Issue
Reformation 500
Vol. 26, No. 5 • Sep/Oct 2017
History is written by the victors. That truism is being put to the test this year as we celebrate the Reformation’s five-hundredth anniversary. Churches across the world—however tenuous their connection to the Reformation—are joining in its victory parade, eager to share some of the glory of Luther, Calvin, and the other Reformers. What exactly are […]
All Articles (12)
Letter from the Editor
History is written by the victors. That truism is being put to the test this year as we celebrate the Reformation’s five-hundredth anniversary. Churches across the world—however tenuous their connection to the Reformation—are joining in its victory parade, eager to share some of the glory of Luther, Calvin, and the other Reformers. What exactly are […]
The State of the Church before the Reformation
Why was there a Reformation? What was the church like just before the Reformation took place? Why did the Reformation have to happen? By looking at these questions we can begin to gain some understanding of our own situation today. One of the reasons why the Reformation happened is that there was a rediscovery of […]
Against the Weber Thesis
Max Weber, a nineteenth-century German sociologist of genius, put forward a theory that still remains influential, particularly among those who are not historians. In a classic work first published in 1904, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,1 he suggested that there was a causal link between these two phenomena, more particularly between Calvinist Protestantism […]
Reformation Romance: Love and Marriage Luther and Katie’s Way
“He’s merely a monk who wants a wife.” So the pope dismissed Martin Luther when first he heard of the Saxon monk’s decrying of the papacy. But then in 1521, during his compelled sequester in the Wartburg Castle, Luther began hearing of many former priests taking wives. “Good heavens!” he retorted. “They won’t give me […]
Protestantism Is Over and the Radicals Won
Much of the hoopla surrounding the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation has been blather. On October 31, 2016, at a joint service in Lund, Sweden, Pope Francis and the president of the World Lutheran Federation exchanged warm feelings. Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of the mainline Lutheran body, said in a press release […]
Schwärmerei as Original Sin
“They fill the world with their chattering and scribbling—as if the Spirit could not come through the Scriptures or the spoken word of the apostles, but the Spirit must come through their own writings and words.” — Martin Luther In 1537, at the behest of Elector Johann Friedrich the Elder, Martin Luther composed (with the […]
Church History
Explore All
Catholics and Evangelicals Need the Reformation
Wes Huff joins Michael Horton and Adriel Sanchez to discuss why the church needs to recover the Reformation’s view of the Bible. And why—if we want to see a modern reformation—the Word above all earthly powers must remain the ultimate rule of our faith and practice.
Aimee Semple McPherson: Celebrity, Mystery, and the Rise of Pentecostalism
Dr. Robert Godfrey joins Michael Horton and Bob Hiller to discuss the strange disappearance and mystery around Sister Aimee Semple McPherson, and what the fame of this pentecostal preacher tells us about the history of American evangelicalism.
10 Overlooked Bible Characters Who Shaped Redemptive History
“Faith is an unclean hand that lays hold of the righteous robes of Jesus.” Adriel Sanchez and Producers Aaron Simon and Arianna Quiroz explore the stories of the characters you may not have heard of in Sunday school and explain how these overlooked figures’ stories can encourage the church today.
Did Constantine Change the Day of Worship?
Did Constantine change the church’s day of worship from Saturday to Sunday? Pastor Adriel Sanchez addresses this theory that has long been stated online, demonstrating that the Christian practice has been to gather for worship on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, since the first century.
