Starting on May 3, Tracy Moffatt and Pastor Walt will be offering this month-long Adult Sunday School opportunity at 10:10 a.m. on Sundays. We will take a deep dive into four texts written by Martin Luther and translated into English.
They are: The Freedom of a Christian (written in 1520), the 95 Theses (written in 1517), On the Jews and Their Lies (Luther’s worst antisemitic writing from 1543), and The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (written in 1520). To access the documents for this series, used the links below (they will be available a week before the class).
Although they are not exactly easy reading, these works had profound impacts on the Reformation and the Church to follow and should be known among Lutheran Christians. Even if you don’t do the reading ahead of time, come to the discussion and learn about these formational works.
May 3 – The Freedom of a Christian (written in 1520)
DOWNLOAD A COPY – CLICK HERE
May 10 – The 95 Theses (written and posted on the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517)
May 17 – On the Jews and Their Lies (written in 1543).
NOTE: This teaching of Luther has been officially rejected along with his other anti-semitic writings by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA Church Council adopted a “A Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Jewish Community” in 1994, which officially rejected Luther’s anti-Jewish teachings. The ELCA, of which CVLC is a part, rejects Luther’s recommendations for violence against Jewish people, including the destruction of synagogues and property. Our church acts in “truth-telling,” acknowledging the complicity of its own tradition in the history of hatred against the Jewish people. Further, the ELCA pledges to oppose contemporary antisemitism and deplores the use of Luther’s words by hate groups.
May 24 – The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (written in 1520).
DOWNLOAD A COPY (PDF.) – CLICK HERE
