503rd Commemoration of the Protestant Reformation

by Jonathan Gillies

30th October 2020

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Tomorrow is the 503rd commemoration of the Protestant Reformation.

The Reformation brought about great advances in science, education, and the arts. It also gave us many of the freedoms that we so often take for granted.

Before the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church dictated what you could think and say. Anyone who went against them could be tortured or executed. At the Reformation, the Protestant Reformers stood against this and declared that God’s Word is the ultimate authority, not the church’s word.

This thinking is the solid foundation upon which our western civilisation has been built. Skepticism, individualism, capitalism, the Enlightenment, and even democracy itself came about as a result of the Protestant Reformation.

But today we are increasingly seeing a reversal of these values which we cherish so dearly. Any questioning of the ‘settled science’ is fiercely silenced. Anyone who dares to step out of line is brutally shamed. Socialism and tyrannical government overreach is once again on the rise.

What should we do?

Should we sit back and watch our nations become totalitarian surveillance-states like China?

Should we not instead think seriously about the grave danger our freedoms are in and try to think of a solution to it? Should we not try to warn others about it?

But most importantly, should we not pray to God to have mercy on our nations? Because it is doubtless our rejection of Him and our transgressions of His law that has brought His judgements upon us.

I believe that only national repentance and a return to the authority of God’s Word can save us.

Let’s pray for a second Reformation.