The doors of Castle Church in Wittenberg

Do your kids know what October 31st is? A day for dressing up and going door to door, fleecing adults for candy? Nope. Well, yes, of course it’s that too… but Oct. 31 is also a very significant day in history. It is marks the anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. It is the day that, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg; a church that held a huge collection of Catholic relics. So what were these 95 Theses and why were they so important? They were an invitation to debate 95 points on which Luther felt that the Catholic Church was in error. His intention was not to split the church, but to purify it. They were a reaction, largely, to the church practice of raising money by selling indulgences. A fellow named Tetzel had become quite successful at convincing people that buy purchasing an “indulgence” their sin would be overlooked, even sins they had yet to commit. Martin Luther took issue with this. We visited Wittenberg last year, and walked the long stone street through the center of town to Castle Church. The church burned and the original wooden church doors were destroyed years ago. They’ve been replaced by a metal set with the 95 Theses inscribed on them. It is still a Catholic church, and when we were there they were cleaning the enormous chandeliers, which was at least as fascinating to the kids as the “95 feces” (to quote Ezra, which put us all into hysterics) were. Regardless of whether you carve pumpkins, or dress up like clowns and fill a pillow case with candy corn this evening, be sure not to miss celebrating one of the most important moments in history. Martin Luther was many things, but regardless of which side of the theological divide you fall on, surely we can all agree that he is an excellent example of how one man with an idea and perseverance can change the world. To learn more about the 95 Theses and read a translation in English, please visit: 95 Theses