wfn.org | Editorial: Religious reformation a la Bohemian

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3009 Edition

>October 26~November 1, 2009

Editorial: Religious reformation a la Bohemian

>Translated by Lydia Ma

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses  on the door of Castle

Church in Wittenberg detailing many injustices of the time. Luther  argued that many things

were wrong in politics, society, and church and listed them one by  one and asked his

countrymen to discuss these issues. His Ninety-Five Theses gave  birth to fundamental ideas

such as justification by faith alone, the Bible as the only  infallible authority for Christians, and

the priesthood of all believers and began the Protestant  Reformation.

The Protestant Reformation impacted the world in many aspects and  continues to do so even

today. One such aspect was making education available for the  masses. Once education

became common, language abilities among ordinary citizens also  improved. The advent of

the printing press around that era merely hastened mass education.

The Protestant Reformation isn’t merely Luther’s legacy,  but also a cataclysmic event leading

Christians back to God’s word. It isn’t just a tale, but  an event reminding every generation to

challenge unrighteousness and injustices using the truths of the  Bible.

Though we may be unfamiliar with the Czech Republic, it is often  mentioned in tandem with the

Protestant Reformation because more than one hundred years before  Luther posted his

Ninety-Five Theses, a Czech theologian by the name of Jan Hus  (1369~1415) had already

issued a similar message to the church emphasizing on returning to  biblical principles and

>strict moral values.

Inspired by Jon Wycliffe, Hus was convinced that all believers  could commune with God

directly through reading Scripture. He used his mother tongue to  preach and teach, and Czech

peasants supported and agreed with his teachings. However, because  his convictions

conflicted with the Catholic Church of his time, Hus was  ultimately executed and burned at the

>stake.

Despite Hus’ death, his spirit and his determination to  promote righteousness still remain in

Czech culture. Recent examples of his legacy include Vaclav  Havel’s Charter 77, which

challenged his country to protect human rights, as well as the  Velvet Revolution, which was

driven by convictions that society could be better and followed by  real actions.

Vaclav Havel once emphasized that powerless people were powerful  because they knew and

lived the truth though they were oppressed. It is this truth that  enabled them to unmask tyrants.

Havel’s ideas resonate with Jan Hus’ convictions, as Hus  also admonished his countrymen to

step out from the Catholic Church’s shadows.

Theologian Karl Barth once emphasized that Christians should have  a Bible on one hand and

a newspaper on the other hand. What he meant was that Christians  in every generation must

fight against unrighteousness and oppression as mandated by the  Bible and this applied to

whatever they saw happening within churches and governments.

Though Czechs have been ruled by oppressors and have suffered many  injustices in their

national history, they have never lost sight of the vision of  their forbears and continue to pursue

these goals. What about Taiwan? The spirit of the Protestant  Reformation needs to be

rekindled in this land so that we can build a new, independent,  loving, peaceful, and just

>country.

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