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31 October 1517—A Day That Changed History

© John L. Hoh, Jr.

On this date in 1517 a monk walked purposefully to the church door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Saxony, Germany. Here we need to begin to debunk some myths that have attached themselves to this event, myths that cloud what was really happening.

Many picture this church door as a clean door with no paper on it. Likely it had several documents tacked to it. The church door was the public notice board, where legal matters were posted by law. No doubt there was a foreclosure notice for some farm or business. The minutes of the town council meetings were likely fluttering in the breeze. Many may have seen the door as an area where an enterprising individual could post ads advertising one's wares. Wouldn't it be ironic if Tetzel may have had a placard posted selling his indulgences just across the river from Saxony? If so, Luther might have removed it if the Elector's men hadn't already.

The man approaching this church door has been depicted by history as a mere monk. Here again, myth collides with reality. Luther was a respected Doctor of Theology, not some backwoods monk. He was highly recommended when the Elector of Saxony sought to staff his university-his dear University of Wittenberg. The Elector wanted Wittenberg to be the class university of Europe and he spared no expense to hire the best.

Luther was one the few full time professors on the faculty-and one of the best paid. Not that Luther was good with money. He freely gave what he had away. No mere monk would attain to such a post, at such a prestigious university, at a high rate of pay.

When Rome soon addressed the problem and confronted Luther, Rome sent the esteemed Dr. Johann Eck, probably the best debater of the day. Dr. Eck didn't challenge Luther, either, but issued the challenge to Luther's fellow professor, Andreas Carlstadt. A mere monk wouldn't attract such attention, or be avoided in direct confrontation. There was a respect for Luther, his skills, and his scholarship.

But history loves a "David and Goliath" tale. Luther seemingly bucking the established Church seems like too good a battle to leave to two heavyweights. Better to make one seem insignificant.

This man comes to the door, he holds his paper to the door, and begins nailing. These are the 95 Theses that we have all heard about but very few likely have read. They were written in Latin, the language of scholars. Luther's intent wasn't to break from Rome or cause dissension. Rather, he sought to debate these theses with others. He sought to be shown from Scripture that the abuses he saw were Scriptural. This in itself was not unusual. Theses for debate were often written and posted publicly. Luther nailed the theses and anticipated his first challenge to debate these very theses. He thought he had a challenge at Worms, but he was merely set up. From Worms we have his statement, "I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand." Carlstadt would receive challenges instead, and it seems Luther attended with Carlstadt as scholar and possibly relieved Carlstadt.