The "Reformation" in sixteenth-century Europe produced a fresh burst of popular interest in Christian theology and refocused long-fostered dreams of Christian leaders to build a more deeply pious society. It was the product of laypeople's visions of Christianity, as well as clergymen's; the energy to reform devotional life emanated from communities that became Protestant and Anabaptist, as well as those that remained with the "Old Faith." Some efforts to build reformed churches perished in the flames of war, persecution, or dissension, while others endured to become the major denominations of the church today.

This site represents the work of Sattler College students to introduce a number of engaging and evocative texts from the Reformation period to their school and church communities. They studied the texts and composed their reactions during Spring Semester 2021 - exactly 500 years after Martin Luther stood before the emperor at the Diet of Worms (January - May 1521) and maintained that he could not contradict his conscience and retract his writings. The students have sought to take these texts as seriously as their authors did - knowing that they were discussing ideas about salvation worth dying for. A click on each picture will lead you to one or two essays, illustrated presentations, podcast chats, or video conversations that the students have produced to relate the passions and projects of the reformers to the challenges of the church today.