Do you know what today is?

Do you know what today is? No, it is not the day after Halloween or the Satanic New Year, Samhain. It is actually a day all of us who enjoy being able to read our Bibles in our own language, go to the church we want, sing hymns, and exc., should celebrate. It is the day that marks the start of church as we know it and take for granted. Today is Reformation Day.

Years and years ago, as in 1517, Martin Luther wrote a long letter to his bishop concerning issues in the Catholic church at the time. These 95 Theses were the beginning of something bigger, questioning of the Catholic church and the birth of the Protestant movement. Luther felt that forgiveness came through God alone not through a piece of paper signed by the Pope's emissary. Also salvation was through grace, not a result of amassing good works. It was a scholarly work but as such started people thinking and actually looking at the Scripture for themselves for the first time.

At the same time across Europe another mighty man of God was leading a holy revolt. William Tyndale was a English man, a tutor and a house chaplain, who felt that the people should have the Bible in their own language. This was a monumental undertaking and strictly forbidden.

 One of the more pungent scenes from a movie comes for a movie about William Tyndale. The movie opens with a English family standing outside with a church official asking one of the young boys if he could recite the Lord's Prayer. The child is shy but with gentle coaxing he says it perfectly. The mother than starts weeping, which I thought odd. The "kindly" church official then arrests the father and orders him to be hung! A lay person could not have or learn about a Bible themselves, and definitely not instruct their children. The movie was low budget but I was shocked by the sacrifice of others way before me.

In the end William Tyndale died for voicing opposition to King Henry XIII's divorce. He was eventually betrayed and martyred, though four years after his death the English Bible was published with King Henry XIII's blessing (Just in case you ever wondered, God can use anyone for His purpose!)

So, as you go about your day, listening to your Christian radio and reading your Bible, remember those who gave so much for the cause of Christ. Men and women who were not afraid to stand up to the establishment of the day and say and teach what was truth. We are part of a long line of light through history, may we not drop the torch in the final hour.