Protestant Reformation
Is Reformed theology for black people?
(RNS) — Given the history of slavery and racism practiced by white Reformed Christians, black people are an unlikely group to identify as Reformed. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t resonate.
Germany marks 500th anniversary of church’s Reformation
BERLIN (AP) — In remembrance of the 500th anniversary, Reformation Day is a public holiday in Germany this year.
In his ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ Luther called upon believers to repent. What does that mean?
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.”
Mazel tov to my Protestant friends!
(RNS) — Should Jews mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation? Yes. But…..
The Reformation turns 500. Do you have your Luther Playmobil action figure at the ready? I do.
It’s the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 theses! But author and scholar Craig Harline reminds us that we *might* have inflated the legend of what actually happened at the Wittenberg door.
Amid decline, one Lutheran church strives to live up to its namesake’s spirit
CARY, N.C. (RNS) — Christ the King, located in a bedroom community to Raleigh, is pushing forward with a new vision, one that has less to do with Luther’s theology and more with the spirit of his reform.
Reformed churches endorse Catholic-Lutheran accord on key Reformation dispute
PARIS (RNS) Five hundred years after the Reformation, one of Protestantism’s leading branches has officially said it now agrees with the Vatican on the main issue at the root of its split from the Roman Catholic Church.
Who let Jared and Ivanka fly on Shabbat?
(RNS) Letting Ivanka and Jared fly on Shabbat was bad Judaism. And bad for the Jews.
Archbishop of Canterbury to express remorse over Reformation violence
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The statement will urge believers to ask for forgiveness for atrocities that happened on both sides during the Reformation and for greater unity between the Catholic and Protestant churches today.
How a toy figure of Martin Luther sparked accusations of anti-Semitism
(RNS) This was not at all supposed to be what the cute little figure was about.
The ‘Splainer: What is ‘Reformation Day’?
(RNS) Reformation Day is mainly marked by Lutherans and members of the Reformed Church, and in some churches it has developed into a holiday meant to rival Halloween. But does it? Let us ‘Splain . . .
Who’s a heretic? Martin Luther, Pope Saint John Paul, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis
Popes have been interested in heresy and heretics for centuries, and language linking “papacy” and “heresy” continues to prosper down to our own day. The language root of “heresy” connects with “to choose,” and the heretic is someone who, in the eyes of someone else, makes bad choices. Those of us who are not of […]
Henry VIII’s chapel hosts Catholic prayers for the first time in 450 years
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The service was a symbolic act cementing growing ties between this country’s two leading Christian faiths, Catholicism and Anglicanism, divided since the Reformation.
Report: Americans hold different views of what “religious” means
(RNS) There is a lopsided divide in America about what it means to be a religious person, with a majority believing that it’s about acting morally but a strong minority equating it with faith.