By Elizabeth Charles
Buy it from Grace and Truth Books
The gospel is simple, so simple that it confounds the "wise" who add to, distort or ignore its message of atoning grace. It is difficult for us today to imagine the darkness endured by those who were once imprisoned by the superstitions promulgated by the Roman Catholic church in Europe. Of course, God still regenerated His people in the midst of this darkness, but even many leaders in the church had never read the Bible and were enslaved by a trust in such heinous practices as the purchase of indulgences and prayers to saints. That is why the simple message of the gospel propounded by the bold monk, Martin Luther, sent such shock waves through the western world: it truly set people free.
From Dark to Dawn: A Tale of Martin Luther and the Reformation is historical fiction originally published in 1863, written by a prolific English author, Elizabeth Charles. James and Stacy McDonald discovered this "buried treasure" when James was searching for a book in a London antique store to bring home to his family. Realizing what a wonderful story Mrs. Charles had penned, the McDonalds put much effort into editing and republishing the book. They knew that it would remind its readers of the incredible debt we owe to the Reformers who risked much to give the Bible and the true Christian faith to those who longed to know God.
This longing for God was the theme of the Reformation and it's the theme of Mrs. Charles's book. Written in the format of journal entries made by several of the story's characters, it is an intensely personal look at the spiritual journey of the Schönberg-Cotta family, members of the burgher class in Eisenach, Germany. Fritz and Else are brother and sister who make a pact with one another to keep journals while Fritz is away at the university. They record details of their daily lives which give a picture of the religious confusion of those who desired to please God. Else's heart seems to be reaching for heaven but she is perplexed by the picture of God portrayed by the church:
It is beautiful in summer in the meadows, at the edge of the pinewoods, when the sun brings out the delicious aromatic perfume of the pines, and the birds sing, and the rooks caw. I like it better than the incense in St. George's Church, and almost better than the singing of the choir, and certainly better than the sermons which are so often about the dreadful fires and the Judgement Day, or the confessional where they give us such hard penances. The lambs, and the birds, and even the insects, seem so happy, each with its own little bleat, or warble, or coo, or buzz of content. It almost seems then as if Mary, the dear Mother of God, were governing the world instead of Christ, the Judge, or the Almighty with the thunders. Every creature seems so blithe and so tenderly cared for, I cannot help feeling better there than at Church. But that is because I have so little religion.
While Else helps her mother care for their large family, struggling with their poverty, Fritz wrestles with similar questions about God. Martin Luther is a friend to the Schönbergs and Cottas, who admire his intelligence and earnest merriment. Martin and Fritz follow similar paths through the university, then both face life-threatening situations which impel them to choose the monastic life, a decision based more on fear than on devotion to God. They find that this retreat from the world does not fulfill their spiritual longings, however, and on a trip to the "holy city" of Rome, they discover the shallowness of the faith of many in the heart of the Catholic religion.
The centrality of God's Word in a Christian's life, sola Scriptura, is powerfully presented in this story. I was moved by the many portrayals of grateful people poring over the new German translation of the Bible which Martin Luther labored over in his desire to make God's Word available to everyone. The family in this story eagerly gathers to read and reread letters and sermons which Luther wrote. There are many actual quotes from Luther woven into the book. The upheavals created by his words are also obvious; the dangers and sacrifices faced by those who would defy the church ought to be understood, as we so often take such sacrifices for granted. Imagine this devotion to the teaching of God's Word:
How could I ever have thought the mere publication of a book would have been an event to stir our hearts like the arrival of a friend! Yet it is even thus with every one of those pamphlets of Dr. Luther's...Students and burghers have not patience to wait till they reach home, but read the heart-stirring pages as they walk through the streets. And often an audience collects around some communicative reader, who cannot be content with keeping the free, liberating truths to himself.
There are journal entries by several other members of the family, including a cousin, Eva, whom God enlightened from a very young age through a snippet of Scripture her father had given her: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son..." Eva's devotion to God without the benefit of the entire story is a reminder that God saves whom He wills, and that even in the confusion of truth mixed with error, there were still those who were saved through faith in Christ. Even though she understands God's grace, Eva also suffers much because of the spiritual oppression of the day. Yet the suffering endured by many of the story's characters results in sweet sanctification. Rather than cultivating bitterness, they accept trials from God as part of His holy purpose for their lives: "All who are dear to Him must suffer. Christians conquer when they suffer; only when they rebel and resist are they defeated and lose the day."
It may surprise some to hear this, but there is a common thread between the Roman Catholic church and the evangelical church of our day: the elevation of the so-called "sacred" over the "secular." In pre-Reformation days, the ecclesiastical classes were considered as following the highest calling, devoting their lives totally to God's service. Those who engaged in common activities were seen as inferior and worldly in their occupations, needing special help to achieve God's acceptance. Similarly, some Christians today consider that the occupations of "full-time ministry" or missions are more holy than those of other callings. The occupation of homekeeper somehow has the lowest estimation in many circles, and I see much backpedaling from those who disavow that the requirement in Titus 2 for women to be "keepers at home" means what it plainly says. Relegating women to serving their families at home seems to be an exquisite form of torture to some, when it ought to be seen as a wonderful calling God has given women, designed to both free them and give them a tremendous scope for creatively serving Him. Thus, I appreciated the many reminders in From Dark to Dawn of the Reformation restoration of the concept of calling. Every area of life is sacred as all belongs to God. Women in this book are shown as vital to the proper functioning of the home as well as essential and intelligent helpmeets to their husbands. Eva's daughter, Agnes, reflects on her calling:
And so I learned that what makes any calling noble is its being commanded by God, and what makes anything good is its being given by God; and that honest contentment consists not in persuading ourselves that our things are the very best in the world, but in believing they are the best for us, and giving God thanks for them.
We so often get in trouble when we lose our child-like trust in the plain truth of God's Word. Whether it's not believing the simplicity of the gospel message, or whether it's finding excuses not to obey the plain commands and precepts of His law once He has granted us saving faith, we all like to be lawyers who obfuscate so that we can hang on to those little household idols of our own creation. From Dark to Dawn clearly shows how smashing those deaf and dumb idols frees us from slavery and grants true joy. Let's not take lightly the sacrifices of men like Martin Luther who helped open our eyes to the source of our freedom.
