[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="319"]<a href="religious music in google images"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DtmhjiI3ruk/TEspGnU0qCI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/-9sqTL1s6hY/s1600/lucy.jpg" alt="" width="319" height="564" /></a> <br />Relilgious music[/caption]

         During the time of Johan Sebastian Bach’s musical career, a lot was going on in the world. This was a turning point in the world, the Early 1700’s. “One of the most influential cultural events of the early seventeenth century” (1)(fiero) had just taken place, the new English translation of the Holy Bible. Recruited by James 1 of England, a committee of about 50 scholars had begun the work of the translations of scriptures.” This marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. This was the  time when Martin Luther had translated the Holy Bible from Greek to German. “The translation of the Holy Bible played a special significance in those times. It gave people an inner light, (fiero) and brought a new light to urge people to break away from Roman Catholic beliefs. This spawned a Reformation, and through music it carried the same theme and message. There is one hymn that symbolizes the Protestant Reformation; it is "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." by Bach. Those persecuted and martyred for their convictions during the Reformation sang these same words.

       "The one hymn that most symbolizes the Protestant Reformation is "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." In it, Martin Luther proclaims his confidence in God and rallies all Christians to war against evil. Basing his words on Psalm 46, he victoriously states "We will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us." Those persecuted and martyred for their convictions during the Reformation sang these words from Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” Luther understood the power of evil: “After he posted his ninety-five theses on the door of Wittenberg's Castle in 1517, he faced years of trials and persecution, he was excommunicated from the Roman church, and he continually faced threats against his life and his freedom.” “Other reformers had been persecuted and burned at the stake.”                                                                                                                                                                              “But he also knew God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in danger" (Psalm 46:1) and so he wrote "A Mighty Fortress is our God," proclaiming boldly that "the prince of darkness grim, we tremble  not for him . . . one little word shall fell him." Since he wrote it in 1529,” (2)

       This piece both compares and differentiates to another piece of its time.  I think this piece compares to Handel’s Messiah, “Handel’s music brought scripture to life, that celebrates the birth of Jesus and is a collection of versus from the Old and New testament. “ The most famous of Handel’s works is the Messiah, which was written in the English of the King James Bible.” (fiero) The two compare because Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is our God” also is based on scripture, that cover Thessalonians, Revelations and Psalms.  The two differentiate because in Handel’s Messiah, the first part “recounts the Old Testament prophesies of a savior, the second part relates to the suffering and death of Jesus, and the third part rejoices in the redemption of humankind through Christ’s resurrection.”(fiero) while in Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” his piece translated is the scriptures from 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 which talk about a man of Lawlessness, or a man of sin,(when translated) verse 3 of chapter 2 in the New testament of the Holy Bible also the first part of Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” say “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of sin (some translations say rebellion) is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.”(3)  Bach’s piece is warning us of sin, unlike Handle’s Messiah which celebrate Jesus’ life. I believe “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” by Bach had a much more huge significance in the past than in today’s times because in those times people were willing to die for their own given right to practice what they religiously believed in, an example was Martin Luther’s friend Ulrich Zwingli, “who died Oct. 11, 1531, who was part of the Reformation as well, and believed one simple truth, it was the bible was the truth and anything else was not. Zwingli debated against the Roman Catholic Church on lent and clerical celibacy “calling them unbiblical.”(4) “The Roman Catholic Church declared war against the Protestants and Zwingly was killed, and his body was defiled.”(4)  Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” has been known to be the same exact battle that Zwingli died for and was attached to the Protestant movement, which was that “all western Christian believers that did  not adhere to Roman Catholic faith. This was a definitive decade for the creation of the Evangelical faith.”(5) This was the main theme behind Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” “Cantata No.80, the most important hymn of the Lutheran Church, Its melody unifies the eight movements of the cantata, which concludes with a four part setting of the chorale melody, sung in the style of the congregational hymn”(2)

        Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” in my opinion does not have the same affect on listeners today as it did back in Bach’s time, although Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is still around today. “Bach’s hymn has been translated into nearly every language. There are said to be over eighty English translations alone to this hymn, but the version most used in the United States is the translation by Frederic Henry Hedge in 1852. The first line of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is inscribed on the tomb of Martin Luther at Wittenberg. And its powerful words and tune continue to live.” “The hymn was sung at the funeral of President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, March 1969. And it was also included in the National Service of Prayer and Remembrance, held shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks against America”(2). Today, Bach’s song doesn’t have the same impact on listeners because a lot of people including me did not even know the whole background setting of the song, what was going on during the years it was written and why it was written, its meaning and lyrics, and understanding of the Reformation movement, and to what they were reforming against. Today we do not have the same restrictions as in Bach’s times, being forced to believe in a religion, that know one really knew the religion because there was only one priest that had a bible that was written in Latin, and only the priest knew Latin and what the priest said was law, if anyone disagreed there were great repercussions sometimes death.  Today we are able to carry a bible of your choice at your own free will and express and believe in what ever you chose to believe in, because of the people of Bach’s time and of Bach’s song.  Many people died to have that right to believe in a religion of your choice. This song today does not have the same affect as it did back then, since we are overwhelmed with the many great choices in the land of the free to do and practice any religion of choice.

        In Conclusion this song still helps to remind me to not take for granted of the many great opportunities that I do have today, and to cherish those opportunities, and to be grateful of the present freedoms we do have, because of this Bach’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” would be a definite choice to take as a TCP to save and cherish for future generations.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). With a beautiful reminder of that truth, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" gives us hope amidst the struggles of life. The words, written nearly five hundred years ago, still ring true today: When life storms blow in around us, we can find refuge in the mighty fortress of our God.”(2)