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Wittenberg in 2008

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Written by Harrison Scott Key

October 31, 10:20 AM

Happy Halloween, also known as the Day Before All Saints’ Day. As Mickey said, it was 491 years ago (has it been that long, Marty?) when Luther composed his list of 95 propositions about the Church and posted them to the medieval version of today’s blog (a church door) to see who’d bite. The world bit, and now most Christians in the world are something other than Catholic.

So close to the 500th anniversary of this historic moment, “the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has declared a ‘Luther Decade,’ providing a sort of 10-year plan for German Protestantism.” Because that’s what European Christians need. A plan.

[...] 500 years after Luther, Protestants seem to be longing for the things he himself called into question — ceremony, ritual and all the religious trappings. Higher-ups in the EKD are no longer content to watch debates about religion revolve around Islam and the pope, and they’re not content to watch mosques erected in the Protestant heartland while there are still no places for Protestant pilgrimage. Their goal is to remake Wittenberg into a true Protestant Rome.

Read here how the EKD is going to turn Wittenberg into the Mecca of Protestantism and Germany into the rediscovered Promised Land of Christendom.

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back to top10 Comments to “Wittenberg in 2008”

BY Chas 10.31.08 AT 10:52 AM

Instead of a “10-year plan for Protestant Germany”, they need to pray for a Spiritual Revival. Nothing they plan will work. If all these people would confess their sins, and pray and seek His face, great things could happen in Germany again.
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BY Nick H. Peters 10.31.08 AT 11:08 AM

Interesting how he decides not to capitalize the word “pope”.

But look at all the other words he chooses to capitalize; Islam, Protestant, EKD, Promised Land, Decade etc.
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BY Graceland 10.31.08 AT 11:11 AM

That’s right, Nick. Everyone’s out to get YOU.
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BY klasko 10.31.08 AT 11:15 AM

Maybe it’s because I’m not a born-in-the-faith Lutheran, but a married in one, but it smacks of a plan to acquire more tourist dollars. It’s a noble cause, but frought with a feeling of touristy kitch, much like Oberammergau’s famous Passionspiel.

I lived in Germany for 8 years and I saw the 1990 Passionspiel. Noble cause, touritsy kitch.

It all feels like moneychangers in the court of the Gentiles at the Temple.
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BY Thorn 10.31.08 AT 11:42 AM

The Luther movie is pretty good. Good rental for tonight ifyou ya got nothing else to do.
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BY StuBob 10.31.08 AT 11:49 AM

+1 to #5.

Now that you mention it, Klasko, it does feel a little like a visit to Hannibal, MO — Mark Twain everywhere.
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BY Theophilus 10.31.08 AT 1:12 PM

amen Thorn…..after I close the restaurant for the evening, I shall retreat home and make sure I have nothing else to do.
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BY fisherman 10.31.08 AT 1:57 PM

It strikes me that too many religions are overly concerned about who they might conquer and who is seeking to conquer them. As I understand the real motive of Luther at Wittenberg he was most concerned about letting Jesus, rather than religion, conquer (rescue) sinful/broken hearts. And, there are plenty of those in every religion. (And, in every political party.)
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BY klasko 10.31.08 AT 2:24 PM

#8 – Fisherman – Sometimes I find it necessary to remind my fellow Lutherans of a few facts:
1) He was a Catholic monk whose purpose in posting the 95 theses was to reform the Catholic church, not start his own religion/denomination.
2) Just as Luther found it abhorrent to worship religious “relics” from departed saints, so, I believe that he would finnd it abhorrent that people have elevated him to the status of some kind of super saint whose footsteps need to be traced, on some kind of pilgrimage. (Some Lutheran faithful have been doing this before the EKD came up with this “good” idea.
3) As I pointed out in #2, Luther was nothing more then a man, he was not some super saint, nor was he the 4th member of the Trinity as I have seen some Lutherans by their actions imply. (Hyperbole intended).
4) As a man, he had some very human failings and flaws which should not be overlooked, and yet they are often overlooked. His most glaring flaw was his anti-semitism.
5) Not every word he wrote is praiseworthy.
6) He above most, would be the first one to point all of this out (with the exception of his anti-semitic leanings).

Happy Reformation Day to all.
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BY Chas 10.31.08 AT 3:43 PM

KLasko, as I said before, Luther is a hard man to get to like, but he was a giant in his day. I understand how he could have said some of the things he did. He was fighting a relentless enemy who was trying to kill him at every turn.

I’m sure he remembered that just about 100 years before, John Huss was burned for doing essentially what he did. And after the council shown in the clip, his friends kidnapped him to save his life. I think it was Wartburg castle where he was kept for about three years. I’ve forgotten some details.
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