'pope' Tagged Posts
Papal Bull against German Boar
Papal Bull against German Boar A papal bull is not a special farm animal intended to provide a good meal for the pontiff. A papal bull is an official decree of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. It is named after the seal – the bulla – that authenticates it. Exsurge Domine is one of the papal bulls the world still chews on. It was issued by pope Leo X and promulgated in June 15, 1520. It is all…
Luther burns all bridges – The three shocking books of 1520
Luther burns all bridges – The three shocking books of 1520 Martin Luther writes three of is most influential books in the year 1520. To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation The Babylonian Captivity of the Church The Freedom of a Christian These writings are nothing less than a slaughterhouse for holy cows and the pope and his bishops feel like having a stroke. After the publication of these book even optimists know that there will be no reconciliation…
Sola Scriptura
Sola Scriptura One of the main challenges Martin Luther and the Reformers faced was the question where does the authority to teach the Christian faith come from? For them this authority did not lie in the offices of the pope and the bishops or in the church as an divinely ordained institution. Both had failed. Both participated in the gigantic scam of selling salvation through the issue of indulgences. The answer was Sola Scriptura. Scripture alone. The authority to teach…
Reformation History: Martin Luther drops the H-Bomb!
Reformation History: Martin Luther drops the H-Bomb! In January 1519 the papal nuncio Karl von Miltiz is almost able to broker a deal between the church and Martin Luther. Luther does not have to recant, but he does not recant in silence and writes nice things about the pope. That could have been the end of the Reformation, but Roman Catholic theologian John Eck doesn’t want silence. He challenges Luther’s co-reformer Andreas Karlstadt and Martin Luther to a debate. This…
St Peter’s Basilica, the building that helped to split the medieval church.
St Peter’s Basilica, the building that helped to split the medieval church. The church of all churches is St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. It is the largest church in the world, a cultural heritage site like no other, but it came with a huge price tag. One of the ingenious ways to finance that building and its exquisite art was the sale of indulgences. Indulgences are an official church document that forgives sins for a fee. The sale of…