Reform. Our world talks a lot about reform. It seems we all, to one degree or another, desire reform. There is health reform and educational reform. Agricultural reform and social reform. Fiscal reform and certainly religious reform.
Reform calls to mind the idea of progress toward a desired result. It is a word that evokes positive change. With such a diffused use of the word, however, it tends to lose its virtue and efficacy. When one speaks of the Protestant Reformation, therefore, the reform intended and celebrated may be lost in a sea of synonymous usage and ambiguity, and its richness watered down and confused.
The Roman Catholic Church also speaks of reform and recognizes its need within the church. Its call for reform predates the Protestant Reformation. Still suffering from the Great Schism between east and west in 1054, the Council of Constance (1414–1418) sought deep reform
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
