The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-10-31
Church Centennial
CHURCHES OBJ
SERVE 4OOth ANNIVERSARY
OF EPOCHAL EVENT.

Four hundred years ago tomorrow, |
November l, 1917, Martin Luther |
nailed to the door of the church in |
Wittenberg, Germany, his famous 95 |
theses, protesting against practices
and forms of the Roman Catholic |
church, both as authorized by the
mother church in Rome, and such as
were the national or local outgrowth.
This is said by eminent authority to
be the powerful impulse which has
guaranteed to the world democracy
in religious belief and government.
All protestant churches of the world
and particularly the Lutheran
churches, are celebrating today or to-
morrow this fourth centennial of
thought emancipation. In South Da
kota all Norwegian Lutheran
churches are sending delegates to
Sioux Falls, where they will fitting
| ly observe the event of epochal sig
nificance.
Martin Luther was the son of poor
German peasant parents. He at
tended school paying for his tuition
by singing in the choir. and being al
lowed to beg his bread from door to
door His father, an iron founder,
prospered, and the son was sent to
the university at Erfurt, where he
was preparing for the law. The
preparation for this profession in
volved a long and tedious study of
theology And just as he was pre-
pairing to enter upon the study of
the Corpus Juris itself. he suddenly
immured himself in a monastery,
and became a monk. In a few years
he was ordained and became bish-
op and instructor in the university
at Wittenberg
Luther had been troubled with
doubts during his earlier schooling
He had not consorted with the vari-
Gus Humanists and Scotists with
which the schools and city was in
, tested, but doubts arose in his own
mind as to the means of salvation.
When he preached to the monks and
! to the churchmen he kept to ortho-
doxy for the most part. Later. in
: teaching the populace, he spoke with
: greater comprehension, and could
not teach the adulterated Roman
, doctrines.
: Authorized by the pope, the sale
! of indulgences was in practice at this
e time. These consisted of fines of in
e ltrinsie value in place of penance
: Luther did not believe in this form
! of remission from sin. He said so
. On November i, 1917, he uncon
[ sciously did the thing which upse
5 the world From brooding unrest
e the world awoke to a realization tina
here at last was concrete settle
e ment of religious doubt. Ripe un
D doubtedly for just such a thing, /
!, swept far beyond the control of th'
S humble author, and blazed forth il
= thought revival and flame and sword
e Luther nailed his 95 theses to th'
S door The people read. Scholar
took it up. Before night the whol'
g city was talking it, The universit.
y press was kept busy printing the oh
+ jections, translated from the origina
e Latin into German. In a week th'
: whole German speaking world knew
S of the new thought. Luther himsel
d had no idea that importance, ever
q among his friends, would attach Il
0 the hastily written and illogical doc
I ument He found himself the cente
0 of a veritable whirlwind Of conten
I ltion.
Luther denied that the churcl
!. could impose fines for the remission
: of sins. What the church took /
a could give back. 1t could not tak'
: away guilt, nor impose it. He alst
y required that the open Bible b,
e placed in the hands of the people
e and that the priests should not b'
$ the sole spiritual guides of thought
: Other matters of doctrine importance
i were promulgated But it is these
r which set the world thinking. ant
: brought freedom in thought and de
: mocracy in politics to the world.