Reformation
In his ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ Luther called upon believers to repent. What does that mean?
By Martin E. Marty — October 30, 2017
Reformation season is a time for much accusing of ancestors, from Columbus to Thomas Jefferson, now remembered as slavers, or, to be relevant, Luther, for his call for violence against rebelling peasants or his utterly, utterly repugnant anti-Judaic latter-day outlook and writings. We historians study such features of the lives of ancestors, to learn and gain the resolve to promote a “change of heart.”
Reconciliation among Christians might be closer than we think
By Mitchell T. Rozanski — October 30, 2017
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (RNS) — Working to bring Christians back together has taught me about our shared faith and how it can still light the world.
Is the Reformation over?
By Chris Castaldo — October 30, 2017
(RNS) — Family spats are unpleasant, especially when they persist for five centuries. At some point, most families wonder if reconciliation is possible. Among Christians, now is such a moment.
What came after: The Counter-Reformation art of Carlo Dolci
By Yonat Shimron — October 30, 2017
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — His meticulous paintings of Christian themes, saturated with emotion and glistening with color, were everything the iconoclast reformers railed against.
Martin Luther’s ‘dream’ church? It wasn’t in Europe
By guest — October 28, 2017
(RNS) — The revelation that Ethiopian Christianity possibly had links to the Protestant Reformation is a game-changer for what is generally thought to be an exclusively European phenomenon. (COMMENTARY)
Mazel tov to my Protestant friends!
By Jeffrey Salkin — October 25, 2017
(RNS) — Should Jews mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation? Yes. But.....
Beyond Halloween: Witches, devils, trials and executions
By Thomas Reese — October 24, 2017
(RNS) — As Halloween approaches, the Rev. David Collins, a Jesuit professor of history at Georgetown University, takes us back to a time in European history when witches were persecuted and executed by society.
Was the Reformation a mistake? A Catholic and a Protestant debate
By Matthew Levering — October 24, 2017
(RNS) — Two theology professors — one Catholic, one Protestant — get to the heart of what divides them: how they reason from the Bible.
Berlin exhibit highlights how the Nazis exploited Martin Luther’s legacy
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 19, 2017
BERLIN (RNS) — Most visitors to events in Germany marking this year’s 500th anniversary of the Reformation probably didn’t expect to find an exhibition setting out just how extensively the Nazis used Luther to justify their anti-Semitism and nationalism.
Who said that — Martin Luther or William Shakespeare?
By Kimberly Winston — October 17, 2017
(RNS) — Pit the Great Reformer and the Great Bard against your knowledge of both.
Blessing robots: Is a technological reformation coming?
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 11, 2017
WITTENBERG, Germany (RNS) — In the same way Martin Luther used the emerging technologies of his day, the blessing robot has sparked debate about humans and machines — and whether they might lead the church to a technological reformation.
Study up: A Reformation anniversary reading list
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 10, 2017
(RNS) — Martin Luther reportedly said: 'There never yet have been, nor are there now, too many good books.' Here are 10 notable ones about Luther and the Reformation he sparked, as Protestants celebrate its 500th anniversary.
Here he stood: Lutheran pilgrims travel to Germany on Reformation anniversary
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 5, 2017
EISENACH, Germany (RNS) — 'For all of Luther’s vehemence against the veneration of relics, that’s exactly what we’re doing,' said the Rev. Patrick Shebeck, leading a group organized by his Minnesota church on a pilgrimage through Germany's Luther Country.
US Catholics and Protestants agree: 500 years after Reformation, they have more in common than not
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 31, 2017
(RNS) — In some cases, U.S. Protestants seemed unaware of the theological differences that split Catholics and Protestants in the 1500s, voicing beliefs that are more traditionally Catholic than they are Protestant.
Who let Jared and Ivanka fly on Shabbat?
By Jeffrey Salkin — May 22, 2017
(RNS) Letting Ivanka and Jared fly on Shabbat was bad Judaism. And bad for the Jews.
