Yesterday my four-year-old granddaughter caught me off guard when she asked, “Who will you be for Halloween?” For the record, she intends to be a bumblebee, while her little sister is looking forward to being a cat. But the question remains: Who will YOU be for Halloween?
As many Torchlighter fans know, Halloween coincides exactly with Reformation Day, the day Torchlighter Martin Luther bravely shared his 95 Theses critiquing a Catholic Church that had become increasingly corrupt. This act on October 31, 1517, is remembered as the defining moment of the Protestant Reformation, lighting flames of dissent that quickly spread throughout Europe and beyond and whose impact reaches to each of us today.
In 2017, Christian History Institute (the makers of the Torchlighters) marked the 500th anniversary of Luther’s act with several special projects designed to help readers and viewers better understand the roots and fruits of the Reformation. Whose ideas and which movements helped lay the foundation that Luther built on? How were his Theses received by the established church and how did others carry them forward?
We sought to answer these questions and many more with these special projects, still relevant and readily available:
- Our 3-part original film series This Changed Everything: 500 Years of the Reformation explores the Reformation, while also grappling with difficult questions surrounding its legacy of ongoing division within the Christian church. Also available to stream on RedeemTV.
- Our 5-issue Reformation series of Christian History magazines covers Luther, Calvin, the Radical Reformers, the Catholic Reformation, and the Women of the Reformation. These issues are available in print or may be readily accessed online.
- The fold-out Reformation timeline is a handy reference sheet available for bulk purchase or to read online.
- The classic Reformation Overview film series is composed of six half-hour programs exploring major figures of the Reformation. It is available to stream on RedeemTV.
- And let’s not forget Torchlighters: The Martin Luther Story, complete with full curriculum to teach youngsters about the start of the Reformation and the importance of salvation by faith.
And now we return to the question: Who will YOU be for Halloween? Martin Luther chose to be a man of conviction, fully dedicated to his Lord, engaged in the public discourse, respectful of those who’d come before and mindful of his role in helping to build a faithful church for the future. His example is something to aspire to not just on Reformation Day, but all year long.
