Having just come back from a study trip of the Continental Reformers, I hope to give my little thoughts to what we can learn from them about the church. Specifically, in this age of divisions, what we can learn from a time (500 years ago) in which the church split into major groups. Too many today use the Reformation as an example of splitting. Unfortunately, the demise of the Reformation is an ongoing lack of unity and belief that we can somehow keep kicking others out, or leaving to form our own church, or just getting mad at one church and walking away without any hint that it may be sinful.
The first 1,000 years of church history, there was one orthodox church. Then in 1054 there were two. Then, not withstanding the Waldensians and Hussites there were about five (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran Protestant, Reformed Protestant, and Anglican), though Lutheran and Reformed churches were often subdivided by state or ruler. Today there are over 45,000 Christian "denominations." There are now more non-denominational (meaning independent or unable to unite together) then denomination churches in America. I am grateful for non-denominational churches because when denominational churches are all wrapped up in themselves and lose the vision for their own existence or propogating themselves, many are starting non-denominational churches without restrictions. However, what we are missing is the ability to work together for the kingdom of God, working cooperatively to make His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Luther- Luther did not want to start a new church. When he nailed his 95 thesis to the castle church door in Wittenburg he wrote in Latin- the language of the scholars and priests- but not the language of the people. He hoped for a discussion. It was translated and printed in German and went to the population who for the most part agreed with it. It was a sharp discussion of the idea that you can give money (an indulgence) to the church to get yourself or relatives out of purgatory and of the power of the clergy to decree their penalty or lack thereof. There were debates with Eck and others that made it clear the bureaucracy of the church did not want to hear the criticism. After three debates the pope sent a bull against Luther's teachings banning and encouraging the burning of them. Luther burned the bull. Here things got testy. Luther was excommunicated 1/3/1521. He then had no choice- if he was going to continue to worship God- to worship and lead outside of the Roman Catholic church. When Luther and his followers were declared outlaws worthy of death at the Diet of Worms 5/26/1521 Luther was forced to retreat and reform the church himself.
Luther wanted to keep the German Protestant church united. He spurned the peasant rebellion as being too radical and dividing the church between royalist and peasant. He condemned the Anabaptist extremes as going too far. He even condemned Reformed thinkers- saying that reformed folk were too rationalistic to the point of heresy. Luther was a prophet- who was easy to criticize but he was not a builder. He agreed with 14 of 15 points with the reformed but could not agree to disagree on the eucharist. He criticize everyone including Bucer and Melanchthon for trying to unite the Protestant ideas. Yet he wrote Bucer encouraging him to keep trying to bring unity. Luther wanted others to be united with him in his beliefs. But he had a hard time agreeing to disagree. After Marburg, because the Lutheran and Reformed could not agree, the Romans from Lucerne attacked Zurich and Zwingli died.
However, both Calvin and Zwingli saw Luther's important role in not only the ideas of the Reformation, but the one who could shape it. Zwingli said after Marburg: "There are no people on earth with whom I would rather be at one than the [Lutheran] Wittenbergers." Calvin even called him, "The Apostle of the Reformation." Most of the early reformers in the 1500s were called "Lutherans." Calvin, Bucer, and Karlstadt considered themselves Lutherans at first. So there was a type of unity of thought if not in organization of the Reformation.
At Marburg and later at Augsburg, effort were made at both definition, distinction and unity. In the end, the groups were more united than most inside a denomination are united today. But Luther and Zwingli specifically, could not appreciate how united they were. They were expecting complete agreement against the medieval papist catholic church. Luther specifically held the tension of wanting unity and wanting to stay true to orthodoxy (and tradition), to scripture, and to the mystery of faith.
Prayer: Lord, give me grace to hold to my teachings with great conviction but also to seek the unity of the Spirit with fellow believers.
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