Posts Tagged ‘Martin Luther’
Information Reformation
Historical parallels between the what Martin Luther did with the moveable type printing price that was the spark that ignited the Reformation and the advent of modern technologies that similarly transformed the Internet into the World Wide Web.
Read MoreHistory of Halloween: What’s the Backstory?
HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN I did an hour-long interview on this topic on this podcast Halloween (Allhallows Eve’n) is the evening of October 31. This occasion is known as the vigil of Hallowmas in its strictly religious aspect. There are several names used during this time of year. To eliminate confusion, Allhallowstide includes these three holidays:…
Read MoreHistory of October 31: What’s Martin Luther got to do with it?
HISTORY OF OCTOBER 31 See my mini-series here on the life of Martin Luther. On October 31, 1517, the story goes, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, 95 propositions or theses and marked the beginning of the Reformation. Of course, the Reformation began long…
Read MoreHistory of the Kirking of the Tartans: Is it really Scottish?
HISTORY OF THE KIRKING OF THE TARTANS This Sunday, all over the world, many churches will observe the Kirkin’ o’ th’ Tartans, a celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. What is The Kirking of the Tartans? Kirking Etymologically Kirking, from the Scots word kirk, which means church, in this usage, means “blessing.” Tartans are the…
Read MoreHistory of Christopher Columbus
HISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS The man who sailed from Spain to discover America was neither Spanish nor did he discover America, at least not the mainland. But it was true that: In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Read MoreHistory of the Diet of Worms: Martin Luther on Trial 500 Years Ago
HISTORY OF THE DIET OF WORMS: MARTIN LUTHER ON TRIAL 500 YEARS AGO It was five hundred years ago today, April 17, 1521, that Martin Luther appeared on trial before the most powerful ruler in Europe, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. While the name may sound unappetizing, the Diet of Worms was a formal…
Read MoreHistory of Martin Luther: Part 8 – Legacy
HISTORY OF MARTIN LUTHER: PART 8 – LEGACY If you stand outside the door of the house where Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, you can see above the rooftops the towers of St. Andreas Church. You can walk to it in 5 to 10 minutes. St. Andreas is still in use today. It rises…
Read MoreHistory of Martin Luther: Part 7 – Family Man
HISTORY OF MARTIN LUTHER: PART 7 – FAMILY MAN How did Martin Luther, the bull in the China shop, the… “…fox [that had] arisen seeking to destroy the vineyard, [the] wild boar from the forest [that] seeks to destroy it…” …how did he become the very model of a modern Christian Family Man? My Lord…
Read MoreHistory of Martin Luther: Part 6 – Monk Marries Nun
HISTORY OF MARTIN LUTHER: PART 6 – MONK MARRIES NUN When Martin Luther returned from the Wartburg Castle to Wittenberg, he had much to do (see Part 5). The religious unrest and political protests that had occurred in the city while he was in seclusion needed to stop. At the beginning of Lent, he resumed…
Read MoreHistory of Martin Luther: Part 5 – Kidnapped
HISTORY OF MARTIN LUTHER: PART 5 – KIDNAPPED In 1521 Martin Luther was considered both an enemy of the Church and treasonous in the State. The Roman church had previously excommunicated him with the Papal bull and he has just left the Diet of Worms where the imperial ban of the Edict of Worms had…
Read MoreHistory of Martin Luther: Part 4 – Outlawed
HISTORY OF MARTIN LUTHER: PART 4 – OUTLAWED Following Martin Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Door on October 31, 1517, several debates, diets, and disputations occurred where Luther was unsuccessful in convincing the Roman Catholic Church of the correctness of his views. His excommunication in early 1521 removed him from communion with…
Read MoreHistory of Martin Luther: Part 3 – Heretic?
HISTORY OF MARTIN LUTHER: PART 3 – HERETIC? Following the nailing of the 95 Theses to the northern door of All Saints’ Church, commonly known as the Schlosskirke or Castle Church in Wittenberg 500 years ago on October 31, 1517, (see my previous article on the subject here) Martin Luther got the University debate he…
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