Celebrating Philip Melanchthon's Eldritch Forehead
By Rev. Dan Greg Today we celebrate the commemoration and birthday of Philip Melanchthon (16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560). I go out of my way to commemorate him with the Church today to celebrate his faithfulness to Christ and duty to the Communion of the Saints. Part of what is so interesting about Melanchthon is that he is so different in personality from Luther. They were both highly intelligent and dedicated to the reading and tender use of God’s Word in the original languages. But he was not brash, he was not outgoing. He was polite. Thanks to him, the Church has something very precious; the most perfect ecumenical document outside of the three Creeds: the Augsburg Confession, delivered in 1530 to the Holy Roman Emperor. Ever since, it has been clear as day how one might better amend his or her heart to a more faithful understanding and interpretation of the scriptures. Ever since, Church fellowship has been far less shrouded in mystery and "talking past