Five hundred years ago Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of All Saints’ Church at Wittenberg Germany, the date, October 31, 1517. The Protestant Revolution had begun. As Luther told his accusers at the 1521 council known as the Diet of Worms: “unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the word of God.I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”

Luther tapped into the root of revolutionary change: the human desire to know God. Luther contribution to the modern world: a doctrine of freedom of conscience, rooted in a religious view of human nature and the outward authority should compel or create.” What set Luther ablaze was the Church accepting coin from the poor for absolution although the Church’s wealth was greater than Crassus (the wealthiest man in Roman history). He built the Roman empire.

What we are leading into here is not the proposition that all religions are equal or that anyone should be dictated to by religious leaders that is adverse to their moral character. The point here is to remember that it is a spirit that leads us onto the path of righteousness.

The word spirit is often used metaphysically to refer to the consciousness or personality. The notions of a person’s spirit and souloften also overlap, as both contrast with body and both are believed to survive the bodily death in religion and occultism, and “spirit” can also have the sense of “ghost“, i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person.

The term may also refer to any incorporeal or immaterial being, such as demons or deities. In the Bible, “the Spirit” (with a capital “S”), specifically denotes the Holy Spirit.

As we celebrate Halloween tonight it is the SPIRIT that guides us through life. It is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of All Hallows’ Day dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints(hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.