The Reformation’s Reverberations

    500 years ago this week – October 31, 1517 – an obscure monk in a backwater university town in Germany posted a list of points for academic debate that kicked off a theological and political revolution. The implications of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses echo on down the corridors of time to our own day.
    Medieval society was locked into tyrannies of various forms: corruption in the Roman Catholic Church resulted in people of all classes being bilked of their limited resources by paying “indulgences” in hopes that deceased loved ones would thus be spared years of punishment in purgatory. Churchgoers were encouraged to venerate relics purported to be associated with saints, and to undertake harrowing pilgrimages, in hopes of accumulating merit that would aid their souls. Political leaders ruled by force in a system of feudalism that kept the majority oppressed and landless at the bottom of the social order.
    The Protestant Reformation (as it became known) changed all that. Martin Luther’s ideas became wildly popular and spread broadly thanks to Gutenberg’s newly-invented printing press. Luther translated the original Biblical languages into a new German Bible that common people could read for themselves, thus encouraging basic literacy and a common point of reference for morality – by which even rulers could be held to account. The democracy that we enjoy today became a possibility.
    There were notable gains for women, too. A female colleague comments, “The Reformation freed us from the misogyny that plagued the medieval Catholic church. It was a significant step on a journey that has made it possible for us as women to be where we are today: active, respected contributors in our homes, the church, and wherever we dream of walking.”
    As the Reformation progressed and matured, five Latin phrases emerged which came to summarize the proponents’ main contentions. How do each of these compare with the ideologies of our own day? How might 21st-century Canadian culture use these to critique its own sometimes unspoken ultimate goals and implicit assumptions? In what ways do these call us to review our own chief purposes and aims in life?
    “Soli Deo Gloria” – we live for the glory of God alone. Mantras in culture might be, “Live for the moment”; “Do whatever turns your crank”; YOLO - “You Only Live Once”; “Get all you can, while you can”; and, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Advertising morphs us into a fundamentally selfish society, seeking our maximum pleasure through buying the latest gadget or personally-enhancing product. But (as Justin Holcomb explains) the Reformers maintained: “God’s glory is the central motivation for salvation... God is not a means to an end—he is the means and the end. The goal of all of life is to give glory to God alone: ‘Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31).” We find our ultimate purpose, and life’s true meaning, in reference to God, not ourselves.
    “Solus Christus” – Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Saviour, and King. Modern society touts the “self-made man”; naturalism tells us “big fish eat little fish” so in our closed system, the way to get ahead is to promote yourself, work hard, put in long hours, and maybe someday you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately many climb the ladder of success only to find it leaning against the wrong wall. That amounts to a life misspent. By contrast, the Reformers understood: “God has given the ultimate revelation of himself to us by sending Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15). Only through God’s gracious self-revelation in Jesus do we come to a saving and transforming knowledge of God.” (Holcomb) We can’t save ourselves or go it alone: bottom line – we need Jesus.
    “Sola fide” / “Sola gratia”: we are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ; and, we are saved by the grace of God alone. Our capitalist society puts much stock in the work world – accumulating assets, putting in long hours, clambering your way up the corporate ladder... often at tremendous cost to family relationships and personal health. When people toil for years and fail to achieve goals they’d hoped for, despair and disillusion may set in, tempting them to anaesthetize their emptiness or anomie by substance abuse or self-harm. But the Reformers held that good works (such as climbing up the steps of St. Peter’s on your knees) are not the way to get Brownie points with God. It has to be by faith, simply trusting God and accepting His free gift through Jesus’ own work at the cross. As Ephesians 2:8-9 puts it, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
    Humanism paints an optimistic, rosy picture of human nature – one that is betrayed by the tragic conflicts and genocides of the 20th century. By way of juxtaposition, Holcomb notes: “As humans, we inherited (from our ancestor Adam) a nature that is enslaved to sin. Because of our nature, we are naturally enemies of God and lovers of evil. We need to be made alive (regenerated) so that we can even have faith in Christ. God graciously chooses to give us new hearts so that we trust in Christ and are saved through faith alone.”
    The fifth ‘sola’ – “Sola Scriptura”: The Bible alone is our highest authority. Modern mantras are, “Be your own boss,” “Make your own rules,” “Don’t let anyone tell you what to do,” “Might makes right.” Respect for those in positions of authority has plummeted: teachers struggle to cope with rowdy students; police forces clash with protesters; criminals target unsuspecting homeowners even on the backroads of Huron County. Anarchy is on the rise, as people’s capacity for submission to proper authority diminishes. The Reformers, though, held that civic and ecclesiastical authorities can be held accountable to God’s truth revealed in the Bible. As the common German peasant heard Luther’s Bible preached, s/he came to understand that even the Pope would someday have to answer to God, and certain long-held ecclesiastical practices were misguided.
    As Justin Holcomb writes, “The Scriptures are our ultimate and trustworthy authority for faith and practice. This doesn’t mean that the Bible is the only place where truth is found, but it does mean that everything else we learn about God and his world, and all other authorities, should be interpreted in light of Scripture. The Bible gives us everything we need for our theology. Every word of the 66 books of the Bible is inspired by God’s Holy Spirit.” Or as the Apostle Paul wrote to his protege Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...”
    The reverberations of the Reformation begun five centuries ago continue to echo through time and challenge our latest idolatries and distorted values, calling us to re-evaluate in light of what really matters eternally.