My Happy Place

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  “The floor was carpetless. The whitewashed walls were in parts scrawled over with strange diagrams, and in others covered with shelves crowded with philosophical instruments, the uses of many of which were unknown to me. On one side of the fireplace, stood a bookcase filled with dingy folios; on the other, a small organ, fantastically decorated with painted carvings of medieval saints and devils. Through the half-opened door of a cupboard at the further end of the room, I saw a long array of geological specimens, surgical preparations, crucibles, retorts, and jars of chemicals; while on the mantelshelf beside me, amid a number of small objects, stood a model of the solar system, a small galvanic battery, and a microscope. Every chair had its burden. Every corner was heaped high with books. The very floor was littered over with maps, casts, papers, tracings, and learned lumber of all conceivable kinds.” “The Phantom Coach” By Amelia Edwards (1831–1892)

Father Of A Revolution

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500 years ago today, a man made a public post that made him the "unfriend" of many for his post ignited a revolution that was already waiting to happen. Someone merely needed to open the door, as it were. Many lost their lives because of his post but more lives were changed because of it. Yes, long before the advent of the internet and social media those kinds of things happened.

Augustinian monk Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) did not agree with the Church's practice of selling salvation (among other practices). Already quite religious, Luther thought he understood most Bible doctrines until he began actually read scripture in order to teach it. His practice had been to simply do and think as he was taught, to believe as he was told. Since reading the Bible he could no longer agree and wanted to address errors being propagated by the Church so he literally protested by publicly posting his grievances. He wanted to talk. And so began the Protestant Reformation. 

Listen to Dr. Ed Smither explain Luther's situation and consider how you are impacted by the Protestant Reformation in this short presentation, "Luther, Authority, Vernacular." Dr. Smither is the Dean of Intercultural Studies at Columbia International University. 

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