Today is the 161'st anniversary of the Gettysburg address, If I had a bucket list, visiting Gettysburg would definitely be on it.
Last year, during the A to Z challenge, I published this post, which includes a video of the address plus an 8-minute film telling the story behind the movie The Last Full Measure. I included it because The Last Full Measure is a line from the address.
I just knew that if I Googled the Gettysburg Address Rap, I would find something. I was not disappointed. I have included it here as well to help commemorate the day.
That's what my father-in-law would say when our family would come to visit. My father-in-law and my father, as I mentioned in my last post, were both the oldest of 7 children and were both raised Catholic. I was thinking of my F-I-L today . There is a student in my school with his exact first and last name, and I was subbing in that student’s first period class today. Their first name is Donnell so it's not exactly an every day name.
My wife's Dad was not only raised Catholic, but he also was a Benedictine Brother living in a monastery before he gave up his vows and married my mother-in-law. So when he called us Protestants, this was a little more than the average layman's opinion.
This opinion was true. We were in fact, Protestants. We never referred to each other as such. While it was true that both Amy and I had grown own of our Catholic beliefs and were attending a Bible church when we married, we simply referred to our selves as Christians.
It was on this day in 1517 that a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg by the name of Martin Luther is credited for changing the course of religious history and making a distinction between Protestants and Catholics.
What's A Catholic?
The first use of Catholic dates back to 110 A.D. It basically means universal. Saying the Catholic Church in it's original meaning was talking about all Christians. In AD. 380 Christianity became the state religion of the Roman empire. In essence the Roman Catholic church just means the Christian church operating in Rome.
What's a Protestant?
A Protestant is called this because historically they protested against the teachings of the Catholic church. These protests led to the Protestant reformation. The reformation was meant to reform the Catholic church not to necessary split from it,
Martin Luther was one of the original reformers. He nailed 95 theses on the wall of the Wittenberg Door. These theses were protesting Catholic practices like indulgences.
What's an indulgence?
In the medieval church, a system developed of how to earn your way out of purgatory into heaven. It began as a series of "good works" like fighting in the crusades and then devolved into a practice of purchasing indulgences from the church in order to get sins forgiven. Lost in all these practices were the biblical teachings of Grace, Faith and Redemption. One of the myriad reasons for this is that the truth of the Bible was not accessible at time to the masses. The Protestant reformation that followed changed
Christianity back to its Biblical roots.
What Separates Protestantism And Catholicism?
The Reformation highlighted 5 core beliefs that distinguished it from the Catholic church. These are often referred to as the 5 Solas (Latin for Alone).
Sola Gratia - Faith Alone
Salvation is in no way deserved, cannot be earned and is entirely from God.
Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone
The Bible is God's authority on how we are to live.
Sola Christus - Christ Alone
The Bible teaches that salvation comes from Jesus Christ.
Sola Fide - Faith Alone
Faith (not works) in Jesus Christ is the only way to Salvation
Soli Deo Gloria - Only God receives the glory
There is nothing special in us that allows us to be saved.
My Father In Law would often use the phrase Sola Scriptura but not in a positive sense. He disagreed that scripture in itself was enough. This is not only a typically Catholic belief but it is also present in all of us. It is in our nature to think more of ourselves and our traditions than actually exist. The truth is that we as individuals and institution are always in need of Bible based reformation. I hope today on Reformation Day and every day you endeavor to let God reform you into his image. The image of God who created, lived for, died for , and redeemed you. It sometimes may seem tricky but it really is a treat.
