A Diet of Worms

We watched the movie "Luther" for school yesterday. Tomorrow is Halloween or Reformation Day...whichever you prefer to call it. The timing for these things is pretty divine. 

As someone involved quite heavily with leadership in the church, or just part of the church body itself, it's interesting to see history repeat itself. In Luther's day, the church was selling "indulgences", which comforted the people. Certificates of passage into Heaven bought with money, relics to gaze upon to increase one's spirituality and prostitutes for the monks. Anything for the comfort of the people. Church people don't do those kinds of things anymore though...or do we? In his day, the people were denied having the scriptures to read for themselves. We have them, and people are not encouraged to study them...or they just don't want to. People burned at the stake in order to provide a readable Bible, we would rather burn at the stake then to have to sit down and read it.

The Word of God, the Bible, Jesus Himself at our fingertips. Something to celebrate this weekend.

"My conscience is captive to the Word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot, I will not recant. Here I stand, I can do on other...help me God."