Wittenberg
Town in GermanyWikipedia
214
MENTIONS
64
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59
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Search complete. 214 mentions across 64 episodes found for "Wittenberg".
Nov 3, 2026
Brian FromHOST
And you might be like, I'm not familiar with what Reformation Day.
Brian FromHOST
Well, it marks the day in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany, sparking.
Brian FromHOST
the Protestant Reformation, sparking the Protestant Reformation from the Catholic Church.
Brian FromHOST
It's that remembrance and, yeah, Reformation
Brian FromHOST
I'm just reading down here.
Brian FromHOST
Martin Luther actually intentionally chose October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day.
Brian FromHOST
That was yesterday, All Saints Day, to post his 95 theses because he knew thousands of people would travel to Wittenberg the next morning to attend All Saints Day Mass and view the church's collection of relics.
Brian FromHOST
There you go.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
No one ever really wants to talk about what happened in April 1518.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
One, 1517, October 31st, that's Wittenberg or sometimes pronounced Wittenberg.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
April 1518 is in Heidelberg, Germany.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
One is the 95 Theses.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Go.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Now he gets to the historical overview and immediately it's just filled with error.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
He does the whole Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door there in Wittenberg, which we don't know if that's even true.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
We know that comes from Philip Melanchthon about a year after Luther dies.
Alex McFarlandHOST
But over the centuries, as I think we all know, works have obfuscated the salvation message by faith.
Alex McFarlandHOST
But Luther discovered it, and he nailed a document to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany, the very famous 95 Theses, 95 grievances against the church.
Alex McFarlandHOST
Now, one of his big problems, and rightly so, the sale of indulgences.
Alex McFarlandHOST
Say that you had a big weekend of sin, and you go and the priest says, okay, pay this amount of money and you're absolved, or you're going to go out.
Alex McFarlandHOST
and it spread throughout Europe, and really we are here today as the beneficiaries of his courageous obedience.
Alex McFarlandHOST
It transformed not just the church, but eventually the political, educational, and social institutions of entire nations.
Alex McFarlandHOST
Now, with Election Day approaching November 3rd, 2026, the lessons of Wittenberg could hardly be more timely.
Alex McFarlandHOST
This is so significant.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And then they misrepresented what actually happened on October the 31st, 1517.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
They went with the whole nailing the 95 Theses to the door there in Wittenberg.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And there's so much historical debate.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
That story did not even...
Jerry ArnoldHOST
That story did not even get published that he nailed the 95 Theses to the castle, that Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door, the church door at Wittenberg until after his death by, and it was by Peter Melanchthon.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And I mean, a year, and he wasn't even in, he wouldn't even end Wittenberg when Luther did it, supposedly did it.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Now there is, you know, like a secretary and assistant to Luther that seems to confirm the story, but there's much dispute over it.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Did he confirm the story after Peter Melanchthon told the story? Okay, well, I mean, then at that point, Luther was becoming a legend.
Simon WhistlerHOST
If that's the case, then it's hard to imagine a moment smaller than the one that took place on October 31, 1517.
Simon WhistlerHOST
That day, an obscure, angry monk took a list of 95 things he was pissed off about and nailed it to the door of Wittenberg Church.
Simon WhistlerHOST
As gestures go, it was dramatic but pointless, a provincial stunt in one of the unfashionable corners of the Holy Roman Empire.
Simon WhistlerHOST
Yet it was from these humble beginnings that a series of events emerged that would shake both Europe and Christianity to their cause.
Simon WhistlerHOST
He followed the rules, spent his time studying theology, became almost the Platonic ideal of a monk.
Simon WhistlerHOST
In fact, at this stage in his life, he showed no signs of rebellion or individual thinking at all.
Simon WhistlerHOST
By 1508, he was teaching theology at the University of Wittenberg and doing a decent average job.
Simon WhistlerHOST
It would take the crisis of 1510 to finally shake him out of his rut.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Everyone's going to tell the same story about the Reformation.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Luther, hammer, nails, church door in Wittenberg, da-da-da, the Protestant Reformation.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And a lot of the times the retelling of the story is completely historically inaccurate because we don't know if Luther actually nailed the 95 Theses there.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
That story comes from Philippians.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Philip Melanchthon.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And he told that story after Luther was dead.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And Philip Melanchthon was not even in Wittenberg when the whole thing occurred.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
So now there's at least one individual who tries to confirm the story that Luther did nail the 95 Theses.
Paul StephensGUEST
It was a peaceful procession in defiance of the religious ruling hierarchy.
Paul StephensGUEST
Martin Luther protested by nailing 95 theses, theological theses, on the Catholic Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Paul StephensGUEST
These are things that he disagreed with them about.
Paul StephensGUEST
He nailed him onto the door of the church.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
And I'm like, oh, Martin Luther's theology of the cross.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Everyone talks about when it comes October the 31st and they talk about Reformation Day, they tend to just retell the supposed story of Luther and the hammer and the nails and and the church door at Wittenberg, and they kind of retell the story, sometimes mixed in with a lot more myth and legend than actual history.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
But okay, and they, you know, Catholics, you know, down with Catholics, indulgence bad, Pope bad, and you know, kind of the basic talking points over and over and over and over and over.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
So the fact that someone was on Sermon Audio going live and going to talk about Martin Luther's theology of the cross, I'm like, now we're digging into some serious church history and some serious Reformation theology.
42 MINS LATER
LanningSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Reminded us the glory redounds to Jehovah.
LanningSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Tomorrow is October 31, which we commemorate as Reformation Day.
LanningSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
For it was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.
Jerry ArnoldHOST
Oh, man, alive.
Nathan BusenitzHOST
It's actually a national holiday in some countries around the world.
Nathan BusenitzHOST
and it marks the traditional date for the beginnings of the 16th century Reformation, when Martin Luther nailed or posted his 95 theses onto the church door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in modern-day Germany.
Nathan BusenitzHOST
That event traditionally took place on October 31st, 1517, and the result was was the 16th century Reformation.
Nathan BusenitzHOST
And in some ways, just because I teach church history and I love Reformation Day, whenever October 31st comes around, part of how I get through the day is that I imagine that kids all across the United States dress up and go door to door in honor of the Reformation.
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