Posted on 10/30/2007 12:47:36 PM PDT by Gamecock
There are not 20000 + Protestant denominations. That has been debunked. If that were true, I think that it ends up something like 40 persons or less per denomination. lol If I get a chance tomorrow, I will look up how ridiculous that number is. Right now it is bedtime.
Why wouldn’t we? In spite of the seemingly unrelated title, the author described is an orthodox Romanist himself. See, we can actually agree on a FEW things, right GC?
What, we're back down to 20,000 again, and no one told me???
lol If I get a chance tomorrow, I will look up how ridiculous that number is. Right now it is bedtime.
I can save you a great deal of time. The history of a million plus "Protestant" denominations starts here... ...and ends here.
The Battle Hymn of the Reformation
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
Turn up your speakers and enjoy!
If God is a Mighty Fortress, then why are all the Protestants scattered about the landscape in little grass huts?
I don’t understand your question - could you elaborate please?
God constructed the mighty earthly fortress of His Church.
The Reformation saw a lot of people walk away and set up their own little theological huts all over the landscape. Some of those huts are being destroyed by the folks within and some of those folks are walking back to the fortress and some are building more huts in the mistaken assumption that it is the fault of the first huts that they are insufficient.
>>God constructed the mighty earthly fortress of His Church.<<
A unified body of believers, who worship in spirit and truth. Not the Roman Catholic Church.
>>The Reformation saw a lot of people walk away and set up their own little theological huts all over the landscape.<<
Truth has a way of separating the weeds from the wheat.
>>Some of those huts are being destroyed by the folks within...<<
Like the catholic church? Men are fallible, and as such, their groups are fallible. Only God and His word are infallible.
He was a Lutheran, but many (including BXVI) have praised him for his Christian life.
They are the lost sheep, Mark.
It should be said though, that traditional Presbyterianism-and-more-radical-protestants (Baptists and many others) have an old tradition of being down on most religious holidays. Even Christmas wasn’t a big deal among such groups until about 150 years ago—and it was banned entirely by the ancestors of Presbyterians, the Puritans, for a while in the 17th Century.
Hence even Reformation Day is not heavily emphasized in the Presbyterian circles I know...
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” (St. Paul in Romans 14:5)
Probably just because they know God Himself as their Fortress, not castles made by men...
***They are the lost sheep, Mark.***
While you may be attempting to use sarcasm with your little exchange, there is more truth to that than you realize. Eventually, even the Catholics and EO will abandon their man made sandcastles and come to the fortress that has no walls and needs none. Eventually all will join we Calvinists.
We’re not the ones who wandered.
:::Eventually all will join we Calvinists.:
Why, are the puppets coming apart at the joints?
:::Eventually, even the Catholics and EO will abandon their man made sandcastles:::
We’re not the ones who left the Fortress of God and wandered far afield, setting up pale, frail, and man-made imitations of the real deal. You guys have an incomplete, abridged and mutilated Bible. When your Scripture is complete, and adequately translated, we’ll be able to talk apples and apples.
We follow the teachings of Jesus, not a murdering theological thug who imposed an iron despotic rule upon Geneva.
AMEN! Semper Reformanda!
That refers to one of my favorite veres from the Bible...
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." -- 1 Corinthians 10:13
Nothing sanctimonious about it. In fact, Paul says all men are tempted. It's the human condition. But God does not leave us defenseless.
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