“This Changed Everything!” Such was the caption on the-mail appearing in my inbox recently that caught my attention. Intrigued, I read further…
“Did you know that October 31 is an international holiday? No, not that one. It is Reformation Day. On October 31 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous for some, and infamous to others, ‘95 Theses’ to the door of the Whittenburg Castle Church. This event was the spark that ignited the Reformation that changed history forever.”
These facts I had learned years ago in college and seminary. But, of course, not everyone is privileged to get to study church history in detail. This is why I am devoting today’s blog to this subject. While the secular world recognizes October 31st each year as Halloween, the church calendar recognizes it as “All Hallow’s Eve”, occurring one day prior to “All Saints Day”. (If you are unaware of these things, I encourage you read more on this matter. A simple internet search will provide you with much information on the subject.)
In any event, some church historians have argued that Luther’s decision to post his “95 theses” on “All Hallow’s Eve” was likely intentional. He may well have chosen this day to underscore just how much the church had become misguided in so many of her emphases. But even if he didn’t, the good that came about as a result of his actions on that one 31st day of October in 1517 surely outweighs the evil celebrated by the world at large on that same day each and every year. But I digress…
My love for church history long ago led me to become a supporter of the Christian History Institute, which regularly publishes Christian History Magazine. This is the very entity that has now become a driving force behind “Redeem TV”, which is why the email referenced above went on to state:
“Redeem TV and Christian History Institute invite you to celebrate ‘Reformation Day’ with us by watching ‘This Changed Everything’ - a 3 episode feature, seen on PBS, that chronicles the events of the Reformation and its far reaching effects on everything from marriage to the monarchy.”
Kudos to the folks at the Christian History Institute for working to bring us “Redeem TV”. Here, one can find such wholesome content as the animated series Torchlighters (about heroes of the Faith), God With Us (the story of Jesus), and Pilgrim’s Progress (a classic in world literature); engaging movies such as Bonhoeffer: Agent Of Grace (about the well-known German Pastor who stood up to the Nazis); and informative documentaries such as Corrie ten Boom: A Faith Undefeated and Navajo Code Talkers.
These and many other equally redemptive programs are available on this refreshing new platform. If you are looking to find a better use of your small screen than that typically presented and offered to you by so many modern content providers, then why not check out this rewarding option?
Doing this may just “change everything” about your viewing habits! Better yet, it may well “change everything” about your perspective on life!
After all, surely this is part of what the Apostle Paul had in mind in his closing admonition to the Philippian believers when he wrote the following to them in his New Testament Letter (chapter 4, verse 8): “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
SOURCES:
According to their website (https://redeemtv.com/about): “Redeem TV is a donor-supported, ad-free, streaming service with no fees. Our goal is to provide edifying and redemptive visual media content for all ages. We offer an ever-growing library of over 1,500 quality dramas, documentaries, animated features, children’s favorites, episodic series, Bible studies and more, with new titles added every week. Redeem TV is the latest effort of Vision Video, which has been distributing and producing Christian media content for many decades.
We were founded by Ken Curtis as Gateway Films in the early 1970’s with the purpose of distributing 16mm films to churches. Vision Video came into being in the early 1980’s with the advent of home-consumer video. In recent years, streaming video has become a major part of our distribution efforts. Through all of the technological changes our mission has remained constant: to produce and distribute quality visual media that communicates the Gospel in effective and relevant ways to contemporary audiences.
In order to continue to reach a worldwide audience with the message of the Gospel, we believe, it is time to offer our own state-of-the-art streaming video platform. Our hope is that Redeem TV will continue to bless our global communities with stories of truth, hope and faith for generations to come.”
NOTE: The primary output of the Christian History Institute is, of course, Christian History Magazine. I highly recommend this quality publication, which has now reached its 136th issue. By tradition, each issue is normally devoted to one particular subject. It has been published quarterly since the early 1980s. Previous individual print issues can usually be found for sale on sites such as www.ebay.com and www.amazon.com. All back issues are available digitally for download at: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/. Please understand that the publication of this magazine depends entirely upon the support of readers. The same is true as well for the streaming of quality programming at “Redeem TV”, which can only be made possible through viewer donations.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/philippians/4.htm.
“Did you know that October 31 is an international holiday? No, not that one. It is Reformation Day. On October 31 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous for some, and infamous to others, ‘95 Theses’ to the door of the Whittenburg Castle Church. This event was the spark that ignited the Reformation that changed history forever.”
These facts I had learned years ago in college and seminary. But, of course, not everyone is privileged to get to study church history in detail. This is why I am devoting today’s blog to this subject. While the secular world recognizes October 31st each year as Halloween, the church calendar recognizes it as “All Hallow’s Eve”, occurring one day prior to “All Saints Day”. (If you are unaware of these things, I encourage you read more on this matter. A simple internet search will provide you with much information on the subject.)
In any event, some church historians have argued that Luther’s decision to post his “95 theses” on “All Hallow’s Eve” was likely intentional. He may well have chosen this day to underscore just how much the church had become misguided in so many of her emphases. But even if he didn’t, the good that came about as a result of his actions on that one 31st day of October in 1517 surely outweighs the evil celebrated by the world at large on that same day each and every year. But I digress…
My love for church history long ago led me to become a supporter of the Christian History Institute, which regularly publishes Christian History Magazine. This is the very entity that has now become a driving force behind “Redeem TV”, which is why the email referenced above went on to state:
“Redeem TV and Christian History Institute invite you to celebrate ‘Reformation Day’ with us by watching ‘This Changed Everything’ - a 3 episode feature, seen on PBS, that chronicles the events of the Reformation and its far reaching effects on everything from marriage to the monarchy.”
Kudos to the folks at the Christian History Institute for working to bring us “Redeem TV”. Here, one can find such wholesome content as the animated series Torchlighters (about heroes of the Faith), God With Us (the story of Jesus), and Pilgrim’s Progress (a classic in world literature); engaging movies such as Bonhoeffer: Agent Of Grace (about the well-known German Pastor who stood up to the Nazis); and informative documentaries such as Corrie ten Boom: A Faith Undefeated and Navajo Code Talkers.
These and many other equally redemptive programs are available on this refreshing new platform. If you are looking to find a better use of your small screen than that typically presented and offered to you by so many modern content providers, then why not check out this rewarding option?
Doing this may just “change everything” about your viewing habits! Better yet, it may well “change everything” about your perspective on life!
After all, surely this is part of what the Apostle Paul had in mind in his closing admonition to the Philippian believers when he wrote the following to them in his New Testament Letter (chapter 4, verse 8): “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”
SOURCES:
According to their website (https://redeemtv.com/about): “Redeem TV is a donor-supported, ad-free, streaming service with no fees. Our goal is to provide edifying and redemptive visual media content for all ages. We offer an ever-growing library of over 1,500 quality dramas, documentaries, animated features, children’s favorites, episodic series, Bible studies and more, with new titles added every week. Redeem TV is the latest effort of Vision Video, which has been distributing and producing Christian media content for many decades.
We were founded by Ken Curtis as Gateway Films in the early 1970’s with the purpose of distributing 16mm films to churches. Vision Video came into being in the early 1980’s with the advent of home-consumer video. In recent years, streaming video has become a major part of our distribution efforts. Through all of the technological changes our mission has remained constant: to produce and distribute quality visual media that communicates the Gospel in effective and relevant ways to contemporary audiences.
In order to continue to reach a worldwide audience with the message of the Gospel, we believe, it is time to offer our own state-of-the-art streaming video platform. Our hope is that Redeem TV will continue to bless our global communities with stories of truth, hope and faith for generations to come.”
NOTE: The primary output of the Christian History Institute is, of course, Christian History Magazine. I highly recommend this quality publication, which has now reached its 136th issue. By tradition, each issue is normally devoted to one particular subject. It has been published quarterly since the early 1980s. Previous individual print issues can usually be found for sale on sites such as www.ebay.com and www.amazon.com. All back issues are available digitally for download at: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/. Please understand that the publication of this magazine depends entirely upon the support of readers. The same is true as well for the streaming of quality programming at “Redeem TV”, which can only be made possible through viewer donations.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/niv/philippians/4.htm.