Not only is today Halloween, more importantly it is also Reformation Day, which is basically the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the church. I've always thought that it might be fun to print out the 95 Theses on 8.5X11, staple them together, and tape them to the door of the local Catholic church. Haven't gone through with it yet...maybe next year.
On a related note, a few weeks ago I rented Luther on DVD. It wasn't the best movie, but it's worth a rent if you're interested in the subject.
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9 comments:
I wouldn't waste my time. The dispute is largely moot these days, especially in North America, Indeed, your local RC parish probably sang "A Mighty Fortress" as its recessional hymn last Sunday!
I am saving my fodder for Guy Fawkes Night!
A need for reformation? Maybe you should go to southern protestant churches and ask why they declared black people uneducatable, leaving the schooling in many poor areas to Catholic churches? Maybe you should look into how many Catholic churches were burned in Georgia and clergy lynched. Or ask why the KKK flourished among protestants.
My suggestion about taping the 95 Theses to the door of Catholic church was simply an idea for a prank that I would like to think the Catholic ministers would get a kick out of. It was not a commentary on the modern Roman Catholic Church. I believe that everyone knows that the Church has been involved some pretty despicable actions throughout the past 2,000 years, and the Catholic Church is certainly not one to be excluded. Do the Crusades, Inquisition, or exploitation of indigenous peoples by Catholic missionaries ring a bell? The fact is that the Church is made up of human beings who are imperfect (evil is probably a more accurate word) and, as a result, on Earth, it will never be perfect institution that it was created to be.
Anon,
A few more questions:
Or why convents owned slaves? Or why the Pope personally sent a crown of thorns to Jefferson Davis after the War of Northern Aggression?
Sincerely,
MDN
I tend to look at the Reformation commemoration as the prelude to All Saints Day, a day when we remember the whole church and all her saints. Thanks for this post; the Reformation tends to often go unnoticed these days.
I was shocked on Friday when one of our young history teachers at the high school came by the teacher's study, shook my hand and said " Happy Reformation Day!"
He is a grad of a small state university and it seems the professors there still teach Reformation History....Most state school profs now are interested in the History of Hinduism or Buddhism. God forbid they teach any form of Christianity History, be it Protestant, Orthodox, or Roman Catholic....
I would just suggest that most Catholics will not find that funny. I was raised catholic and although I no longer am that observant, my first reaction is to find the idea somewhat offensive. My own experience as a younger guy working for a Jewish Federation is that religion is a highly personal thing which many people unconsciously take very seriously. Although I think a certain amount of joking is ok, but there is a line that you don't want to cross that can sometimes be difficult to locate.
I can tell your intentions are pretty benign, but my advice would be not to make such a joke.
Here you go Trip: http://sacredsandwich.com/archives/870
I am Catholic and I find it pretty funny....Lighten up tintin...
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