by Maria Post

Staff Writer

While most Protestant churches celebrate Reformation Day every year, a surprising number of Christians (Calvin students included) have only a very vague idea of exactly what it is they are celebrating. Most believe that Reformation Day has something to do with Martin Luther and his 95 theses, which it most certainly does. There's more to Reformation Day than that, however.

Celebrated on the last Sunday in October, Reformation Day honors Martin Luther and other Christians of the 16th century who set the Protestant Reformation rolling. The church during this period had become exceedingly corrupt. This happened mainly because the church, due to the decentralized governmental structure of feudalism, was serving both the religious and civil needs of society.

With increasing power came increasing corruption within the church itself. The main point of controversy became the selling of indulgences, a practice that allowed people to pay the church to have their sins directly forgiven without doing penance.

In addition to this, people could buy indulgences on behalf of deceased family members to release them from purgatory.

It was within this context that Martin Luther and John Tetzel knocked heads. Tetzel had been commissioned by Pope Leo X to sell indulgences in Germany. The proceeds were to be used to pay for the completion of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome.

Legend has it that Tetzel, an expert salesman, would wander the streets appealing to people who may have ``dear dead relatives and friends'' trapped in purgatory, advertising his wares with the cry ``As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from Purgatory springs.'' Martin Luther, outraged at such exploitation and abuse, nailed his 95 theses to the town bulletin board - the doors of the church in Wittenberg.

Martin Luther's condemnation of indulgences was in part a reflection of his theology of justification by faith.

As a monk, Martin Luther had become increasingly dissatisfied with his ability to live a life free of sin and thereby earn God's grace and salvation. He lived in fear of God's wrath and judgment until he realized that Christians are unable to earn God's love and forgiveness. Martin Luther declared that the only way Christians become righteous is through faith in God, and God alone therefore bestows salvation to Christians.

This belief, among others held by Martin Luther and his contemporaries, fueled the Protestant Reformation and still has vast implications for Christians in the 21st century.

Reformation Day is a time for Protestants to remember their roots and the events that changed the church forever. It is also a time to be thankful to God for allowing his children to live in faith, instead of in the constant fear brought about by the knowledge that meeting God's standard is impossible.

Although Reformation Day has already passed, please take a moment to reflect upon the unconditional, unmerited love of God and the rich history of the Protestant Church's beginnings.