When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of a church in Wittenberg, they entered the German zeitgeist with seemingly supernatural speed. "It almost appeared," marveled one 16th century writer, "as if the angels themselves had been their messengers and brought them before the eyes of all the people." The real catalyst was slightly more prosaic: the magic of technology. The printing press, which decades earlier had carried the Holy Bible to the masses, now brought them Luther's heresies. Affixed to All Saints Church on Oct. 31, 1517, the 95 theses were by December rolling off the presses in...
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