This is an excerpt from Chapter 6 in Sinner Saint: A Surprising Primer to the Christian Life (1517 Publishing, 2025). Sinner Saint is available today from 1517 Publishing.
On its journey from Byzantium to Constantinople to Istanbul, this special place helps us understand the broader arc of Christian history, which goes on until Christ's return.
We needn’t fear statistics and studies as palm readings into a certain future. God is God, and his Spirit is alive through his Word.

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Desiderius Erasmus and many humanists had for a while held out hope for Luther’s call for reform and many of the reformers were themselves, to some degree, humanists.
The sight of indulgences being bought and sold is just not something I witness on a regular basis.
Ultimately, however, we find in the Heidelberg Disputation the root and core of Luther’s theology, which he would build and expound upon throughout his life.
This short series has attempted to show that many, if not all, of the attempts that have been made to reveal or identify tensions or error in Melanchthon’s theology.
In 1534, Melanchthon was invited to France to defend the Lutheran position to King Francis, who seemed to favor the Reformation.
Henry found Melanchthon to be a more moderate voice and was eager to discuss theological matters with the young, increasingly famous and respected academic.
Throughout his life, Melanchthon was embroiled in quite a few internal as well as external controversies.
At the same time, in the late 1520s and early 1530s, Melanchthon’s theology became utterly reliant on the idea that justification is a purely forensic act whereby the unjust sinner is declared just on account of Christ (propter Christum).
Prior to the diet, the outlook for the new evangelical protestors was far from hopeful.
Beginning in 1519, Melanchthon began to develop his theology.
The work in question was entitled the Loci Communes Theologici, or Common Topics of Theology.
The two men, early colleagues and reluctant friends, would become a nearly unstoppable theological and Reformation team.