Protestant
Reformation
Protestant
Reformation
Christian Denominations, Sects and Cults
with the evolution: No pope, later no bishops, later no priests, later no baptism of children... - The Pope is out with
Martin Luther (the churches still have bishops)
- The bishops are out with Calvin and the Presbyterian churches (the
churches still have Presbyters, Priests, but no Bishops)
- The priests are out, with the altars and sacrifices out, in most modern
Pentecostal churches, in most of the 41,000 of them.
- No Baptism of Children, after Zwingli and the Anabaptists
- Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, though highly praised by the original
Reformers, is now the almost forgotten biblical figure in many modern reformed
churches.
So, now, only in the USA, there are 250 Protestant bodies, by conservative estimates, 1400 by other estimates, and many thousands, by more liberal estimates... in fact, each one of the 41,000 Pentecostal Churches in the USA is an independent body, and the leader becomes the "little Pope" of the congregation: If the leader says you can't drink coffee or wine, or you can't have make-up or were jewels, or you can't watch television... you can't!... no matter what the Bible says!... and if you do, you will be severely punished by the "little Pope" of that church, or expelled outright from it.
The 1996 Book of the Year of
the Encyclopedia Britannica reports the total number of Protestants worldwide as
465 million... but reports another 276 million who mostly call themselves
Christian-Protestants, but they are not considered so by the 465 mainline
Protestants, because the gross errors they have: For example, the "Jehovah's
Witnesses" say that Jesus Christ is not God; the "Mormons" say that Jesus Christ
is God as much as you and I are God; for the "Moonies", Moon is more God that
Jesus Christ; the "Christian Science" of Mary Baker denies the divinity of Jesus
and his redemption on the Cross; the "Children of God" talk about a God very
sexy, and the Holy Spirit is painted as an almost nude prostitute...
- Others of those 276 million are so much involved in
divination, magic, and astrology, that they are not considered Christians by the
mainline Protestants, even though they may adore Christ.
The 5 "PRINCIPLES" OF PROTESTANTISM:
1.
The Pope has no authority
2.
Bible Alone
3.
Free interpretation of the Bible
4.
Salvation by Faith alone
5.
The Priesthood of all believers
This leaves the Protestants without any authority to call attention on any possible "errors": The Baptists, for example, have "Conventions" to set up policies of the Church, but if a Baptist believes that Jesus is not God, no one has any authority to tell him that he is wrong, he still can be a Baptist!... the "Assemblies" or "Synods" of other Denominations fulfill the same function...
In principle, no one in a Protestant Church has "authority" to say to other what is "right" or "wrong", because each individual has the right to interpret the Bible in his own way...
Church of Christ Organization by Jesus, Peter-the Pope
The "Little Popes":
But, Jesus founded his Church in such a way that is got to have a "Pope", a "successor of Peter": So, in fact, each Denomination has his "little Pope" or many "little Popes":
- For example: For 2,100 million Christians, "Sunday" is the Day of the Lord, but for the 5 million Adventists it is "Saturday"... why at least one Adventist does not have the Sunday as the Day of the Lord?... because each Adventist reads the Bible as taught by their "little Popes", Miller, Bates, White... they do not follow the Bible, but what their "little Popes" tell them about the Bible!.
- Each one of the 3 million Jehovah's Witnesses believes the Bible prohibits "blood transfusions", against what other 2,100 million people read in the same Bible... why?... you got it!... the Witnesses read the Bible the way their "little Popes" tell them to: Russell, Rutherford, Knorr, Henschel...
And that is the way also for the larger denominations: For the Lutherans, Luther is the "little Pope"... and since Luther says that the "real Pope" has no authority, the Lutherans say so... but, instead, they accept Luther as their "little Pope", though he does not even claim to be the successor of Peter of Matt.16:19...
For the Calvinists, Calvin is the "little Pope", and each one of the Calvinists will assure you that "Jesus is not really present in the Eucharist"... all of them!... just like Calvin affirms!.
For the Presbyterians, Knox and Calvin are their "little Popes"... for the Baptists, John Smith and Roger Williams... the Pentecostals and Congregationalists have thousands of "little Popes", because each congregation is an independent body, and usually, the pastor becomes the "little Pope", with, may be, some other leader of that congregation.
2- Scripture Alone:
This is the second fundamental principle of the Protestant Reformation: "Sola Scripture", Scripture Alone... The Bible alone has the ultimate authority for all matters of religious beliefs and practices.The "Bible" is a "thing", a "book"... and "things" do not have authority, only "persons" have authority, or what those persons say or write... the authority of the Bible rests on the fact that it is "the Word of God", and, yes, that's a real great "person"... but this Word of God has been, and it is been constantly "interpreted"... and the one whose interpretations are followed by many others becomes a founder or leader of a Denomination.
There is a second, very critical issue: The list of the books that form the "Bible" we have, was given to us by a Pope, St. Damasus I, at the Council of Rome in 382. Many Protestants do not realize that the list of the books of the New Testament they cherish so much was given to them by a Pope...
When Luther claimed that the Pope had no authority, he should have done a revision to see if the Bible given by a Pope was the correct one... but he did not!... Luther accepted as true the Bible given by Pope St. Damasus I... but, honestly, if the Pope is no good, the Bible is no good!...
The greatest mistake of Luther was to dissociate the Bible from the Church... a Bible without the Church, is an impossible; a Church without the Bible is a non-Christian church.
3- "Free interpretation" of the Bible: This third principle of Protestantism is the "free interpretation of the Bible": Every individual has the right to read the Bible, and interpret it in his own way, according to his own conscience, without interference from any authority.It sounds good, as my own right to freedom... but it is most anti-biblical: In no place the Bible talks about the "free private interpretation of the Bible", rather, the Bible itself says exactly the opposite: "First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation" (2Pet.1:20), in the New Revised Standard Version; the Revised English Bible says, "But first note this: no prophetic writing is a matter for private interpretation".
If the "free private interpretation" were true, not only the Protestants would have the right to it, but also every Catholic and every Orthodox... so, every Catholic would be as right as any Protestant to live the Bible as he sees it... assertion denied by most Protestants of today.
But it is not true, the Bible has not been made for "free private interpretation"!... The Bible is a most glorious country full of wonderful treasures... but we need a "guide", like in any other unknown country... the Church who gave us the Bible, has also the right and very serious duty to guide us, to interpret for us every treasure, and she is the only one who has that authority, given to her by Jesus in person (Matt.16:19, 18:18). Church of Christ Organization by Jesus, Peter-the Pope
In the Catholic Church this serious responsibility is exercised by the Pope, and the Councils under the Pope, following the power given by Jesus in Matt.16:19 and 18:18...
In the Protestant Reform, nobody has this authority... and this is the reason why so many contradictions go unchecked in the Protestant reformed churches, without anyone guiding the faithful in what is the truth or the error... Some churches say Jesus is God, others say he is not; some say the Holy Spirit is God, others say he is not; some say abortion is bad, others say it is good; some say, "only faith", others say, "only love"; some say, there is Hell, others say, there is not; some say polygamy is prohibited in the Bible, others say it is permitted; some say, go to church to be saved, others say, you don't need a church, only Jesus...
... And so on and on, 1,001 contradictions!, all of them based in what the Bible says, with nobody in the Protestant Reform with authority to guide the faithful... the Bible can't say both "Jesus is God", and "Jesus is not God"; can't say both, "abortion is good", and "abortion is bad"... What is the truth?... what the Bible says?...
The "free-private interpretation of the Bible" is the most absurd and foolish principle of Protestantism: If you believe salvation is by faith, you are right; but if you honestly believe it is by good works, you are also right under the same private interpretation principle... a thief, a liar, a murderer, would say they are so, because they interpret the Bible telling them to be so... simply absurd!
The "Bible" we have, was given to us by Pope St. Damasus I, at the Council of Rome, in 382.
Many Protestants don't realize they have received the New Testament they cherish so much from a Pope... Luther did not challenge it, he accepted what the Pope gave.
And the Church who gave us the Bible, has the duty to interpret it for us (Matt.16:19, 18:18).
4- Salvation by "Faith alone":
This is the fourth fundamental principle of Protestantism: The Salvation is by "grace alone", by "faith alone", by "Jesus Christ alone".
To start with the last statement, most good Protestants claim it, but they don't follow it... when I listen on television a Protestant crying out very loud, "only Jesus"!... "Jesus alone"!... "you don't need anybody else"!... I would like to ask him, why are you preaching?, is it not Jesus alone?... let Jesus do it!... the missionaries are good for nothing?... only Jesus?... the parents can not teach their children?... only Jesus?...
It was not Jesus who told you about Jesus, and it was not Jesus who brought you to your Church... it was the Church: Your parents, who are Church, or your neighbor, or friend, who are also Church, or that preacher you heard... it was not Jesus who baptized you... it was a priest or a minister of the Church...
- In fact, the greatest single gift Jesus left us was "His Church"!... without His Church, you would have not even heard about Jesus, you would not have the Bible, like those in Africa who have never seen a Bible, not even heard a word about Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit, nor redemption, nor salvation, nor the Cross, nor Baptism...
I laugh when I hear on the radio that you don't need a Religion to be saved... "only Jesus"!... Religion is the "relation with God", and any relation with Jesus, that's Religion!...
"Faith", is the basis of Christianity, and salvation comes from faith in Jesus Christ, and it it is a free gift by God, "by grace", without works... like a "prince" is a "prince", not because he is very handsome, or because he had done great works, but simply because he was born the son of a King... but faith without love and good works and hope, is like a fire without heat and light and smoke... it is a false faith, say Jesus and Paul (Matt.7:21-23, 1Cor.13).
Every good Protestant, not only has faith, he is a good person, a good neighbor, does good things to the poor and needed, he witnesses Christ with his life and word, or preaches Jesus Christ...
5- The Priesthood of all Believers:
This is the fifth principle of Reformation: Every Christian is a priest, a prophet. This is nothing new of the Reformation. In the Catholic Church at Baptism you are officialy proclaimed "priest:, "prophet" and "king", and confirmed of the three glories in the Sacrament of Confirmation
The Priesthood of all believers is something beautiful in Christianity... the big problem in most Protestant churches is that they do not have "ordained priests", with the "order" the Apostles received from Jesus in the Last Supper, "do this in remembrance of me" (Luk.21:19, 1Cor.11:24,25)... this special "order" "to do" the Eucharist was not given to all the faithful, only to the Apostles during the Last Supper...
This is the reason why many Protestant churches do not have "altar", nor "sacrifice", nor "Priest" to offer sacrifice, only Pastors!... they are actually already "churches with the spirit of the Anti-Christ", as described by Daniel, and prophesied by Jesus, "the Prince of the army abolished the perpetual sacrifice, and even overthrew the sanctuary... he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering" (Dan.8:11-19, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, Matt.24:15)... no sacrifice, no altar, no priest, no sanctuary...
The Abomination of Desolation will be the very first work of the final "Anti-Christ" who is already among us, says the Bible, This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.(1Jn.4:3)
The Church will be left with: No "Sacrifice", no "Altar", no "Priests"...No "Sanctuary", no Tabernacle. (Matt.24:15, Dan.8:11-19, 9:27, 11:31, 12:11)
The 5 "Solas" of the Reformation
The Protestant Reformation (Early 1500s to Mid 1600s) - By
Miles ...
Reformation
The Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Reformation
Church of Christ:
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Church of Christ, the Kingdom of God
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Stages of the Church or Kingdom of God
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Organization of the Church of Christ,
by Jesus Christ Himself
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The Church and the Bible
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Pastor of the Church, Ezekiel
34
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The Church of Christ:
The Good
Shepherd (John 10).
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Church of God: The Kingdom of Solomon and the Kingdom of Jesus
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Church: The Church, the
People of God, too Divine and too Human. Rebels, heretics, in the Old and New
Covenant.
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Church of Jesus:
The Church of Jesus:
A Kingdom of Nobodies, of Children, of the Poor...
Parables of the Kingdom
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