Posted on 10/16/2019 5:53:55 AM PDT by Gamecock
More articles for reflection as we apprach Reformation Day, 2019.
In before the Protestants bashing begins...
They are a little slow on the keyboard this morning!
This was a peculiarly Western European/Roman Church problem, no? Take the example of Sts. Cyril and Methodius (9th c.) in the east --the apostles to the Slavs.
St. Cyril not only translated everything for the Slavs, he even created an alphabet in order to do so. Hence the Cyrillic alphabet.
My understanding is that throughout the Orthodox Christian world, texts have always been made in the native language of the people --- whether it be Greek, Syriac, or whatever.
GREAT summary. Luther was in many ways similar to the description of a man I worked under. Someone said “he is a man with TREMENDOUS strengths and GLARING weaknesses.”
Crooked sticks, straight lines, lest we forget who we are worshiping here and make an idol of men. I love Luther because I can relate to him in his pathetic brokenness.
Thank God for blessed saint, father Martin Luther.
Flawed as every man God chooses, Luther recovered the Gospel of Grace and the authority of God’s inspired Word.
Even today, he lives rent free in the heads of many who post on this forum.
A fitting tribute to see them still upset and unable to see beyond their religion.
Not bashing, but he has no idea what an indulgence is.
An Indulgence was a certificate issued by the Church and sold by priests with a guarantee that it would ensure passage to Heaven
Completely mistaken.
(in the Roman Catholic Church) a grant by the Pope of remission of the temporal punishment in purgatory still due for sins after absolution.
In other words, some penance is done to move through Purgatory faster. It has nothing to do with guaranteeing acceptance into heaven, if you are in Purgatory, you are going to heaven.
1. They simply don’t work. The modern-day evidence for this is that there are more than 40,000 “Christian” sects. There may as well be a million, once you acknowledge that there can be more than one.
2. A democratic approach to faith does not have any basis in history or Scripture. Not only that, but Judao-Christian history as documented in Scripture is a clear, compelling case AGAINST the silly notion that “democracy” has any place in Christianity. Scripture is an endless litany of stories of open rebellion against God among the masses, and admonitions warning people AGAINST a broad acceptance of popular sentiments in the world.
Scripture reference please. Actually several of them. At least one purgatory, one for indulgences, and one for selling forgiveness for monetary gain? I’m sure such important doctrines are well supported by Scripture....
This is a most interesting subject and this is a timely period to review it.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world gave to Peter the keys of The Church. This church that Peter had taken over for The Lord grew for a number of reasons but I think mostly because of the promise that The Savior made, that wherever two or three were gathered in His name there would He be also. So when the saints gathered many of them could feel the presence of the Holy Ghost.
In the early church the doctrine we now call the doctrine of The Trinity as certified at the council in Nicaea and refined a few times after that was not universal and so many saints felt that The Holy Ghost allowed them to communicate with God by delivering their prayers to Jesus.
After Nicaea the church priesthood inserted another layer into the mix, the local priest. Luther blew this up and his doctrine established what was had some 1500 years earlier thus decimating the need for a priest.
I personally believe that Luther was no more wrong than those bishops who prior to 325AD preached a wide variety of Christian doctrines.
After the apostles especially Peter died off or were murdered there was a paucity of central authority, there was no one who could say “thus saith The Lord”. With the keys gone, with central authority gone Constantine came along and did what the Apostles would have done had they been there.
I believe what Constantine did was wrong but not evil he was just trying to do a good thing on his own. He was kind of like a non-levite trying to keep the Ark from falling, well intentioned but without authority. I put Luther in the same category, he did something that needed to be done but without proper authority.
We owe much to both Constantine and to Luther. I believe both were well meaning and both did much good but both made many mistakes because they relied on their own wisdom.
Were it not for Constantine who knows what we as individuals would know about The Savior and our relationship to Him. Without Luther who knows how much freedom from Church and State we would have. I will honor both of them.
And how many sects are there of catholicism and orthodox? at least all you romans are united as one behind your pope!
I think Luther is indispensable in the cause of human freedom.
Uh oh. You did it again. You said the Luther word. For all his flaws one thing ai appreciate about Luther was his ability to shred the pompouswith one phrase. He would have been a good poster here.
A democratic approach to faith does not have any basis in history or Scripture . . . . .
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I would strongly disagree. The Lord Jesus Christ or the God of The Old Testament never compelled anyone to believe or follow. Man has always had what might best be described by the word “agency”. That is not to say there weren’t punishments for making the wrong choice, just ask the people who made the golden calf while Moses was on the mountain. There are consequences for choice. Good choices generally have much better consequences.
Popcorn time!
How are a number of denominations evidence that “they don’t work?”
I’m not getting into a ridiculous waste of time argument, so waste someone else’s time. I just pointed out that the first thing he speaks of (indulgences) is absolutely wrong, he doesn’t even know what one is.
You probably have no idea either.
Why not tell me how my statement was wrong Ms Authority?
:: any religious institution with a “democratic” foundation ::
I agree that “democracy” has no place in Christianity. But, I must point out here, that you posit a common “pre-supposition” upon the works of the Reformers; Hess, Luther; Calvin; Zwingli. Democracy is the ^outcome^ of the Reformation which birthed /individual/ liberty (critical thought) to all willing to assume it.
Faith is first, foremost and singly a personal relationship with God, not a consensus of those with whom you associate.
The Church is the Bride of Christ, not a governing agency working on behalf of “president” Jesus, or for that matter any “vicar of Christ”. We, as sentient human beings have fallen upon a /democratic/ governing structure to facilitate the churches existence here on this side of Heaven. The Church Fathers, the Reformation Fathers nor Jesus Himself required a democratically run church no more than the Apostles espoused a socialist construct during their post-Ascension ministry.
Yet, as I have always written, without the Reformation we would not have the United States of America. To say we are not a Christian nation (Ovomit) is to say the individual has no Faith in God, no hope. Hebrews 11:1
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