reformation history

Lucca: Cradle Of The Reformation

by on May 8, 2018 |

It was on 18 April 1521 that Luther appeared before the powers of this world and, ostensibly, the next at at the Diet of Worms. It was there he announced publicly the formal cause of the Reformation, sola Scriptura. That doctrine says that . . . Continue reading →

The Ninety-Five Theses: Did Luther Nail Or Mail Them (Or Both)?

by on October 31, 2020 |

It is Reformation Day 2020. As far as I know, magisterial (Reformed and Lutheran) Protestants have been observing October 31 as Reformation Day since the 17th century. Longtime readers of this space will may remember my critique of October 31 as Reformation . . . Continue reading →

Updated Calvin Resource Page

by on April 21, 2021 |

John Calvin (1509-64) was one of the most significant figures in the history of the West. He was among the major Protestant Reformers in the sixteenth century. He contributed significantly to the Reformed wing of the Reformation. He was an industrious Bible . . . Continue reading →

“Play The Man, Master Ridley”

by on June 9, 2021 |

One of the most interesting bits of Oxford history is the story of the Oxford Martyrs and the statue by which they are remembered. The history of the monument itself is fascinating. In 1833, John Henry Newman (1801‑90), an Anglican priest, began . . . Continue reading →

Stop Blaming Your Problems On Luther

by on December 3, 2021 |

…Yet I dissent from Chalk’s genealogy of modernity. He goes on to argue that this notion of the autonomous, emotivist self can be traced to Martin Luther. In part this is because Chalk depends upon Jacques Maritain’s Three Reformers: Luther, Descartes, Rousseau . . . Continue reading →

A Prison Letter From Huguenot Marie Durand

by on August 19, 2022 |

The “French Religious Wars” describes a series of eight civil wars fought out between 1562 and 1598. An estimated three million people perished, fifteen percent of the French population. Although the antagonists wore their inherited religious labels of “Protestant” or “Catholic,” social . . . Continue reading →

Review: R. C. Sproul’s Luther and the Reformation

by on September 1, 2022 |

With his characteristic clarity and story-telling ability,  R. C. Sproul’s Luther and the Reformation: How a Monk Discovered the Gospel reveals the lines of connection between the personal crises of Martin Luther’s life and the development of his theological thought. As the . . . Continue reading →

Why You Should Care About The Christian Past

Church History Is Family History

by on February 1, 2023 |

The value of church history is not always immediately obvious to everyone. In particular, Americans seem generally allergic to history. This is true of American Christians who are influenced by the American prejudice against history. Look at the History Channel (but only . . . Continue reading →