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500 Years of Bearing Witness

(Below is my article for the October 2017 edition of my church's newsletter.) At the end of this month we’ll be observing the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.  It was on October 31st, 1517 that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, a German theology professor, posted 95 points for academic discussion and debate.  It was those 95 theses, as they were called, that sparked a change in the landscape of Christianity. At the heart of this change is the belief that Christ alone is the head of the church, and Christ is to be found in the Bible.  A person’s conscience cannot be bound to mere assertions of authority.  The truth must be demonstrated.  Luther argued that people need to be shown by plain reasoning from the scriptures that something is true and should be believed.  They must be convinced for themselves. This being convinced for yourself is the meaning of faith.  It’s not enough to simply go through the motions of religion without understanding what you’re doing.  You