How much they will print no one knows so it is published here in full.
As a Bible believing Protestant I sincerely respect the right of people to document their views and opinions. This principle of civil and religious liberty is enshrined within the great tenants of our favoured nation. But the freedom to express our opinion does not, in and of itself, immunise us from a thoughtful analysis by those who hold to a different interpretation and application of the subject that is being considered.
Mr Alban Maginness, a former barrister, MLA and Lord Mayor of Belfast, recently wrote in the Belfast Telegraph that the Reformation was "a tragedy that still divides us”. According to the Oxford dictionary the word ‘tragedy’ means , “An event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress ..” What Alban Maginness is arguing for is that the Reformation caused great suffering, destruction and distress for the Roman Catholic Church from the 16th Century to the present day? From a Roman Catholic perspective the Reformation is viewed as a “tragedy”, because it exposed the Church’s intimidating system of ritual and penance to earn salvation, to be contrary to the Holy Scriptures. However, from the Protestant perspective the Reformation was neither “tragic nor an unfortunate misunderstanding”. In fact it was a glorious movement of the Spirit of God, because truth triumphed over error, light defeated darkness and the Scriptures exalted over manmade traditions.
