Rev. Prof. David N. A. Kpobi, a senior lecturer at the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon has stated that the Church, having been reformed, is still to be reformed, adding that reformation is an ongoing, life-long responsibility and duty.
“We dare not allow inertia and stagnation to take root in the Church today”, he stressed.
Rev. Prof. Kpobi made the statement at a lecture organize by the Trinity Theological Seminary on the theme:“The Protestant Reformation; the Facts, the Legacy and the Challenge”to commemorate the 500 years anniversary of the Protestant Reformation of the Church.
The Special Lecture was attended by people from all walks of life, including, the acting Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Victor Okoe Abbey and the Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rev. Dr. Samuel Ayete-Nyampong.
The senior lecturer said over the years the Church have regard the work of Reformation as having been complete by adopting the confessions and catechisms of the 16th Century Reformation movement, he however mention that, it is not enough to have the truth in our head rather we need to love the truth in our heart and live it in our life.
He warned against the curse of complacency, saying, the greatest enemies of Reformation are apathy and complacency, adding that the Church today dare not settle for less than God’s best.
Rev. Prof. D. N. A. Kpobi touching on the impact of the Reformation outline seven areas which are key to the reformation; the existence and the continuing proliferation of Christian denominations all over the world, the widespread availability of the Holy Scriptures in so many different languages, the radical transformation of the liturgy in all protestant churches, the sermon acquired a central place in the service, enhancement of theological training and ministerial formation, made room for the laity in worship and in the administration of the church, and missionary movements.
He called for the removal of idols in the worship style, rather re-emphasized Reformed doctrine, revive worship, renew prayer, revitalize families, restore Biblical economics, Reform society, re-establish Christian schools and restrict government to Biblical limits.
The Theologian said the Reformation touched on numerous theological and social issues at that time, which challenged the way people thought.
Short Historical Background of the Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe, setting in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. In northern and central Europe, reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin and Henry VIII challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice.
They argued for a religious and political redistribution of power into the hands of Bible and pamphlet-reading pastors and princes. The disruption triggered wars, persecutions and the so-called Counter-Reformation, the Catholic Church’s delayed but forceful response to the Protestants.
Historians usually date the start of the Protestant Reformation to the 1517 publication of Martin Luther’s “95 Theses.” Its ending can be placed anywhere from the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which allowed for the coexistence of Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany, to the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the thirty years’ war.