500 Years of the Reformation

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the official start of the Protestant reformation when on October 31, 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the castle church door in Wittenburg. Although reformation ideas had been circulating long before Luther (think Jon Hus and Joh Wicliffe to name a few), he kickstarted one of the biggest movements in modern world history. The celebration of the Reformation has both societal and spiritual implications. Western society owes its foundation to many of the landmark events of the Reformation. But most significantly the Reformation sparked a spiritual revival that we are still feeling the effects of today.

The theological ideas of the priesthood of all believers, the sufficientcy of Christ, and the sovereignty of God all found their renewal in modern history through the work of the reformers. The basic doctrines of all evangelical churches would not be possible without the Reformation. Although, there came to be factions and sects within the Reformation, all modern followers of Christ owe a grate deal of gratitude to the work of God during the time period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

For this reason, I have selected a reading plan for 2017 that will focus mainly on the German reformation through the work of Martin Luther, but will touch on the reformation in Switzerland through the work of John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli and the English reformation through the work of William Tyndale and others. Below is a selected list of the biographies, histories, lectures, theologies and other resources I will be using this year and I reccomend them to anyone interested in deepening their own study of and appreciation for one of the most important eras of Church history.