This historical story happened in Britain at the beginning of the19th century, when skilled weavers saw that their work was threatened by inventions and the widespread use of machines, which could produce textiles with unskilled workers at much lower cost. These laid-off workers launched a riot against the new technology. They destroyed the textile machinery used in wool mills and cotton mills, and sometimes burned down the houses of factory owners. Workers are called Lutherans because they claim to be led by General Ned Luther (who is probably a legend, not a real person). The Lutheran Church hopes that the British government will save their work by limiting the spread of new technologies. However, the parliament took action to stop the Lutherans and sent thousands of troops to suppress the Lutheran riots. Eventually, destroying the machine will be regarded as a capital crime. 18 13 After the Yorkshire trial, 17 people were sentenced to hang. Many others were found guilty and sent to Australia as prisoners. Workers and technological progress in the long river of history, technological progress has always been a friend of workers. Technological progress has increased productivity, labor demand and wages. But there is no doubt that workers sometimes regard technological progress as a threat to their living standards.
Lutheran Sect is an important Sect of Protestant Christianity. It was originally "Lutheranism" in European languages. When translated into Chinese, considering that Martin Luther did not want to name the Sect after himself, he translated it into Lutheran Sect. Lutherans affirmed that "righteousness is justified only by faith", that is, people are justified by faith. Catholicism believes that people must be loved by the representative church of God and must have enough good deeds. Lutheranism believes that people can stand before God without fear, without fear of "sin, death and the devil", and without being proud of believing that they are saved by meritorious service. Because Jesus made atonement for mankind because of his own death, and the original sin was forgiven because of Jesus' death, people can only be justified by their own beliefs in the future. [Edit this paragraph] The early history of Lutheranism originated from the Reformation movement initiated by German theologian Martin Luther in the 6th century.
◆ Religious improvement
The symbol of the opening ceremony of the Reformation Movement is the "95 theses" posted by Martin Luther at the entrance of All Saints Church in Vittenburg, Saxony (often used as the bulletin board of universities) on October 3, 2007.
From 15 17 to 1520, Martin Luther severely criticized Roman Catholicism by publishing books and pamphlets. Many Christian theologians agreed with him, and they also called for the popularization of religious thought. Martin Luther has been widely supported by all walks of life, farmers regard him as a national hero, nobles swear to protect him, and the rulers of Germanic principalities also hope to get rid of the influence of the Roman church and make their internal affairs independent. Martin Luther therefore offended the powerful and turned against the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
1520, in order to solve Luther's "problem", the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church gave Luther a papal seal and ordered Luther to give up his claim, which implied that he threatened to commit suicide. (Previously, the Roman church killed people who called for reform in this way, such as Jan Huss, a Czech reformer, who was burned at the stake. But in February 1520 65438+, Luther and his supporters burned the seal in public.
Angry Charles V wanted to expel Luther and his supporters, but his assistant urged him to think that Luther had a very high reputation among the people, so if he suppressed it, it would lead to riots. More importantly, Friedrich, the wise ruler of the Principality of Luther, refused to let his subjects be convicted without trial. Therefore, Luther was summoned to attend the worm conference, and the Roman church instructed Luther to publicly give up his views at the conference. However, in front of Roman church officials, Luther made a famous defense in history: "I can't compromise my faith under the leadership of the Pope or the church, because today they made mistakes and contradicted themselves." Therefore, I only believe in the Bible ... I can't and won't give up ... This is my position, and I have no choice. Then, please help me, amen! "(Martin Luther, 155 1 April 16)
Before the pest control conference, Lu Se was promised a safe return trip, but this promise was not reliable-Yanghus was treated equally before he was killed. In the dark night, Luther's supporters helped him escape from Vorms and saved him from imprisonment or even punishment. Luther lived in seclusion for some time, while continuing to write and think. After discovering Luther's escape, Charles V issued the Vorms Decree, which expelled Luther and his supporters from the country and made them pagans, and Luther's works were also banned.
As early as BC 10 century, this movement centered on the teachings of a monk named Bo-gemmill rose, and had an impact on the reform of Christian sects called Cathari or abir. This is a religious reformist who prevailed in southern France in the 12 century.
In the Luther Movement, other religious reformers also contributed to it, such as one of the early leaders, Philip Melanchthon (who was Luther's colleague at Vittenburg University), ulrich zwingli and john calvin (the founder of Calvinism).
◆ Religious war
The academic confrontation in the seminary has now been generalized as a conflict between society and politics. Luther and his supporters pointed the finger at the Spanish King (Charles V ruled the Low Countries, the New World and the Holy Roman Empire, and the Germanic region also belonged to it) and the Pope, and the two sides were evenly matched. The conflict became more and more fierce, which triggered a religious war in the political atmosphere of the holy Roman Empire.
1526, the three political parliaments of the Holy Roman Empire negotiated in speyer and reached the following agreement: before the Standing Committee made a ruling on the nature of Luther's works, the Vorms decree did not need to be enforced, and the principality lords could decide whether to allow Luther to preach in the territory. In 1529, three political committees held another discussion in speyer, overturned the final agreement, and ignored the opposition of vassal states and free city-states.
Lutheranism became a symbol of the separatist movement. 1530, Charles V tried to suppress the growing Protestant trend of thought, so he held a meeting in Augustburg. At the meeting, Philip Melanchthon summarized Luther's thoughts, which is the famous confession of Augustburg. Several lords of the Germanic Principality (later joined by kings and princes from other countries) signed a document establishing territory for the Lutheran Church. These vassals formed an alliance in 153 1, and the Schmahl-Kalden alliance was established. The two sides of the religious war, namely Marca Union and the Holy Roman Empire under the rule of Charles V.
After the Battle of Schmarcarden, Charles V devoted himself to spreading the teachings of the Roman Christian Church in the territory he won. However, the Luther movement won more territory. During the period of 1577, the second generation of Lutheran movement collected and sorted out the previous theories, which laid a theoretical foundation for the inheritance of Lutheran church. This document is called Concordia creed. By 1580, all documents were classified as "recognition of evangelical lutheran church". These two documents have been handed down to this day.
The result of the religious war: Luther and his successors began to break away from the Roman Catholic church, which is called the religious reform in history. In the following decades, a large number of Europeans recognized the Ninety-Five Theses posted by Luther at the door of Vittenburg Church, most of whom lived in German territory and Austria under the rule of Roman Church. Luther, who lit the fire of this mass movement, is known as the father of religious reform and Protestantism in history.
Today, 65,438+0 out of every four Christians in the world are Protestants and 65,438+0 out of every five Protestants are Lutherans. In other words, 5% of Christians in the world believe in Lutheranism. [Edit this paragraph] The basic teachings of Lutheranism ◆ The Bible and the recognition of the Lutheran Church.
An important symbolism in Luther's reform movement is "Bible only". Lutheranism believes that the Bible is the only criterion for preaching and teaching. Lutheranism also believes that Concordia creed is an interpretation of the Bible. Traditionally, pastors, churches and believers of Lutheran Church have to learn the Concordia creed in order to understand the word of God. Therefore, Lutherans, especially conservative Lutherans, often regard themselves as "repentant Lutherans". In addition, those Lutherans who generally agree with Luther's teachings disagree with some parts and are self-sufficient in the Bible.
Some Lutheran churches firmly believe that the Bible is accurate. There are also some Lutheran churches that believe that the Bible is the word of God, but it is a document written by people, so there will inevitably be some drawbacks and omissions. Nevertheless, the latter is still different from modern liberal theology.
◆ The central doctrine of Lutheranism.
Only grace
Only self-confidence
Only Christ
Only the bible
-Lutherans firmly believe that at the beginning of God's creation, the world was perfect, sacred and innocent. However, Adam and Eve chose to turn their backs on God and would rather rely on their own strength, knowledge and wisdom to atone for their sins. Original sin led to many sins of mankind later, so everyone was born guilty and everyone was a sinner. The crimes referred to by Lutherans do not refer to crimes committed by individuals on their own initiative.
Lutheranism believes in the following four points.
Sinners can't escape the justice of God. Everyone's thoughts and actions are influenced by suffering and evil motives. God loves sinners, so he won't stand by. Only through his grace and unconditional salvation can man be forgiven, become God's children and be redeemed forever.
Only through faith can people be saved by God-believe in God's promise wholeheartedly. Because even faith is a gift from God, and listening to God and being baptized is the way to gain faith.
Through the birth, suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ, salvation came to mankind. Lutherans believe that Jesus Christ is incarnate, with both divinity and humanity. Because of divinity, he was born innocent, and because of humanity, he will die. He redeemed all the sins of mankind with his own death.
Christians will go directly to heaven after death, where they will wait for Christ's coming again, so that they can be resurrected and live forever.
Most Lutheran churches also hold the following views:
Before the creation, God had chosen his children.
infant baptism
The bread and wine in the Eucharist are the true flesh and blood of Christ.
Practice of Millennium Religious Thought [Edit this paragraph] Lutheranism emphasizes the importance of worship. Music plays an important role in traditional etiquette. Most Lutheran churches have music departments, including choirs, handball bands and children's choirs. Churches with bell towers even set up bell bands. Johann sebastian bach, a famous musician, is a devout Lutheran, and most of his works are created by the Lutheran Church.
Lutheranism also attaches great importance to education, and there are many children's departments in the church. Lutheran Church established a large number of Sunday schools, nursing schools, primary schools, seminaries and universities. Pastors often use the local daily language. [Edit this paragraph] Church system and organization ◆ Universal concept and its relationship with politics
Lutheranism believes that the Christian church should unite as one, and there is only one Christian belief. This view is rooted in Lutheran beliefs, so they denied that the Reformation was a movement to split the church.
Nowadays, in countries where Lutheranism prevails, most religions are strictly separated from political power. In contrast, in other countries where Christianity is dominant, the separation of religious and political power is not too strict.
◆ Charitable organizations
Lutherans believe that "good behavior" is one of the manifestations of confidence, so believers have established many charitable organizations, covering the international to regional levels. Among them, Lutheran World Relief Society is one of the largest charitable organizations in the world, especially dedicated to disaster relief.
◆ Lutheran Church Organization
There are many Lutheran churches in the world, and they have joined different Lutheran organizations in the world:
Lutheran World Federation (4 in Hongkong and 2 in Taiwan Province Province).
Lutheran International (65,438+0 Lutheran churches in Hongkong and Taiwan Province Province have joined this association).
Evangelical Lutheran Confession Conference
Lutheran World Relief [Edit this paragraph] The number of Lutherans in the world * * There are 654.38+04 billion Lutheran Christians in the world. The statistics here include all nominal Lutherans, who do not necessarily belong to a particular church. Lutheranism is currently the national religion of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Before 2000, Lutheranism was also the state religion of Sweden, but later, the national legislation was revised to cancel the status of Lutheranism in Sweden and make Lutheranism the state religion.
Europe
There are 66 million Lutherans in Europe.
Germany -400 1 10,000
Sweden-7.82 million
Denmark-565438+200,000
Finland-4.72 million
Norway-4.2 million
Latvia-65438+320,000
Estonia-1130,000
Hungary-500 thousand
Iceland-250 thousand
Other-1 ten thousand
North America
The number of Lutherans in North America is190000.
United States-18 million
Canada-0.8 million
Africa
The number of African Lutherans is 1 1 ten thousand.
Ethiopia-3.3 million
Tanzania-2.2 million
Madagascar-65438+500,000
Namibia-0.9 million
South Africa-850,000
Nigeria-650 thousand
Others-65438+300,000
Asia and Oceania
There are 6 million Lutherans in Asia and Oceania.
Indonesia-2.4 million
India-65438+300,000
Papua New Guinea-0.9 million
Australia-250 thousand
Others-0.8 million
South America. See AMERICA
South American Lutheran Church * * * 2 million.
All Spanish-speaking countries in the Western Hemisphere-1 10,000
Brazil-1 ten thousand