The Tulip Driven Life

By: Thomas Clayton Booher The Protestant Reformation and the Doctrine of Justification Our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), has its theological roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16 th century, which essentially began when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses (points of dispute) on the castle church door in Wittenberg , Germany on October 31, 1517. It was common to post such notices for public viewing. Luther’s theses were directed primarily against the Church’s practice to sell indulgences for the dead. An indulgence , it was said, satisfied the temporary punishment of purgatory [1] so that a departed loved one could be released and enter the glory of heaven. The sale of indulgences was actually a scheme to fill the coffers of the church to fund lavish building projects. Pope Leo X (1475-1521) needed money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome . The Pope made John Tetzel the commissioner of indulgences for Germany . Tetzel’s marketi...

By: Thomas Clayton Booher Luther and the Epistle of Straw – Part 1 The rediscovery of justification by faith in Christ alone (without works) was so paramount in Luther’s experience that he began to look at the whole Bible from that single perspective. There was an advantage to that. The principle of justification by faith alone in Christ alone opened up the New Testament to reveal many things that were hidden before. In the very moment of his ‘Tower Experience’, Luther tells us how this insight into God’s justification of the sinner instantly affected his understanding of the rest of scripture. Immediately I saw the whole of Scripture in a different light. I ran through the Scriptures from memory and found that other terms had analogous meanings, e.g., the work of God, that is, what God works in us; the power of God, by which he makes us powerful; the wisdom of God, by which he makes us wise; the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God. ...

This is another paper I did for church history class. REFORMATION BIBLE COLLEGE ESSAY LETTER TO A FRIEND CHURCH HISTORY BY THOMAS BOOHER SANFORD, FLORIDA NOVEMBER, 2011 My dearest Edward,             I wish to write to you concerning Martin Luther, the Augustinian monk who is turning the world upside down. Since you are far away, I felt it best to inform you of all that has transpired.             As you know, I began studying under Luther at Wittenberg University this past year, upon hearing all the commotion and excitement he began stirring with his ninety-five theses. For the poor commoners like me, his words were making a lot of sense. The atmosphere has been dire and solemn as long as I can remember- the fear of eternal damnation always looming, the tears cried for loved ones in purgatory, and the lack of money to get them into heaven. [...