This year the Protestant world turns its face toward Wittenberg to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Many voices participated in the events of those years roughly around 1500-1648.

“Oh, really?” is a common reply I hear when I tell another Catholic that this October will mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. They respond as if it’s something they are supposed to know, don’t, and aren’t sure whether to feel out of the loop or just curious about why I would even mention it. For many of us Catholics, the anniversary is not even on the radar.

The bestselling toy in the history of the German-based Playmobil toy company is Martin Luther. Putting Martin Luther on the market for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation was quite an ingenious strategy. A great deal of   hype surrounds Martin Luther in Germany in 2017, including television specials, publications, and year-long events in various cities.

Reformation Before Luther

My computer often reminds me of important spiritual truths. For example, when it begins to respond sluggishly, erratically, or unreasonably, I perform a “System Restore” exercise that resets all operations to an earlier point in time. This reset button allows the computer to perform as it did before problems started.

Jacob Arminius (1559 – 1609) was a Dutch pastor and scholar who spent most of his career as a pastor in Amsterdam. He served as professor of theology at the University of Leiden for about 6 years before dying of tuberculosis in 1609.  His pastoral spirit and sensibilities cannot be overestimated and were clearly present throughout the entirety of his career, including his theological writings.