The November air nipped at the custodian’s fingers as he pasted a paper to the church door, its Latin lines indecipherable to him and most of the other people who would walk through the door—some kind of academic stuff that theologians worried about.
Not the typical picture of Luther nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the Castle Church door, but probably closer to the truth. We don’t actually know what happened five hundred years ago. We’re not certain the theses were posted on October 31, 1517, or that a nail was used or even that Luther posted them himself. We do know it wasn’t the act of defiance many history books imply.
In posting the theses, Luther was inviting fellow theologians to debate a doctrinal issue raised by the traveling preacher, Tetzel, who was an old-fashioned version of a televangelist. “Could dropping a coin in the coffer free a soul from purgatory, or was this a scam unauthorized by the Church?” Luther asked.
However, on the day appointed for the debate, no one showed up. No one to debate. No one to observe. How long Luther sat there, alone, waiting, we do not know. How he felt as he trudged back to his residence is an equal mystery.
The debate had failed, but the Ninety-Five Theses hadn't, because Luther did one other boring act. He mailed copies to a couple friends for input. When Christopher Scheurl, a printer in Nuremberg, saw the theses, he printed them. Within a few months they were translated into German, and a fire spread throughout Europe.
As the 500th anniversary of this event approaches, my image of it has changed. I no longer see a bold Luther nailing his challenge to the church door. I envision a lonely Luther sitting in a cold room, wondering why no other theologian cared enough about the souls of his parishioners to discuss the way to heaven. But I also sense the invisible hand of God moving through events to begin a dialogue that continues to this day.
I don’t intend this post as a statement for or against Lutheran doctrine. In fact, I started my personal contemplation of the Reformation with the question, “What does this anniversary mean to non-Lutherans and even non-Christians?” My conclusion is that truth matters. Dialogues with friends help us progress toward the truth; but once we find the truth, we need courage to live for it and leave the results to God.
Not the typical picture of Luther nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the Castle Church door, but probably closer to the truth. We don’t actually know what happened five hundred years ago. We’re not certain the theses were posted on October 31, 1517, or that a nail was used or even that Luther posted them himself. We do know it wasn’t the act of defiance many history books imply.
In posting the theses, Luther was inviting fellow theologians to debate a doctrinal issue raised by the traveling preacher, Tetzel, who was an old-fashioned version of a televangelist. “Could dropping a coin in the coffer free a soul from purgatory, or was this a scam unauthorized by the Church?” Luther asked.
However, on the day appointed for the debate, no one showed up. No one to debate. No one to observe. How long Luther sat there, alone, waiting, we do not know. How he felt as he trudged back to his residence is an equal mystery.
The debate had failed, but the Ninety-Five Theses hadn't, because Luther did one other boring act. He mailed copies to a couple friends for input. When Christopher Scheurl, a printer in Nuremberg, saw the theses, he printed them. Within a few months they were translated into German, and a fire spread throughout Europe.
As the 500th anniversary of this event approaches, my image of it has changed. I no longer see a bold Luther nailing his challenge to the church door. I envision a lonely Luther sitting in a cold room, wondering why no other theologian cared enough about the souls of his parishioners to discuss the way to heaven. But I also sense the invisible hand of God moving through events to begin a dialogue that continues to this day.
I don’t intend this post as a statement for or against Lutheran doctrine. In fact, I started my personal contemplation of the Reformation with the question, “What does this anniversary mean to non-Lutherans and even non-Christians?” My conclusion is that truth matters. Dialogues with friends help us progress toward the truth; but once we find the truth, we need courage to live for it and leave the results to God.
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