\/p>\n

59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were
\n the Church’s poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the
\n word in his own time. <\/p>\n

60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given
\n by Christ’s merit, are that treasure; <\/p>\n

61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of
\n reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient. <\/p>\n

62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of
\n the glory and the grace of God. <\/p>\n

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes
\n the first to be last. <\/p>\n

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is
\n naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first. <\/p>\n

65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which
\n they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches. <\/p>\n

66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they
\n now fish for the riches of men. <\/p>\n

67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the “greatest
\n graces” are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote
\n gain. <\/p>\n

68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared
\n with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross. <\/p>\n

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of
\n apostolic pardons, with all reverence. <\/p>\n

70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and
\n attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own
\n dreams instead of the commission of the pope. <\/p>\n

71 . He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let
\n him be anathema and accursed! <\/p>\n

72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the
\n pardon-preachers, let him be blessed! <\/p>\n

73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art,
\n contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons. <\/p>\n

74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who
\n use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love
\n and truth. <\/p>\n

75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could
\n absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and
\n violated the Mother of God — this is madness. <\/p>\n

76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not
\n able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its
\n guilt is concerned. <\/p>\n

77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could
\n not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter
\n and against the pope. <\/p>\n

78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and
\n any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit,
\n the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written
\n in I. Corinthians xii. <\/p>\n

79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms,
\n which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal
\n worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy. <\/p>\n

80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk
\n to be spread among the people, will have an account to render. <\/p>\n

81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy
\n matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to
\n the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of
\n the laity. <\/p>\n

82. To wit: — “Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the
\n sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are
\n there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake
\n of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former
\n reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial.” <\/p>\n

83. Again: — “Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the
\n dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the
\n withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it
\n is wrong to pray for the redeemed?” <\/p>\n

84. Again: — “What is this new piety of God and the pope,
\n that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy
\n to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and
\n do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul’s own
\n need, free it for pure love’s sake?” <\/p>\n

85. Again: — “Why are the penitential canons long since in
\n actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now
\n satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were
\n still alive and in force?” <\/p>\n

86. Again: — “Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day
\n\tgreater than the riches of the richest, build just this one
\n\tchurch of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the
\n\tmoney of poor believers?”<\/p>\n

\t87. Again: — “What is it that the pope remits, and what
\n\tparticipation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition,
\n\thave a right to full remission and participation?”<\/p>\n

\t88. Again: — “What greater blessing could come to the Church
\n\tthan if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now
\n\tdoes once, and bestow on every believer these remissions
\n\tand participations?”<\/p>\n

\t89. “Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls
\n\trather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons
\n\tgranted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?”<\/p>\n

\t90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force
\n\talone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the
\n\tChurch and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make
\n\tChristians unhappy.<\/p>\n

91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the
\n spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily
\n resolved; nay, they would not exist. <\/p>\n

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people
\n of Christ, “Peace, peace,” and there is no peace! <\/p>\n

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of
\n Christ, “Cross, cross,” and there is no cross! <\/p>\n

94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in
\n following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and
\n hell; <\/p>\n

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather
\n through many tribulations, than through the assurance of
\n peace. <\/p>\n

(HT: CTSFW.edu<\/span> for the english translation)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Reformation Day? Some of you are thinking “What the heck?! It’s halloween! Or maybe at least All Saint’s Eve or All Hallow’s Eve.” And yes that’s true – but you can find out about that other holiday somewhere else. Instead – we’ll celebrate Reformation Day around this here blog. Reformation Day is the celebration … Continue reading Happy Reformation Day!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[560,18,19],"tags":[1587,219,1466,875,1465,309,1322,1298,1472,1448,308],"class_list":["post-4096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-faith","category-reflections","tag-95-thesis","tag-church","tag-distributed","tag-history","tag-mainframe","tag-martin-luther","tag-organic","tag-priesthood","tag-priesthood-of-believers","tag-priests-in-the-hood","tag-reformation-day"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pEnSo-144","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4096"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11218,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4096\/revisions\/11218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/casadeblundell.com\/jonathan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}