During this past Christmas season, I found myself meditating on the concept of “peace on earth”. Peace between nations, peace between people, peace from war, and peace within. As cards of the season’s greetings came in the mail, as church services were attended, and as all the festive lights shown around me, I found myself […]
Category: Reformation 500
On The Saints
The work of the Reformation does not end with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation by any means. Today is All Saints’ Day, and on this day we remember all those who have gone before us, glorifying God through their lives on earth, for the sake of Jesus Christ and the Eternal Kingdom. We are […]
On Reflection
Yes, a reflection on reflection. After all, if people like Martin Luther did not reflect on their faith, the Reformation would not have happened. We too must reflect on our faith. And I think there is merit to doing this both privately and publicly. In fact, I believe that is a hallmark of Luther and […]
On Victory
On this day, the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we must ask ourselves: What would victory look like for the Reformation? And have we reached that point? Is victory the unification of Catholic and Lutheran churches? Is victory unification of all Christendom? Is victory joint statements on doctrines and beliefs? Is victory the honoring […]
On Strangers and Enemies
Strangers are not always our enemies and our enemies are not always strangers, but we often treat strangers like our enemies and our enemies like strangers. And that’s because strangers and enemies are both often simply the result of human-made barriers and conflict. Some barriers are so systemically ingrained in our world that we forget […]
On Money
A key frustration of Martin Luther was how the church glorified and used money. He saw that the church in his day distorted the good news of Christ by offering salvation in exchange for money. And when the church became focused on money it ceased being the church. It stopped serving God. I wonder if […]
On Technology
If Martin Luther’s 95 theses were the match igniting the flame of the Reformation, technology was the wind that caused that flame to become a wildfire. Without the printing press (the technological marvel of Luther’s era), the flame of the Reformation might have burned out quickly and not have re-shaped the western world as much as […]
On Rural and Urban
I’ve found this interesting: the scriptural narrative begins in a garden (Genesis 1-2) and ends in a city (Revelation 21). And I think it is worth pondering, what this means. Perhaps it means that God can be found in both the city and the country. In both the busyness of the city lifestyle and the […]
On The Church
Often when looking at the negative repercussions of the Protestant Reformation, we point to the disunity, division, and church splits it caused. The sadder reality though is that the Reformation caused so much hatred and violence between fellow Christ-followers. On the night He would be betrayed (after the betrayer had left the room) Jesus said to […]
On Definitions
On this blog journey (40-ish reflections in 40-ish days, leading up to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation) I find myself wondering if this experience is keeping me humble, or if I become more mentally inflated each time I hit “publish”. When it comes to our attempts to define right and good faith we must […]
Relevant Reformation 