Luther, Luther, Luther: He Didn’t Reform Christianity as Much as This Guy Did

By Dr. Jim West - Posted at Christian Headlines:

A few weeks ago Martin Marty, the religious historian, argued in an RNS column that Calvin deserves mention along with Luther during this “Reformation Jubilee Year” of 2017. And, sure, Calvin is important.

But the fact is, in terms of theological “win,” it’s Zwingli who deserves top billing.

Not as famous as Martin Luther or John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli is often treated like the red-headed stepchild of the Protestant Reformation. But Zwingli was neither late to the game nor insignificant in its playing.

All year, we’ve been subjected to talk of Luther. I’ve read essays, blog posts, news reports and magazine pieces about Luther. The same tired myths were bandied around about Luther nailing theses to doors in 1517 and hurling ink wells at unseen devils and uttering sentences about standing in some place or other.

By mid-September, I kept hearing “Luther, Luther, Luther,” in my head, as in the ’70s sitcom “The Brady Bunch,” when Jan complained, “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” about her sister getting all the attention at a party. Soon a part of me was wishing that no one but specialist historians had ever heard of Luther.

Now I simply am driven by historical truth to inform readers that Zwingli won.

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