10-9-17<\/p>\n
We observe the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, of Dr Luther nailing his 95 Theses (complaints to be debated) on the Church Castle door in Wittenberg, Germany.<\/p>\n
What momentous forces collided in that sleepy burg! The Holy Roman Empire was shattering; Medievalism was ending; Humanism and the Renaissance were dawning; literacy was sprouting, and with it the seedlings of personal freedom; the arts fiercely bloomed; the Enlightenment was nigh; European land wars and incredible maritime exploration commenced \u2013 both of them fueled by nascent commercialism and appetites of a growing middle class; serfdom was yielding to feudalism\u2026 and in turn, soon, to democracy and republicanism.<\/p>\n
In the death-throes of the Old Order, hoary courts and royals entrenched themselves by\u00a0 committing atrocities of race, religion, and conscience. The Church of the humble Savior had grown opulent and gaudy: corrupt. To finance the construction and ornamentation of St Peter\u2019s in Rome, schemes like the selling of indulgences \u2013 buying late relatives spots in a fictional rest-stop to heaven called Purgatory.<\/p>\n
We have outlined this, and I have lost some subscribers, presumably because I mention 500-year-old theological disputes (which objections I do not dismiss strictly on the basis of the vintages). But let us look beyond theology!<\/p>\n
Martin Luther was the prophet of a new age. He stood for the individual in the face of organized power. He stood for popular culture, if I may go there, because he reformed the church\u2019s trappings \u2013 the Bible for everyone to read; German, not Latin, scriptures and liturgy; congregational singing; priests who could marry; and so forth. He stood for scripture; \u201cScripture alone,\u201d he bellowed to councils and popes.<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
That, to me, is a notable takeaway from the life of Martin Luther. He was a Reformer, but also a Revolutionary.<\/p>\n
In America there is a controversy over people kneeling during the National Anthem. To me, ironies abound: On matters of conscience, Luther stood<\/em>, he did not abjectly kneel. Viewed from another angle, the press and the liberal Establishment in America (not to mention the NFL) condemned Tim Tebow for kneeling instead of dancing silly after touchdowns. A short prayer to God. However, countless black players are praised for kneeling symbolically to criticize their country. Consistency, thy name is not America 2017.<\/p>\n Luther, standing, was extraordinarily brave. There is a letter in his hand, written the night before his trial, in the Museum of the Bible that is soon to open in Washington DC (I saw it in Steve Green\u2019s traveling exhibition). In the letter Luther calmly assumes he will be put to death and instructs his friend how to dispose of his possessions. And he asserts, once again, his \u201cstand\u201d for truth and for his conscience as informed by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n The Individual had come of age in humankind\u2019s history. In Luther\u2019s mature view, he realized that he stood for a world of more, not fewer, responsibilities \u2013 something that is scarcely appreciated today.<\/p>\n The crisis of the age \u2013 and for many ages \u2013 was upon Luther\u2019s shoulders. Ironically (as we may think in the 21st century) Luther fit no mold. He was a Medievalist, not a Modern, even in the dawning days of Modernity. He really did not want to break from the Catholic Church, much less have a denomination rise in his name; but merely desired to reform it. And as the Age of Reason approached, he proclaimed that Reason is the enemy of Faith.<\/p>\n Yes, this New Man, harbinger of a new era and individualism \u2013 he considered Reason the enemy of Faith. So he was not a simple contrarian \u2013 he had clear but complex standards, living by them; and was prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n Martin Luther would die for what was sacred to him. In 21st-century America we have become a society where nothing is sacred but pleasures of the moment. Life is disposable, increasingly so, at birth and at death. Drugs supply counterfeit tastes of heaven, and our cultural heritage widely is mocked. Our civic life has devolved to games of \u201cgotchas\u201d and revenge. Self-indulgence and materialism are the new religions.<\/p>\n To the remnant and faithful, crises await our contention. We no longer have to wait, surprised when a serious life-dilemma confronts us. But we are at one of those moments in history when crises are unavoidable\u2026 and likewise our engagement is unavoidable, every one of us.<\/p>\n I cry for our culture; I cry for what we have squandered of our religious heritage, Western civilization, and our intellectual patrimony.<\/p>\n And I cry, too \u2013 every time in my life, I think, when I sing the last verse of my favorite hymn: Luther\u2019s \u201cA Mighty Fortress Is Our God.\u201d<\/p>\n