Protestant Christians celebrate Reformation Day on October 31st to remember 16th-century spiritual leaders who defied the Catholic Church's politically and financially crafted false doctrine, sharing that everyone has access to God's grace—no matter social class, education, or even denomination.
If you’re a Christian or a history buff, curious whether your preconceived notions about the Reformation are rooted in reality, here are some misconceptions about the movement you may want to wave off:
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Martin Luther may have been the most iconic and celebrated protestant reformer. Still, he’s neither the first nor only Reformation proponent who launched an initiative to demand sweeping reforms within the Catholic Church.
Truth be told, as early as the 12th century, the Waldenians, a movement that strictly espoused apostolic poverty, were tagged as heretics by the Catholic Church for their refusal to give local bishops the authority to lend their own interpretations of biblical teachings.
During the 14th-15th century, lesser-known reform advocators, such as John Wycliffe, Pierre Valdo, Jan Huss, Martin Bucer, and members of the Waldensian movement had also taken a decisive stand against the Catholic Church’s unsound doctrines— this was long before Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Schlosskirche Church, Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517.
Curbing Catholic clergy’s abuses and protesting against the erroneous dogma that the church had perpetuated, John Wycliffe, a priest himself, took up the banner and rallied against the very institution he represented. He’s one of the finest theologians of the Medieval church and was an “English scholastic philosopher, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxford.”
Having witnessed how quickly some members of the clergy could compromise biblical teachings to satiate their capricious demand for material wealth, he urged the church to adopt a lifestyle of radical poverty, living a life of frugality and simplicity aligned with what Jesus preached to His disciples.
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:9-11 (NKJV)
Note: As we know, money is not evil in itself; it’s the love of and greed for money that devastates the soul and leads us to deviate from God’s path.
John Wycliffe’s strong stance against the church’s unbiblical teachings compelled him to pen 19 dissenting articles in 1377, which Pope Gregory XI censured. The articles were considered heretical as they contained opposing views about the Papacy, questioning its authority.
Wycliffe believed that there is no biblical justification for its existence. Moreover, he proposed that followers of Christ must consider the Bible as the only reliable source of truth and must oppose the unsound, self-serving teachings of the clergy, such as selling indulgences, clerical celibacy, praying to saints, and more.
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Contrary to what most people think, the early reformers never expressed a desire to sever ties with the Catholic Church.
Protestants only wanted to implement transformative reforms within the church to stamp out unbiblical doctrines and awaken the conscience of the clergy—the blind teachers of the law who succumbed to corruption often engaged in unethical activities as they prioritized their self-serving agendas over the spiritual well-being of the faithful.
"And He spoke a parable to them: 'Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.'” Luke 6:39-40 (NKJV)
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Many would assert that it’s the sale of indulgences contained in Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses that set off the Reformation. It is not. And though it’s one of the issues that provoked dissent against the Catholic Church, it’s the authority of the Papacy over the church that drove the Protestant movement to counter the church’s unbiblical doctrines. Bohemian preacher Jan Huss, for example, was burned at the stake for having preached the rallying cry of the Reformers—that God alone is the head of the church, not the Pope.
As it’s written: “And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18-20 (NKJV)
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Though there had been an outright rejection among Reformers concerning the worship of graven images, a number of them, including Martin Luther, did not demand or act swiftly in removing man-made images from the cathedrals and other houses of prayer. Nonetheless, there were already European countries at that time whose churches were devoid of graven images, such as those in Switzerland and Scotland.
We can attribute the dismantling of their religious statues to ardent proponents of the Reformation like Zwingli and Calvin, who did not hold back in advocating for the eradication of graven statues from churches. Other Lutheran churches, however, took on a more lenient approach. They allowed sculpted images of saints in churches provided that the devotees would not worship or venerate them as a god.
Being educated in a private Catholic school, I used to bow down before graven images. But when I became an evangelical Christian, the following verse cut deep to the heart:
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20 (NKJV)
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 (NKJV)
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The last several decades have seen strides in the dialogue between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations, such as the Lutherans, Baptists, and Evangelicals. As such, some consider the Reformation obsolete. This, however, can’t be further from the truth. Despite favorable improvements in relationships among myriad church denominations, theological differences persist. As Christians who regard the Bible as the sole authority for our beliefs and way of life, taking a stand for the truth, defending the Scriptures from unsound practices and flawed beliefs; such as the sale of indulgences to get to heaven, bowing down before graven images, among others, are simply non-negotiable.
It is, however, possible to hold out an olive branch and offer a gesture of goodwill to those whose religious beliefs stand in sharp contrast with ours. Nonetheless, we are expected not to yield to unbiblical doctrines and erroneous interpretations of biblical teachings to appease those adopting ideologies that are contrary to what’s written in the Scriptures.
As it’s written:
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:28-30 (NIV)
The Reformers put their lives on the line to defend the truth of the Gospel. They lived what they read from the Scriptures. Thus, they were the “salt and light of the world” (1 Timothy 6:9-11) who braved and defied powerful establishments, risking their lives to defend the teachings of the Scripture, shedding light on the darkness that engulfed their world. May we, as Christians, have the courage to follow in their footsteps– to be the light and salt of the world as God commanded so we, too, can shed light in the darkness that pervades our world today.
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