“I have been a Protestant since 1970, and this is the first time I have EVER heard this”
Really?
I used google for about 20 seconds and found these:
“The Reformation was, at its heart, a recovery of the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and this restoration had an unparalleled influence on churches, nations, and the flow of Western civilization.” http://www.ligonier.org/blog/reformation-and-men-behind-it/
“One person has defined Church History as the story of the loss and recovery of the Gospel. …It was apparent that the Gospel was nearly lost during the times of the Middle Ages.” http://www.solagroup.org/articles/faqs/faq_0034.html
“Tragically, this Patristic understanding was lost during the Medieval times and only recovered by Martin Luther and others at the time of the Reformation… As the study of Church History is the study of the loss and recovery of the Gospel…” http://www.solagroup.org/articles/understandingthebible/utb_0007.html
“Tracing the Loss and Recovery of Pauline Truth.” http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RrZpbemGzGAJ:www.gracelifebiblechurch.com/SundaySchool/ChurchHistory/Course%2520Outline.pdf+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
“The Reformation’s Recovery of the Gospel” http://www.credomag.com/2011/11/04/the-reformations-recovery-of-the-gospel/
Mormons:
http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/restoration
“The myth of a Protestant “recovery” of the Gospel was strong in our church. “http://chnetwork.org/2012/02/a-protestant-historian-discovers-the-catholic-church-conversion-story-of-a-david-anders-ph-d/
These took no time to find. Certainly less than 45 years.
After the apostles died, was the gospel hopelessly lost until the Reformation?
From your selections (emphasis added):
“One person has defined Church History as the story of the loss and recovery of the Gospel. …It was apparent that the Gospel was nearly lost during the times of the Middle Ages.”
“Tragically, this Patristic understanding was lost during the Medieval times and only recovered by Martin Luther and others at the time of the Reformation… As the study of Church History is the study of the loss and recovery of the Gospel…”
Your analysis is spot-on if the apostles had lived until the middle ages.
FREEPER Mark17 references "Protestants" and then you cite "Mormons" as if they were part of the umbrella of "Protestants."
SORRY. But ALL of the Mormon Church literature steadfastly says they are NOT Protestant; they are not a "tree" from the "trunk" of Protestantism.
Straw man "proof" that needs weeding out by a gardener not taking very good care of his comments here...