BELFAST RB BOOKLET 2020 - Flipbook - Page 28
Ci t y of Belf ast Grand Bl ack Chapt er - Dem onst rat i on Bookl et 2020
IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE REFORMATION
During research for this year's publication, several interesting stories emerged in
the aftermath of the Reformation; now referred to as 'The Heritage' with the first
value resultant of that great change back in 1517 being .. 'The Open Bible.'
This was indeed the beginning of Luther's
Movement but it was also the beginning of a
similar development throughout this Country.
'Faith cometh by hearing; and hearing by
the Word of God' (Romans Chapter 10 Verse
17). This was the method of the early
Church, to appeal to the Scriptures and
there are many examples of these,
including this particular piece
Luther recorded in his many writings that
when copies of the German Bible were being
printed some small fragments
of the unfinished work fell onto
the floor and were picked up
by the printer's daughter.
Looking at one bit of the
scrap paper she read .. 'For
God so loved the world that
He gave…' but there the
wording ended.
The thought of God's love
made the child so happy that
the mother soon noticed the
change in her offspring and
asked her the reason.
The child immediately
showed her mother the paper fragment and
then asked .. 'but what was it He gave.'
Neither of them knew, which brought a
quick intuition from the small child in
exclaiming .. 'although I don't know mother,
what He gave, but if God loves us well
enough to give us something, we need not
be afraid of Him.'
Both the mother and her child were then
led into joy and peace in believing; for
that is what God's Book is all about.
It was also interesting to note that around
that later period of change in 1551, during a
visitation to his Diocese, the leading
proponent of the Reformation and Bishop
of Gloucester, the Right Reverend John
Hooper, whilst examining his ministerial
flock, discovered that
out of the three hundred
and eleven clerics under
his own direct charge,
one hundred and sixtyeight of them were
unable to repeat any of
the Ten Commandments
and thirty-eight of those
did not even know in
what book of the Bible,
the Lord's Precepts were
to be found!
Forty of his flock did not
have a clue as to where
the Lord's Prayer could be located and of that
number, thirty-one were unaware or unsure of
who was the author of the actual Prayer!
The Honourable Bishop (above) was later
executed in 1555 by direct order of the
reigning RC Monarch, Queen Mary I.
"The passage from the Catholism of the Fathers to that of falsehood;
and the whole structure of traditions, laws and doctrines that support
the theory of infallibility and the practical despotism of the popes
stands on a basis of fraud. In view of all the damaging facts, can we
ever wonder that there was a passionate desire of a religious revival to
retrieve the original ways of the Christian Church"… Lord Acton
IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN - 26 - AND THE FUTURE OF THE LIVING