Reformation

Reformation Day is tomorrow, the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg, calling for a debate largely on the theologically questionable practice of selling indulgences (less time in purgatory as punishment for specific sins).

You'll notice on the sidebar that I'm reading a lot of books. Actually those are all the books I've started. Oops. Right NOW, I'm reading the bio of Knox, which has this good clip on the Reformation.

"The Reformation began in part with revulsion over the moral and doctrinal corruption that wealth had brought to the Roman church in Scotland. In this sense, there was an economic factor in the Reformation from the beginning. In the same way, we could say that when Christ drove the moneychangers from the Temple, he was engaged in an activity, which had direct economic consequences....

"Knox wanted the church to use its revenues for the genuine work of the Gospel - the support of ministers and schools and relief of the poor.... the Church had not been fulfilling her mission... no one knew what a fruitful kirk would actually look like." - pgs 193-5.