Last November (2013) a concert called "
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace" written by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, was scheduled to be performed in a church in Speyer, Germany. The church was built to honor the great reformer Martin Luther.
Luther was a German monk, theologian and priest in the Catholic church. He is considered the catalyst for the Reformation because he challenged the teachings of the church by asking 95 questions. He hadn't intended to take on the Catholic Church but the Church's response to his thoughtful and scholarly (not challenging) questions confirmed to Luther that he was right.
Speyer means “spires”.Luther did not believe the current teachings of the Church; that sins could be forgiven if indulgences were bought with money, that heaven could be attained by doing good works, that salvation was not a free gift of God. Luther was especially concerned over the Catholic practice of indulgences and said so to the indulgence salesman who was making the rounds on behalf of the Pope so as to gather money to repair St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Thesis 86, asks: "
Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of Saint Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money? " (source: Hillerbrand, Hans J., "Martin Luther: Indulgences and salvation," in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007)
As
Wikipedia puts it , "
Luther's theology challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge from God. Martin Luther died in 1546, still convinced of his Reformation theology, and with his decree of excommunication by Pope Leo X still effective. ... On his deathbed, Luther was asked, 'Are you ready to die trusting in your Lord Jesus Christ and to confess the doctrine which you have taught in his name?'. He answered, 'Yes' before taking his final breath .
"
The Memorial Church of the Protestation is a Protestant Lutheran church in Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate. Built between 1893 and 1904, the church was constructed in memory of the protest that took place at the Diet of Speyer by the Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire in 1529. This Protestation at Speyer sealed the schism of the Christian church and is considered the birth of Protestantism. From this time on the adherents of the reformation movement were called Protestants." (
source )
So it would seem that Speyer is an important historical place in our faith, at least the builders of the Memorial Church at Speyer thought so, commemorating the man Luther and the men who stood for Christ against the false Church at Rome.
Back to November 2013 and the Brave German Woman as she is known. Her name was soon discovered, Heidi Mund. Though she does not live in Speyer, Ms Mund had heard that a Muslim call to prayer was going to take place at Speyer in the Memorial Church. She prayed, and eventually asked her brother to accompany her to the place. The believers were allowed to make a protest, but only a silent protest and only at quite a designated distance from the church. Ms Mund decided to buy a ticket, and along with her brother, entered the venue. The only seats available at that late date were the balcony seats. She continued to pray.
There is a 6-minute opening song called The Armed Man, and then a Muslim is supposed to call to prayer for two minutes. When the muezzin stood up and began to ululate his call, a righteous anger rose in Mund, she said later, she unfurled her German flag-banner emblazoned with "Jesus Christ" and shouted "Jesus Christ alone is Lord over Germany! I break this curse [of Muslim prayer]. I am standing here, I cannot do otherwise! [As Luther had said]. This is the church of Martin Luther! I stand here, I cannot do otherwise!" It was about that time she was approached by security and escorted out. Her brother kept filming.
A bystander shouted, "This is a concert for peace!!"
Believers were angry because we disturbed their concert.
~Heidi MundMund shouted back in reply, "No it is not! Not when Muslims are shouting Allahu Akbar while murdering people! Do not be fooled! It is a lie!"
Allahu Akbar opens the prayer, it is an Islamic phrase, called Takbir in Arabic, meaning "God is greater" or "god is [the] greatest" [over all other gods]
The Armed Man: The Call to Prayers (Adhaan, the Muslim call to prayer)
Allahu Akbar
Ashadu An La Illa-L-Lah
Ashadu Anna Muhammadan Rasulu-l-lah
Hayya Ala-s-salah
Hayya Ala-l-Falah
Allahu Akbar
La Illaha il la-lah
Allah is the greatest.
I bear witness that there is no God but Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Come fast to the success.
Allah is the greatest.
There is no god but AllahAs one Muslim explained, "
the main purpose behind the multiple loud pronouncements of adhan in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. "
This call was proclaimed in the Memorial Church as Speyer, a
Christian church, during the concert.
By March 2014, CBN had picked up on the incident, which had made the rounds in Germany. Mund was interviewed on its program. After that, the incident became more well-known in the US.
Though the news media portrayed Ms Mund's protest as a protest of a muezzin calling to prayer in a Christian church, and it was, what was little reported was that it was part of a concert with ecumenism as its thesis. The call to prayer by a muezzin was not the sole feature. Here is information about the Karl Jenkins concert, "The Armed Man."
The Armed Man is a
Catholic Mass. It is an anti-war piece based on the Catholic Mass and the 15th century "L'homme armé” a folk piece widely used by Renaissance composers as a cantus firmus for the Latin Mass. The concert includes other religious traditions, including Hindu, pagan folklore from the King Arthur Legend, pieces from the Holy Bible's Psalms and Revelation, and of course the already-noted Muslim call to prayer. Also included are the Catholic Agnus Dei and the Benedictus. Let's let that sink in for a moment, while we return to Ms Mund.
Politically Incorrect News has a translation of Ms Mund's own words about incident. Here are some excerpts-
I don’t want to join the silent vigil that had permission to quietly protest far away from the church. Regarding the issue, I cannot simply remain silent. We have tickets for the balcony. My brother – we are all like one family – cannot keep his mouth shut. He is from Northern Africa, and he’s already been through a lot. When reading the inscription at the tall statue of Martin Luther, we are deeply concerned. ...
Confidently the Imam is reaching the pedestal and starts with this awful call. Quickly I’m taking my German flag which reads: Jesus Christ is the Lord. I’m unrolling the flag and speak the famous quote by Martin Luther: “I am standing here. I cannot do otherwise.” I know, time is short. I’m lifting the curse the Imam has just placed on the church and on us. From each corner, people start pulling my flag. I don’t want it to rip. Then they are pushing me and F. They shall leave me, don’t touch me. I keep telling that I will leave voluntarily. They try grabbing F.’s cell phone he used for filming. Over and over they try holding me ruggedly. They already had been waiting for us to come up with something. Through the rear exit we are being pushed downstairs. I remember what Jesus Christ himself once said to those who are not worthy of God’s peace: "And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town." (Matthew 10:14 English Standard Version (ESV) So we both consciously do. I keep thinking: this is betrayal, betrayal of the martyrs, betrayal of us believers, of our country, of God himself. I know, this is not just about a show concealed as a “concert”. This is about the foundation of our existence. This is about our lives. The Memorial Church in Speyer had been built at the beginning of the last century by the German state and the congregation in commemoration of Martin Luther and the German rulers who protected him. Now “the great prostitute” (Revelation 17:1 (ESV) had occupied it. The great Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1:8 (ESV): “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Reading about the content of this terrible performance, it seems to me like a curse on our country. It feels as if we were singing to this “concert” for our own judgement. It’s pure idolism being carried out in God’s church. The living God, this house has been dedicated to, will react to this. The pastors and the leader of the Protestant/Evangelical Church in Germany betray their founder Martin Luther and the reformers, they betray our country which built its law and moral standards upon God’s word, the Bible. They betray all of us. People only dare to change God's word when they don't know God, I would be very afraid to change anything as long I have known God, I would be too afraid."
~Heidi MundI'm thankful that Ms Mund and her brother relied on the strength and courage of the Holy Spirit to make a stand in the place where other believers had stood centuries before making a stand for Jesus. She's right, the Memorial Church at Speyer's elders betrayed us and most importantly, betrayed Jesus, by allowing such blasphemies to be proclaimed in His house.
She's also right about the insidiousness of a "concert's" hidden agenda. Many believers were encouraged all over the world and in Germany by this one woman's brave stand. I'm so thankful.
It is sickening to me that a muezzin would be allowed to stand in a Christian church and be allowed to shout that Allah is greater than God. Sickening. Ms Mund was brave, no doubt about that. I'm heartily encouraged by her prayerful action.
But I ask this rhetorical question. If we remove the Call to Prayer by the muezzin from the concert program, and leave only the Catholic portions of the mass, would she have been as exercised? Would she have driven 40 miles, and spent double digits to enter the concert, risk jail or physical punishment? She has said many times that it was the Muslim call to prayer that was such a catalyst to her action.
Luther wasn't protesting Islam, as heinous as that religion is. He was protesting the almost-trueaspect of Catholicism, and how it melds truth and lies to deceive millions. How it uses power to strip peasants of their money while giving them false hope. Islam is obviously a false religion. Catholicism isn't as obviously false, but it is just as deadly.
Would
I have made such a stand if a concert containing Catholic elements were in it? Would you?
The Benedictus, or Sanctus, is part of
The Armed Man concert. In the Roman Catholic Church, a partial indulgence was once specifically granted for recitation of the Sanctus prayed once daily together with the Trisagion. Indulgences was the very activity that sparked Luther and his reformation, and it had come full circle and entered in the church at Speyer where the schism from Catholicism was cemented. Now THAT is something to protest! I'm upset about the muezzin, but more upset about the Catholicsm allowed back into the place where it was once ejected, costing bloody lives of many believers. That is the betrayal. But would we protest? Do we?
These questions are pertinent. The day is coming and is already here, where all manner of religions will force their way into the church. The most obvious false religions are dangerous. However, the least obvious are the most dangerous. Jesus Calling, Seeker Sensitive, Vision Casting, Catholic concerts for peace...all are wolves disguised as sheep, crouching at the door. And in Speyer, it is boldly entering in, and bringing with it Muslims who dare to proclaim Allah is greater.
God will richly repay.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19).
The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. (Psalm 94:1)
Meanwhile, I think Ms Mund did the right thing. She stood her ground, proclaimed Holy Jesus in His house, left peacefully when pressured by the law, and prayed to the Spirit to take her words for whatever glory He will make of it in order to exalt Jesus. This is what we in America will have to do, and soon, by the looks of it.
We enter into the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow, remembering the soldiers who gave their lives to protect us and our freedom. Included in that freedom is the freedom to practice our religion. Would you make a stand as a soldier of Christ if the opportunity presented itself? Would you be a Brave American Woman in the army of God?
