In 1517 Martin Luther made his indelible mark on the religious world with his work, "Ninety-Five Theses". It was his "Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences". The German Priest and professor of moral theology at Wittenberg University was ordained in 1507 but excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521 for daring to level ninety-five specific criticisms against Catholic doctrine. He refused to denounce them. The suggestion that salvation was not achieved through good deeds and absolution for bad ones but instead given freely by the grace of God to those who believed truly that Jesus Christ was their redeemer of sins was among the notions the Holy Roman Empire found intolerable. In the end, nothing could stop the Reformation that Martin Luther's works instigated.

 

            Centuries later our spot would host a Wittenberg of German Lutheran heritage. Spots don't do divinity but our spot, for a time, was a destination for those who did.  

 

             When Martin Luther declared his complaints, he did so in dramatic fashion by sending them to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz. That day, October 31, 1517, is historically credited as the start of the Reformation. He pinned his thesis to the doors of churches in Wittenberg. He did all he could with no apologies, fear or regret. His works changed the basic tenets of spiritual belief across the world by challenging the hegemony of Roman Catholic doctrine.

 

            Frederick's Palatines, as Lutherans, were fundamentally at odds with the Empire and likewise persecuted.

 

By 1607 the British were also staking their claim under

 

            King James I, born in 1566, had been the sixth King of Scotland since before he was two yeas old. In 1603, he became King of England as well. The reign of King James, an avid writer in his own right, followed Queen Elizabeth's golden age of literature and drama that gave us the likes of Francis Bacon and William Shakespeare. It continued to thrive under his rule. His literary passion and prowess fueled by deep devotion compelled him to sponsor an English translation of the Bible in 1604. It was published in 1611. It was the third such translation authorized by the church.

 

            The first English translation of the Bible authorized by the church was commissioned by King Henry VIII in 1539. "The Great Bible" drew extensively from the Tyndale Bible with revisions to what the church found objectionable. The Tyndale Bible was not a complete work. Myles Coverdale, working on behalf of Thomas Cromwell, who was Secretary to King Henry VIII, completed the translation of the Old Testament and Apocrypha from the Latin and German translations. He did not translate from the original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic works.

 

            The second translation sanctioned by the Church was "The Bishop Bible" in 1568 with revisions in 1572 and 1602. The latter was the basis for much of the King James translation which was lauded for its majesty. There was also the "Geneva Bible" published by Sir Rowland Hill in 1560. This translation was not authorized by the church but was extremely influential in its own right nonetheless. John Calvin did not seek the church's approval when he wrote his annotations. It can be argued that if not for the Geneva Bible in general, and Calvin's annotations specifically, King James would not have been inclined to publish his translation. Calvinism was a division within the protestant movement against the Catholic church. Presbyterians worship in the tradition of Calvinism.

 

          The translations from the original works were not in and of themselves a source of division. They were mostly small differences. For instance the sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" is more accurately translated as "Thou shalt not murder". The King James publishers can't really be faulted for this editorial decision. It was understood people killed animals to eat or defended their lives with lethal force. However, the differing views on how the various interpretations related to salvation and redemption was a different matter. Those were monumental. 

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          Prior to Martin Luther's bold declarations, the occupants of all of the planet's spots never had the opportunity to realize their unalienable right to freedoms like religious choice. Now that it was realized, the devastating consequences would follow. There was no turning back. The world was in desperate need of a spot that welcomed and respected all who made a modicum of effort to be grateful.

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          Our spot found these topics of divine eternity to be entirely mundane. Eternity is to a spot is what blue is to sky. Our spot's experience is limitless in the realm of time albeit entirely lacking in terms of geography.

            The dynamic was driven by the iron fist of the Holy Roman Empire enforcing compliance to their dogma with the "Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition" which became known as the "Spanish Inquisition". This inquisition was instigated in 1478 by the same Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who sponsored Christopher Columbus. Along with the Roman Inquisition and the Portuguese Inquisition, it was an effort to replace the Medieval Inquisition which included the Episcopal and Papal Inquisitions....

 

            ... that is to say enforced religious persecution was a significant impetus for people to flee. There was no tolerance for independent introspective curiosity. The notion of respect for each of us to explore and form our own deeply held beliefs was not a consideration afforded to the ruled. Consequently, much of the exodus included those who split from the Holy Roman Empire after Martin Luther shook things up considerably.

 

            It was primarily German Lutherans who made their way to our spot's circle as America came to be. They were dogged in their beliefs. They were grateful and determined. Our spot was receptive and not judgmental; it's just a spot in a humble landscape. All spots know their place.