New Britain herald., 1928-02-06

that thess Bibles were 70 expensive in that day that only the wealthy could afford them. We must not blame the Catholic church fer that.
 Luther lad hold Of the profound fact that the fine arts can be ths hand maiden of religion. It is too bad that Protestantism has deprived it's churches of the products of the fine arts. This world was not made merely for utility. History shows that art was born of religion. Gre clan sculpture arose from making statues of the gods: architecture has its noblest expression in the rock temples of India Luther protested against the false attitude Of hostility to sacred art.
 ''Protestants often wonder how 1t is that the Catholic church has such a hold upon her people. that they are % faithful to their obligations. The secret is largely found in their application of the psychology of sacred art in their worship. While the Romanistic service lacks the vitality and direct interest of the Protestant, yet every feature of the architecture Of the altar and the en- virons symbolizes religion: reverence Is voiced by their appeal to GIT and eye, and we feel that we are verily in the house of prayer as We bow before the Holy of Holtes. Especial ly does this symbolism make its last ing appeal in the period of youth. This is . lesson that Professionalism must learn if we would hold the ris- ing generation. Let us restore the products of sacred art to our churches.
 ''To realize what tho world owes Luther VIC have only to compare what the world was before hts time and what it has been and Is since the time of Luther. One of the doc trines of that day that Luther con- tested with all the force of his per sonality was, of course, tho infali- hility of the Pope. The Pope in- terpreted the scriptures. There was no linguistic. historical or critical test by the study of Hebrew and Greek and Latin. It Is no wonder that the age just before Luther was termed the dark age.'
 To-day the Bible is translated into hundreds of languages; 1t Is circu- lated in copies numbering millions like tho leaves of tho forest. We have the Reformation to thank for this.
 "Luther fought the infamous practice of granting indulgences. These monks travelled about in tho countries of Europe. A man could write the name of some sin on . strip of paper and pay | price in money to a monk and his sin was forgiven. Luther fought 1t with al! the force of his being.
 Did Not Inave the Church.
 we must remember that Luther never intended to separate from the Catholic church. He wanted only to right the wrong that had arisen in the church. He was forced out. He never wanted the church to bear his name: but 1t was given hts name and has retained 1t to the present day.
 "The blessings Of | free state and of civil and religious liberty are an- other heritags that the world owes to Luther and the Reformation: the blessings of [ free state and of civil and religious liberty. You remem- Der how you read in history that Henry the Fourth of Germany stood bare- headed in the cold at the door of the castle where Pops Gregory tho Seventh was. The emperor stood there for three days pleading that his forfeited crown might be restor- ed. In boldest terms Luther chal- lenged the claims of tho Pope to dominate the state. We have Luther to thank for our modern free state.