Reformation Women

In Reformation Women, Rebecca Vandoodewaard introduces listeners to 12 16th-century women who are not as well known today as contemporaries like Katie Luther and Lady Jane Grey. Providing an example to Christians today of strong service to Christ and his church, these influential, godly women were devoted to Reformation truth, in many cases provided support for their husbands, practiced hospitality, and stewarded their intellectual abilities.

The Protestant Reformation of the early 16th century in Europe divided the church and gave rise to several reformation movements. As such, it was characterised by universally famous men such as Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli or John Calvin, but many women were also quite instrumental in advancing the Protestant cause - as powerful supporters, committed helpers, resolute authors and passionate advocates in a time of great social, political and religious upheaval.

Before the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, being a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only “spiritual” calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which led to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free Christians to be "holy" no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else....

The legendary life of Katharina von Bora Luther! Born in 1499, Katharina started her education first at the convent at Brehna, then continued it in Kloster Nimbschen, where she took vows as a nun at the age of 16 and expected to live the whole of her life. God, however, had other plans. On Easter Eve, 1523, she escaped with 11 other nuns to Wittenberg, a move meant to be temporary until a more permanent home could be found for her. What happened next changed the world in this family story, filled with music in the original German.