Halloween is one crazy day throughout history (wikipedia) and is not always marked by the more Americanized, 20th and 21st century, trick-or-treating to neighbors that are often mere strangers throughout the year to then get wasted on sugar, scared by costumes, and escape current realties.
On one Hallow's eve, a man not necessarily wearing a costume (though from our perspective is a costume and why in the world would one. wear a silly hat and robe like he did) walked up to a church in Wittenburg, Germany to nail some paper.
Some were scared, some were excited. All felt the results.
Martin Luther (wikipedia) is certainly a weird figure in history related to Protestant Reformation and Roman Catholicism. He's the German, Catholic that nailed the 95 theses on a door and blew up the world with a massive schism between Catholicism and Protestants in what is now known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther is not weird for the theses or the reformation (or even for the timing of Halloween). Luther's words and life are weird, in some ways weird for the good and in other ways not so good.
Let me serve as a minimalist on words describing the weird and let author, Eric Metaxas, have all the fun!
Eric Metaxas authored the book Martin Luther with the book description as:
On All Hallow’s Eve in 1517, a young monk named Martin Luther posted a document he hoped would spark an academic debate, but that instead ignited a conflagration that would forever destroy the world he knew. Five hundred years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas, acclaimed biographer of the bestsellingBonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. Written in riveting prose and impeccably researched,Martin Luther tells the searing tale of a humble man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound is still ringing in our ears. Luther’s monumental faith and courage gave birth to the ideals of liberty, equality, and individualism that today lie at the heart of all modern life.
Related
"Martin Luther, Written & Read by Eric Metaxas – Audiobook Excerpt"
Discussions about Martin Luther on videos:
"Eric Metaxas: Martin Luther"
"Eric Metaxas Discusses Life and Work of Martin Luther at Proclaim 17"
"A Conversation about Martin Luther with Eric Metaxas and Chuck Swindoll"
"Why Martin Luther's 'Ninety-Five Theses' are still important"