Posted on 11/06/2014 2:29:33 PM PST by NYer
In June of this year, the largest Presbyterian denomination in America voted to allow their clergy to perform same-sex “marriages” within the church, thus joining the ranks of other Protestant denominations, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Episcopalian Church, and United Church of Christ.
This “evolution” of theology and “modernizing” of church doctrine is a trend that I predict we’ll continue to see in non-Catholic Christian circles for years to come, and not just with marriage. Today, nearly all Protestant denominations support and even advocate the use of artificial birth control, and many allow at least some level of support for abortion.
Of course, not all Protestants are willing to “move with the times”, so to speak; there remains, especially among the more conservative groups, quite a bit of dissent. However, it cannot be denied that many modern day Protestant denominations are falling further into the depths of secularism.
While it pains me to see Christians turning their backs on the sanctity of life and marriage, I have to admit that whenever the media lights up with news of another Protestant church endorsing an otherwise wholly unchristian act, I find myself entirely unsurprised.
The reason for my utter lack of shock lies, interestingly enough, within two of the critical tenants of Protestant Theology: the doctrines of sola scriptura (scripture alone) and sola fide (faith alone).
As Catholics, the Bible is not our sole source of authority, nor was the Catholic Church based upon it. In fact, what we now call “The Bible” — the collected Old Testament and New Testament writings — was put together by the Church herself, and is meant to enrich and support our doctrine and Tradition.
(Consider too that the Gospel is the written testimony of the teachings of the apostles, which, due to apostolic tradition and the God-given teaching authority of the Church, precedes the written text. Thus, any authority of the Scriptures is derived from the recognition of the Church.)
Yet, the Protestant Reformation severed the Tradition from the Bible, and put all other authorities beneath it. By doing so, they created a type of religious relativism (unwittingly, I’m sure) that opened the door for an “anything goes” mentality. So long, of course, as it can be found — or not found — in the scriptures.
For years, sola scriptura was a major weapon against Catholic theology, claiming that our practices were either absent or directly forbidden by Sacred Scripture. However, since the latter part of the 20th century, the charges that “Jesus never said (x)” or “That’s not in the Bible” have turned on themselves and have now become, “Jesus never said (x) was wrong, so that means (x) must be okay.”
This idea blends well with many in my generation, the millennials, who wish to hold on to some shred of spirituality but cannot bring themselves to relinquish the desires of the flesh. It is also a base notion of “Progressive Christianity”, which is basically the feel-good parts of following Christ without any actual sacrifice.
The same problem goes for sola fide. Though the only place in the Bible where the words “faith” and “alone” appear next to one another is in James 2:24 (“See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone”), it still remains a significant tenant of Protestant Christianity. However, much like sola scriptura, it has seemingly evolved into an even more bastardized version of itself that states, “As long as I’m a good person and believe in Jesus, I’m okay.”
Now, understand, I’m not among the ilk who believe that Protestants can’t go to Heaven, though the path is significantly more challenging (and not in a “take up your cross” kind of way). I do believe, however, that Christianity was never meant go in this direction. And I certainly believe that, should things continue in the manner they’re going for the modern-day Protestants, they’ll eventually have nothing left to call Christian at all.
Of course, perhaps that’s the only logical conclusion Protestantism could possibly come to. It is, after all, a theologically incomplete Christianity; and perhaps that is why it has such difficulty standing the test of time. Consider the continuous splintering Protestantism has seen since the days of Luther, that continues today. Sooner or later, it will be dust; and displaced Christians will be left with two choices: return to Holy Catholic Church or give themselves to the world.
Jesus was “Pop Christianity” to the Pharisees, who never thought they deviated from God, even though they added to the Word of God with their traditions...
Same old same old!
Catholics saying “we are right because our man made rules say so.”
.
I guess you're saying that SIN is still hanging around, no matter how much some people REFUSE to call their perverse, un-Godly, immoral behavior SIN.
We AREN'T any worse than the sinners of 10,000 years ago. There are just LOTS MORE of us around. For all human history I think that people have always tried to justify their sins.
THAT was the sin of Adam and Eve: pride, the original sin.
The author misses the point of the 5 solas. The protestants he is concerned about did not apostatize because they held to the five solas, but because they abandoned them. Roman Catholics have little to strut about as well, they have their scandals, their homo-lobby and their ongoing inclusion of the likes of Nancy Peolsi. This schadenfreude is to the author's shame.
“I’m not among the ilk who believe that Protestants can’t go to Heaven, though the path is significantly more challenging”
This is funny stuff!
Great Article, It has been in my thoughts and Heart for a long time. One of the things I Pray for is May God Shepard them Back Home to his Church on Earth.
God Bless
The firs line sort of tells it all, doesn’t it? Not staying with the Bible has its consequences.
**the largest Presbyterian denomination in America voted to allow their clergy to perform same-sex “marriages” within the church, thus joining the ranks of other Protestant denominations, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Episcopalian Church, and United Church of Christ.**
The Catholic Church is NOT the Whore of Babylon.
Read it again — she sits on one of the beasts.
Oops.
The first line sort of tells it all, doesn’t it?
You are correct, they strayed from the Bible. And this is the consequence of their actions.
and ironically, your very post notes 11 fractionated denominations of christianity, thank goodness they have adhered to Christ’s prayer in the garden, to REMAIN AS ONE.
Exactly! Thanks for saying so. It's when people LEAVE the truth of God's word and its authority OVER all Christians, that they are open to relativism. Even the Roman Catholic church, which likes to pronounce it alone, above everyone else still holds to the ancient faith, continues to present a leadership that is like the white walled sepulchers Jesus condemned in the religious leaders of that time and which spills over to its members who reflect that same hypocrisy:
"You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matt. 23:26-28)
It is sola Scriptura and sola fide which truly is the remedy for secular infiltration of denominations, because it is ONLY through faith that God's grace is given to us and it is a faith that perseveres in spite of all that the evil world throws at it.
Not true, the Baptists are ordaining women and celebrating same sex unions. 60 minutes had a piece about a woman suing her Baptist congregation over this. In 25 years or less the Catholic Church will be the only one standing against gay "marriage."
Sorry - no matter how much anti Protestant stuff is posted on FR, this ex-Catholic now Missouri Synod Lutheran is staying protestant.
Very naive article. There just isn’t that much difference between Catholics and Mainline Protestants on social issues nowadays.
But you can come back to the Church at any time. You are a baptized Catholics and still are a baptized Catholic even though not active. That Baptism mark is still on your soul.
Sit down with a priest and get your questions answered. Believe me, you will come back, and we will welcome you with open arms.
Why do you do this...honestly?
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