Martin Luther’s 95 theses in the 21st century
The obscure monk’s short-form Tweet storms were considered misinformation
(source: Wikimedia)
“Out of love for the truth and from desire to elucidate it, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and ordinary lecturer therein at Wittenberg, intends to defend the following statements and to dispute on them in that place.Therefore he asks that those who cannot be present and dispute with him orally shall do so in their absence by letter. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.” Martin Luther
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 theses on the door of the Schosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg, Germany. These were propositions against Indulgences, the money making enterprise run by the Catholic Church. Indulgences were payments made by people to have their sins forgiven by the papacy in order to gain passage to heaven. In other words, they were “get out of jail” cards, or more accurately purgatory, a place where unsaved souls go to purify or “purge” themselves of sin. It was for all intents and purposes akin to jail.
To be destined for purgatory was a life of shame and guilt that many would do anything to avoid. Indulgences consisted of good works to active duty in the crusades to actual money. The money raised from indulgences built hospitals, schools and most famously St. Peter’s Basilica. The grift continued until the 16th century when Luther made the landmark case for salvation through faith alone. It was no longer necessary, Luther argued through his theses, to work for salvation, let alone pay a church that had no special access to God.
What Luther did was essentially share the first Tweet storm by posting his statement 140 characters at a time. Just look at the first five theses:
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.
The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.
Luther’s propositions were catalytic to the Protestant Reformation, which essentially rejected the elitist view that the Catholic leaders were the moral arbiters of right and wrong. Imagine the gall of this 33-yr-old relatively obscure professor and theologian to push such disinformation! One could imagine how threatened the enterprise was. It’s not a surprise therefore that Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany issued the Edict of Worms, declaring Luther a heretic and enemy of the state, giving anyone permission to execute Luther with impunity. The church also censored his works but given the invention of the printing press, Luther’s liberating words were widely distributed in multiple languages.
[NOTE: Don’t forget to register for Culture, Religion & Technology, take II on 10/29/2024 for a Fireside Chat w/ Peter Thiel.]
Medieval Church = 21st century Woke Church
There are a lot of similarities between the printing press 600 years ago and the internet as well as the dogmatic elitist power structure of the medieval Catholic church and today’s Left-leaning woke ideology that has united government, academia, science and global institutions from the United Nations to the World Economic Forum.
Like the corrupted church, this new coalition believes strongly in a global world order they claim will bring peace and prosperity equally to all. They appeal to societal guilt of original sin that requires penance, and an absolution process designed by their elitist friends. They censor the ideas of their enemies. They leverage the potency of the Judeo-Christian religion: a faith so strong, it can move mountains (e.g. redefining good and evil by making irrelevant the Greco-Roman mythical gods). This is the charismatic motivator of the woke ideology. It is embraced like a religion with its own 10 commandments.
Strive to be radically inclusive
Acknowledge this land is indigenous land
Acknowledge that no human being is illegal
Black Lives Matter
Climate change is real
Women’s rights are human rights
All genders are whole and good
Love is love
Hate is voluntary
Kindness is everything
[courtesy: woke lawn signs]
Sadly, what Luther set to reform has regenerated like the mythical phoenix. And this new entity, with its own cardinals, archbishops and priests, has established a gateway to salvation through its own modern-day remission of punishment. These run the gamut: from calling Donald Trump a threat to democracy to showcasing a lawn sign that says “ceasefire” to standing up for abortion to labeling pronouns on one’s resume to taking anti-racism classes, or promoting Drag Queen Story Hours to gender-affirming surgeries, buying EV cars, and voting Democrat.
Luther showed that the way to fight lies is to speak boldly against them. In honor of Luther, I wanted to share my own theses against these modern-day indulgences. And in honor of voting for the 47th president in a few days, I’ll limit the theses to 47.
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said: “Repent” (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
This is not to be understood as the sacrament of penance as administered by the woke clergy.
The woke church cannot remit guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God.
The penalty of sin is not absolved with virtue-signaling lawn signs.
The penalty of sin is not absolved by becoming anti-racist.
Believing in climate science does not lead to a remission of guilt.
No church body nor any DEI certificate can remit guilt.
God remits guilt to no one unless that person humbles himself to God alone, and not Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Khendi.
If remission of all penalties could be granted to anyone at all, it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.
For this reason, most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.
They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks onto the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.
It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased.
No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary remission.
No acceptance of pronouns and changing of one’s sex will be an entry into the heavenly gates.
Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have a gender studies or DEI degree will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.
Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the World Economic Forum and World Health Organization’s pardons are the inestimable gift of God.
For the graces of woke indulgences are concerned only with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.
Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters signed off by the woke leaders.
Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than giving to the government to pay for the needy.
Man does not become better by means of woke indulgences.
Christians are to be taught that God commanded us to cultivate the earth, not to stop innovating for fear of global warming.
Christians are to be taught that they do not have to pay for the sex-change operations of violent criminals.
Christians are to be taught that reproductive health care’s main purpose is the killing of babies.
Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on government taxes to pay for illegal aliens.
Christians are to be taught that government taxes to pay for the poor and middle class is a matter of free choice, not commanded.
Christians are to be taught that woke indulgences are useful but not to be fully trusted and harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.
Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same seroman, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.
If indulgences, such as having your child watch Drag Queen Story Hour for one day, then the gospel should be preached for 100 days.
The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.
On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve the clergy, even if they lied about the mental fitness of the pope and violated the mother of God is madness.
We say on the contrary that indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.
Why don't the clergy of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, whose wealth is greater than the wealth of the richest, spend their own money to help the poor, rather than make taxpayers do so?
Why does the woke clergy espouse open borders yet fortress their own homes?
Celebrating anti-Israel protests and chanting “From the river to the sea” will not wipe away sins.
To say that the pride flag waved by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.
The bishops like Bill Gates, George Soros, Klaus Schwab, Barack Obama who permit such talk of indulgences will have to answer for this.
Since the clergy says they seek the salvation of souls rather than money and power, why do they suspend previously granted pardons for those they do not like, say Donald Trump or Elon Musk?
Since the clergy says they seek salvation of souls, why do they threaten 6% of annual revenue on those who do not speak well of indulgences?
To censor and repress the very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and its leaders to the ridicule of their enemies.
Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Peace, peace,'' and there is no peace!
Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Democracy, democracy” and there is no democracy!
Those who teach that boys can play in girls’ sports preach unchristian doctrine.
Those who teach that gender is fluid preach unchristian doctrine.
Those who teach that open borders and violence in the name of social justice preach unchristian doctrine.
Those who teach that democracy means anything but Trump preach unchristian doctrine.