Over the next couple of years, we are going to be hearing a great deal about commemorating the European Reformation, which had its symbolic beginning with Martin Luther’s deeds in October 1517. In that sense, “the Reformation” was a specific series of events that occurred in Europe at a particular time, a historical moment like the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. I will be amused to see how, in late 2017, we will be marking that dual anniversary, as we discuss whether mainstream Protestantism has fared better or worse globally than Marxism-Leninism.
Yet events very much like the European Reformation have certainly occurred before in history, and may well represent a recurring cultural and religious phenomenon. Instead of The Reformation, we should rather be looking at reformations, rather like we think of political revolutions. Like revolutions too, we would expect each new reformation to be influenced by the historical example of its predecessors.
Read Full Article »