Actually no, it was more of a pandora's box
Luther first argued against the use of indulgences, then about celibacy among priests and nuns
But then Calvin disagreed about the True Presence in the Eucharist and Zwingli openly said there wasn't
Then came the Anabaptists who went one step further and said that the Baptism wasn't valid
then you had the Unitarians who went and said that the Trinity was invalid
At which stage did it stop being "opening the door" and become "opening Pandora's box"?
Seriously
“At which stage did it stop being “opening the door” and become “opening Pandora’s box”?
“Seriously”
Of course, with your background and beliefs, you see it as a pandora’s Box.
And you lay it at Luther’s feet.
Not surprisingly, I see it differently, since every movement in history has a context and an antecedent that energizes the movement.
In this case, you can lay the energy that launched this at two sources:
1. The long-term corruption of Rome, a whitewashed tomb on the outside, but filled with corruption and bones on the inside.
Luther tried to bring Rome back to God’s Word and did not start out wanting to separate. Rome doubled down on its heresy and did not even want to discuss the Scriptures at the hearing. All they wanted was blind obedience.
Rome had multiple occasions to repent and move back to scripture. They did not. It would have stopped there.
The same can be said for Rome’s prideful breakaway from the original orthodox churches. Rome could have prevented a split, but they insisted on their own supremacy.
As Rome trod down the road of seeing themselves as a superior kingdom that must be obeyed, *they wound the energy that eventually led to the split during the Reformation.*
2. There was also the large context of the Renaissance, that set free mankind to re-examine everything. And so they did.
Through it all, God has preserved for himself a small group who haven’t bowed their knee to Baal. It has always been this way.
The wheat grows with the tares until the harvest.
And we have had the same heresy to deal with in the beginning as we do today.
The only real difference is that Rome used to just slaughter any believer who disagreed - man woman or child.
Thankfully, they have been confined to a historical kingdom of a few acres in Rome.
In the meantime, The Roman Rooster continues to crow, pridefully believing his actions make the sun rise- just as corrupt, and now we see the depth of Rome’s corruption with children.
The orthodox churches avoided many of Rome’s errors, but preserved many.
And God’s plan marches on outside the old wine skins.
Best to you FRiend