Martin Luther was just one more dissatisfied Catholic Priest who longed to see revival and change in his beloved church. However, his message spread like wildfire and caught the imagination of much of Europe. It started a Revolution it thinking, theology, government and church life. We call it "The Protestant Reformation" because Luther started out by "protesting" what they saw as faults in their church.
Why was he successful when so many reformers had failed before him? There are many reasons not the least of which was God's Spirit was involved. However, God usually works through temporal means. God uses fallen men and women, fallen organizational structures and various means of education and training.
Few people in the time of Luther could read much because there was not much to read. It was rare for a Priest or church to have a Bible and no one was allowed to read it or interpret it except a Priest. Thus, the people had to take whatever the Priests said as God's word. For example, when the people could read the Bible they discovered that it did not say that King's had a "Divine Right" to rule over others. In fact is says that "All persons are created in the image of God" not just Kings. This was one thing that led the Monarchs to burn the Bibles and persecute the people who translated the Bible into the vernacular. Reading the Bible can be a dangerous thing.
Tomorrow we will look at the "Rest of the Story".
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