The Importance of Luther's 95 Theses

Actually this post should be entitled, "The Importance of the Protestant Reformation," for this post and this blog go well beyond Luther's Theses on Justification.

I refer the reader to John W. Robbins essay, "Civilization And The Protestant Reformation." The Protestant Reformation led to important advances in law, government, economics, as well as religion.

The best thing that could be said about the Protestant Reformation is that it was a great leap forward in the progress that had been made ever since the coming of Christ. And by "progress" I don't mean strictly theological progress, but also "secular" progress, in the areas mentioned above (law, government, economics, etc.). Another good essay for an overview of this progress is Christ and Civilization, again by John W. Robbins. (It's not that I'm a Robbins groupie, but these are good introductions. I doubt that Robbins would think I'm even a Christian.)

Sure, I vainly imagine that these new 95 Theses could prompt some big reformation and great progress in civilization. But that will probably come at the hands of some monk or university scholar (like Luther was), not an outsider like me.

What is needed is another "paradigm shift," which is what I'm trying to create through these Theses. More on that idea here.