Home

Opinion

The date October 31 makes most people think of pumpkins, costumes and candy. But long before Halloween became a cultural staple, that date marked an event that redirected the course of civilization. On October 31, 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed a document known as the 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg.

At the time, Luther’s act was small and localized. It was a callout of religious abuses, a challenge to debate such, and it sparked what historians call the Protestant Reformation. The movement that followed would upend churches throughout Europe and the world, and immeasurably influence education, government, economics, not to mention the lives and souls of countless individuals.

Other Reformers, along with Luther, would cause reflective leaders to de

See Full Page