A New Reformation : Creation Spirituality and the Transformation of Christianity

In 1517, Martin Luther, disgusted at the corruption then reigning in the Catholic Church, nailed on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, 95 theses calling for a Reformation. During the Pentecost week 2005, former Dominican priest, Matthew Fox, nailed at that same church door a new set of 95 theses calling for a reawakening of the Christian spirit and a repudiation of the authoritarian, punitive tendencies that prevail in modern churches today. Fox's theses not only condemn the deep corruption in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, made evident by the paedophile scandal and the recent canonisation of a fascist admirer of Hitler, but, also, speak to the loss of inspiration and resulting apathy that have emptied churches of all denominations. Fox says, "At this critical time in human and planetary history, when the earth is being ravaged by the violence of war, poverty, sexism, homophobia and eco-destruction, we need to gather those who offer a future that is one of compassion, creativity and justice to speak their conscience as never before. Religion ought to be part of the solution, not the problem." His 95 theses call for a New Reformation, a radical transformation that will allow us to move once again form the hollow trappings of organised religion to genuine spirituality.