One week to go
Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott,
Ein gute Wehr und Waffen;
Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
Die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alt’ böse Feind,
Mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint,
Gross’ Macht und viel List
Sein’ grausam’ Ruestung ist,
Auf Erd’ ist nicht seingleichen.
A mighty fortress is our God,
A good defense and armament;
He helpeth us free from all distress
Which now hath befallen us.
The old wicked enemy
Earnestly seeketh our ruin.
Great strength and much cunning
Is his fearsome suit of armor,
On earth none is equal to him.
Fun Fact: Martin Luther played the lute and highly praised the sacred music of the Italian composer Palestrina!
The above stanza is my translation of the first verse of a hymn of his own composition, which is a fitting way to begin this portion of my (infamous) travel blogs.
For those of you who do not know, I am going to Germany in one week to see some sites and to visit some family. Tuesday October 31 will officially mark the 500th anniversary of one of the most defining moments in human history, the protestant reformation. According to an account written by one of the reformers (the veracity of which is occasionally disputed), Dr. Martin Luther, a priest and Augustinian monk nailed a list of 95 debate topics challenging common ideas about the sale of indulgences to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. What is known for certain is that the document in question would call down a crap storm the likes of which few had known before. Pope Leo X, hearing of the theses, as well as other works by Luther, branded them as heretical, and in a papal encyclical which often goes by the title "Exurge Domine" (Arise, Lord) unilaterally condemned Luther's writings. In the encyclical we see a profound misunderstanding of Luther's work, as it was hastily studied and condemned because the church perceived Luther's work as a challenge to authority rather than a desire for orthodoxy. Unfortunately the good intentions of the Augustinian friar were misconstrued by some and perverted by others. Yet, in spite of this, God restored orthodoxy to His church and once again proved His faithfulness.
It is important for me to say at this juncture that I have a marked bias toward Luther both because I am protestant and because I am German. Luther has always been a person I think I would have gotten along with (insert montage of myself and Dr. Luther in his monastic robes going to a bar, drinking a bit too much, loudly yelling at eachother and then singing together as he plays his lute and then ending with the classic 'I love you bro' conversation) and I am really excited to have the opportunity to celebrate him, as well as God's faithfulnessand to nerd out like nobody's business .
This will also be the first time I have seen my family in Germany in ten years. Needless to say I am very excited about that.
For now, I turn to packing and to the completion of the booking of the train rides.
Ein gute Wehr und Waffen;
Er hilft uns frei aus aller Not,
Die uns jetzt hat betroffen.
Der alt’ böse Feind,
Mit Ernst er’s jetzt meint,
Gross’ Macht und viel List
Sein’ grausam’ Ruestung ist,
Auf Erd’ ist nicht seingleichen.
A mighty fortress is our God,
A good defense and armament;
He helpeth us free from all distress
Which now hath befallen us.
The old wicked enemy
Earnestly seeketh our ruin.
Great strength and much cunning
Is his fearsome suit of armor,
On earth none is equal to him.
Fun Fact: Martin Luther played the lute and highly praised the sacred music of the Italian composer Palestrina!
The above stanza is my translation of the first verse of a hymn of his own composition, which is a fitting way to begin this portion of my (infamous) travel blogs.
For those of you who do not know, I am going to Germany in one week to see some sites and to visit some family. Tuesday October 31 will officially mark the 500th anniversary of one of the most defining moments in human history, the protestant reformation. According to an account written by one of the reformers (the veracity of which is occasionally disputed), Dr. Martin Luther, a priest and Augustinian monk nailed a list of 95 debate topics challenging common ideas about the sale of indulgences to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. What is known for certain is that the document in question would call down a crap storm the likes of which few had known before. Pope Leo X, hearing of the theses, as well as other works by Luther, branded them as heretical, and in a papal encyclical which often goes by the title "Exurge Domine" (Arise, Lord) unilaterally condemned Luther's writings. In the encyclical we see a profound misunderstanding of Luther's work, as it was hastily studied and condemned because the church perceived Luther's work as a challenge to authority rather than a desire for orthodoxy. Unfortunately the good intentions of the Augustinian friar were misconstrued by some and perverted by others. Yet, in spite of this, God restored orthodoxy to His church and once again proved His faithfulness.
It is important for me to say at this juncture that I have a marked bias toward Luther both because I am protestant and because I am German. Luther has always been a person I think I would have gotten along with (insert montage of myself and Dr. Luther in his monastic robes going to a bar, drinking a bit too much, loudly yelling at eachother and then singing together as he plays his lute and then ending with the classic 'I love you bro' conversation) and I am really excited to have the opportunity to celebrate him, as well as God's faithfulness
This will also be the first time I have seen my family in Germany in ten years. Needless to say I am very excited about that.
For now, I turn to packing and to the completion of the booking of the train rides.
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