Lutherans in Germany and around the world have begun a decade of celebrations, honoring an Augustinian monk who helped spark the Protestant Reformation.
In the years leading up to 2017, Christians will celebrate Martin Luther's legacy while also fostering dialogue with people of other faiths and deep theological conversation.
The "Luther Decade" kicked off in Wittenberg, Germany, on Saturday, which marked 500 years since Luther moved to the city. There he would later post in 1517 his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg's Castle Church, attacking the Roman Catholic Church's selling of indulgences and ultimately catalyzing the beginning of the Reformation.
"The Luther Decade is very important for Lutherans throughout the world because what began in Germany is clearly now a global movement," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, who heads the 68 million-member Lutheran World Federation, on Sunday.
Hanson pointed to the challenges Lutherans and other Christians face today, including the prosperity gospel – a highly criticized theology that teaches wealth is a sign of God's blessing – religious extremism and the growth of fundamentalism.
The head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Cardinal Walter Kasper, told the German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine, that Protestantism would do well to return to the faith of Martin Luther, who "would have been deeply averse to all of today’s liberal tendencies."
Meanwhile, Hanson also highlighted the importance of interfaith dialogue.
"We also must be attentive in this decade to how we live as Christians with people of other faiths," Hanson said, according to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America News Service. "This is a time for us to engage in dialogue so that extremists of any religion don't dominate the world or don't become the only face of people who are religious to the world."
In addition to dialogue, the next 10 years was presented as an opportunity to talk about theology – "about how we can bring people in contact with the gospel, discover why we are Lutheran today and what it means to be Lutheran in the globalized world," said Prelate Stephan Dorgerloh, director, Evangelical Church in Germany Wittenberg Center, as reported by the ELCA News Service.
Over the next decade, exhibitions, lectures, concerts and other "Reformation Jubilee" events will be held up until the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. A Luther Decade website has been set up to provide more information about the events as well as background on Luther and the latest developments in the debate about the 95 theses being nailed.
The launch of Luther Decade comes ahead of the opening of the international Calvin Year, or "Calvin 09," by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches in Geneva on Nov. 2.
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John Calvin to Philip Melanchton:
It is of great importance that the divisions which subsist among us should not be known to future ages, for nothing would be more ridiculous than that we, who have broken ourselves off for the whole world, should have agreed so poorly among ourselves from the very beginning of the Reformation.
I would not honor what is admitted to be a mistake, even within Protestantism. Luther even admitted as much:
There are as many theologies as there are heads. There will come a time when we will all have to fall back to the councils of the Church to make sense of this.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified (Acts 20:32).
This passage gives us an understanding of what Paul was doing on his missionary journeys; he was not only encouraging the saints but he also commended them to WHOM? Notice he does NOT say I commend you to the bishop of Rome (the pope), or to the hierarchy of the church; but he says I commend you to GOD and the WORD of his grace.
Acts 4:8-12
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. HE IS THE STONE YOU BUILDERS REJECTED, WHICH HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Ephesians 2:19-21
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, with CHRIST Jesus himself as the CHIEF CORNERSTONE. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
1 Peter 2:5-8
YOU, also, LIKE LIVING STONES, ARE BEIING BUILT INTO A SPIRITUAL HOUSE to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through JESUS CHRIST. For in Scripture it says: "See, I LAY A STONE IN ZION, A CHOSEN AND PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, THIS STONE IS PRECIOUS. But to those who do not believe, "THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE, AND A STONE THAT CAUSE MEN TO STUMBLE AND A ROCK THAT MAKES THEM FALL." They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.
Revelation 21:10-14
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 12 It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had TWELVE FOUNDATION STONES, and on them were the twelve names of the TWELVE APOSTLES of the Lamb.
Peter was one of 12 foundational stones laid upon the bedrock. Christ is THE Rock upon which the church is built. The Apostles and prophets make up the rest of the foundation. While believers make up the living stones who comprise the church.
"Led Apostles in preaching on Pentecost, received first converts, performed first miracle after Pentecost, inflicted first punishment: Ananias & Saphira, excommnicated first heretic: Simon Magnus, Received revelation to receive Gentiles into the Church, Guided by the HS made decision for first council at Jerusalem, pronounced first dogmatic decision, after Paul was converted he went to see the Head Apostle Peter."
He also saw James. It may be none of the others were in Jerusalem at the time. Just because he went to stay with Peter does not mean it was because he was Head Apostle. It may be Paul stayed with Peter, because Peter was married and probably had a place for him to stay. It makes sense that it was because Peter had been the one to whom God had revealed the need to accept Gentiles into the church, and Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.
"It is clear Peter had a special "Primacy" among the other Apostles. It is also clear Peter was the Leader."
No it is not. The twelve told the church to pick deacons, not Peter (Acts 6). James is the one who came up with the solution of what to tell the Gentile believers, not Peter (Acts 15). James is mentioned by Paul before Peter in Galatians 2.
" It is also clear as Peter died, that the Bishop of Rome continued to have this "Primacy" because of the Keys given to the Rock. "
No, it is not clear. The keys, faith in Christ, was given by The Rock (Christ) to the rock (Peter) and all believers.
"There are hundreds of quotes by early Church fathers who were all discipled by the Apostles and they always pointed to the "Presidency" of the Bishop of Rome."
there are also plenty of disputes by other churches, such as the Orthodox Catholic Church, that Rome has no primacy of value or rank.
"If you are outside communion with the Rock-The Bishop of Rome that Christ established as the leader of all Christians, then you may still be Christian but not in the fullness that God had intended."
If I am outside the communion with the bishop of Rome it is because he teaches heretical teachings that go against what the Bible teaches.
"Today, most well respected theologians from the Protestant World have realized that Peter is the Rock and it was not his statement of faith."
Actually, even Orthodox Catholics do not believe Peter is the Rock upon which the church is built. And I have heard, nor read, any theologian other than Catholics say otherwise. The one's I have read agree that Peter is rock, but not THE Rock.
"Peter is the greek of Kepha and Cephas, both which clearly are the word Rock. What a weird name at the time. It would be like Jesus today calling you "Waterbottle". The changing of Peter's name is significant, "
Yes, the significance is He was blessed by God to have the fact that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, revealed to him.
"the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are significant and the gift of the Holy Spirit is significant. We see later in the scriptures where Jesus tells Simon Peter to feed His Sheep, Tend His Sheep, feed His sheep obviously renewing Peter's role as Chief Shepherd and Prime Minister."
All the apostles were all at the same level. Peter had denied Jesus three times, and so Jesus renewed him by telling him to feed, tend, feed His sheep. All apostles and elders were shepherds.
"Moreover, Peter is mentioned more than any other person in the New Testament:197 Times."
There is no doubt He was prominent. Yet, we have only two books from him. Paul had much more effect on the church as a whole. And in fact, Peter is mentioned 164 to 184 times in the New Testament, depending on the version you check. Paul is mentioned 170-206. In both cases, the searches show Paul is mentioned more than Peter.
"He performed the first miracle, Peter's faith will strengthen his bretheren, Peter is given to be Prime Minister and chief shepherd, angel sent to Peter about resurrection, risen Jesus appeared to Peter first of the Apostles,"
Interesting that He did not appear first to Peter, but to a woman. You'd think that if Peter was to head the church, Jesus would have appeared to Peter first.
"Peter headed meeting [s]electing Mathias,"
Yeah. About whom we hear nothing. If you notice, they did this without the Holy Spirit (Acts 1), who did not come until Pentecost (Acts 2). Christ selected the 12th apostle - Paul (Acts 9). Peter was also doing things out of passion he should not have done.
" Peter's name is always named first among his fellow Apostles,"
Actually, in Galatians 2:9, Peter is mentioned AFTER James.
We do not have the original Hebrew version of Matthew, but we DO have Matthew in Greek. The word translated as Peter is petros. To see what Jesus meant by the word He used to say what He would build His church upon, 'petra', we can look at another place Jesus used the same word.
We see the term 'petra' is used by Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27,
24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Here Jesus was speaking of rock (petra) as a foundation, solid rock. This is not the same word He used when He decided to call Simon bar Jona Peter.
However, the word translated as rock is petra, and means rock, like the rocks of a cliff, or bedrock. These are not the same thing. So obviously, Christ was not speaking of Peter as what He would build His church upon. If He HAD been speaking of Peter when he said petra, He would simply have said 'you', as He did in Mt 16:15 and verse 18.
"It would be good to read the Old Testament to understand why the Bishop of Rome and the See of Peter is "Dynastic" or forever passing down. We should ask questions like....Are Keys ever discussed in the OT and how are they understood??? Well, lets go to Is 22 in the OT where Eliakim receives the Keys for the House of David. Those Keys represent a position of great importance to the Hebrew people. It denotes Prime Ministership. It also denotes the ability to bind and loose doctrine, discipline, and legislate on behalf of the King."
In this case, the keys open and close the gate to the kingdom of heaven - the ability to enter Heaven. As you know, one gets this ability by believing Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Everyone who believes has these keys.
" Peter is given this same honor that will pass down to whomever takes Peter's office. It is also an office that will be protected by the Holy Spirit into ALL TRUTH."
THIS can not be true, as much as you might want to believe it, because Peter denied Jesus three times (Mt 26:31-74; Mk 14:27-72; Lk 22:31-62). Peter had to be corrected by Paul (Gal 2:11-21).
msnChris70,
"When the President of the US says..."My fellow Americans", he is a fellow American and just because he says this does not diminish his office and his official position among these fellow Americans."
You're analogy breaks down, because the president does not say, "My fellow Presidents". But Jesus called Simon rock (using petros) and then said on this rock (using petra) He would build His church. There is a distinct difference between petros and petra.
"No one in history has ever been called Rock before Peter as a specific name."
Actually, you are wrong. Zur also means rock, and is the name of the father of Cozbi and one of the 5 Midianite princes who were slain when Balaam fell, as well as the son of Jehiel, the father or leader of Gibeon (Nu 25:15; Nu 31:8; Jos 13:21; 1Ch 8:30; 1Ch 9:36).
" Jesus says,"You are Kepha and on this Kepha I shall build my Church, and I will give YOU the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven...." you know the verse."
I DO Know the verse. Let's look at the complete passage.
Matthew 16:13-19
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
But He was not just speaking to Peter when He said "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." The conversation started with Him speaking to all His disciples and ended with Him speaking to all His disciples. We know this by seeing that this same thing is written in Matthew 18:18, where He is speaking to His disciples, not just Peter. We all have these keys. Just as He was not just speaking to Peter about the binding and loosening, neither was He speaking just to Peter when He said "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven."
chris, I can't believe you actually added those up and concluded that because a person has their name in the Bible more than someone else makes them more important than someone else.
msnchris70 said, "Moreover, Peter is mentioned more than any other person in the New Testament: 197 Times."
Would anyone care to share how many New Testament chapters and versus Paul wrote compared to Peter?
Moreover, Peter is mentioned more than any other person in the New Testament:197 Times. He performed the first miracle, Peter's faith will strengthen his bretheren, Peter is given to be Prime Minister and chief shepherd, angel sent to Peter about resurrection, risen Jesus appeared to Peter first of the Apostles, Peter headed meeting electing Mathias, Peter's name is always named first among his fellow Apostles, Led Apostles in preaching on Pentecost, received first converts, performed first miracle after Pentecost, inflicted first punishment: Ananias & Saphira, excommnicated first heretic: Simon Magnus, Received revelation to receive Gentiles into the Church, Guided by the HS made decision for first council at Jerusalem, pronounced first dogmatic decision, after Paul was converted he went to see the Head Apostle Peter.
It is clear Peter had a special "Primacy" among the other Apostles. It is also clear Peter was the Leader. It is also clear as Peter died, that the Bishop of Rome continued to have this "Primacy" because of the Keys given to the Rock. There are hundreds of quotes by early Church fathers who were all discipled by the Apostles and they always pointed to the "Presidency" of the Bishop of Rome.
If you are outside communion with the Rock-The Bishop of Rome that Christ established as the leader of all Christians, then you may still be Christian but not in the fullness that God had intended.
Wbmoore,
Peter is the Rock, my friend. You interpretation takes a piece of scripture and puts your definition to it. This is not how scripture is to be read. You must ask yourself, what is meant back at the time it was said. There is no question that all believers are like stones and help buid the Church of God. When the President of the US says..."My fellow Americans", he is a fellow American and just because he says this does not diminish his office and his official position among these fellow Americans.
No one in history has ever been called Rock before Peter as a specific name. Remember, the changing of a person's name denotes a new mission and it is VERY important as it was in the Old Testament. Jesus says,"You are Kepha and on this Kepha I shall build my Church, and I will give YOU the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven...." you know the verse.
It would be good to read the Old Testament to understand why the Bishop of Rome and the See of Peter is "Dynastic" or forever passing down. We should ask questions like....Are Keys ever discussed in the OT and how are they understood??? Well, lets go to Is 22 in the OT where Eliakim receives the Keys for the House of David. Those Keys represent a position of great importance to the Hebrew people. It denotes Prime Ministership. It also denotes the ability to bind and loose doctrine, discipline, and legislate on behalf of the King. Peter is given this same honor that will pass down to whomever takes Peter's office. It is also an office that will be protected by the Holy Spirit into ALL TRUTH.
Today, most well respected theologians from the Protestant World have realized that Peter is the Rock and it was not his statement of faith. Peter is the greek of Kepha and Cephas, both which clearly are the word Rock. What a weird name at the time. It would be like Jesus today calling you "Waterbottle". The changing of Peter's name is significant, the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are significant and the gift of the Holy Spirit is significant. We see later in the scriptures where Jesus tells Simon Peter to feed His Sheep, Tend His Sheep, feed His sheep obviously renewing Peter's role as Chief Shepherd and Prime Minister.
Peter Himself said believers are living stones and CHRIST was the foundational stone used to build God's spiritual house.
1 Peter 2:5-8
YOU, also, LIKE LIVING STONES, ARE BEIING BUILT INTO A SPIRITUAL HOUSE to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through JESUS CHRIST. For in Scripture it says: "See, I LAY A STONE IN ZION, A CHOSEN AND PRECIOUS CORNERSTONE, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, THIS STONE IS PRECIOUS. But to those who do not believe, "THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE, AND A STONE THAT CAUSE MEN TO STUMBLE AND A ROCK THAT MAKES THEM FALL." They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.
GOD laid the cornerstone in ZION. For those who believe, the STONE is precious, and is the CORNERSTONE, with the apostles and prophets being foundational stones, for the SPIRITUAL HOUSE being built of LIVING STONES (people who BELIEVE) - the church!
It was believers, prophets, AND apostles who spoke of Christ being the Son of God who were used (as stones) to build it with - not Peter alone. So no, Peter is not THE rock upon which the church was built. Christ is. As well, no where did God say that the condition of being a foundational stone could, or would, be passed on to anyone else. In fact, once the foundation is laid and the building has begun to be built, no other stone can be part of the foundation. So even if Peter WAS the foundational stone (which we have seen, he is not - Christ is), this position could not be passed on to someone else, such a bishop in Rome.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the SPIRITUAL ROCK that accompanied them, and THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.
Even the people of Israel who left Egypt ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; the SPIRITUAL ROCK WAS CHRIST.
Ephesians 2:19-21
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with CHRIST JESUS HIMSELF AS THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE. IN HIM THE WHOLE BUILDING IS JOINED TOGETHER AND RISES TO BECOME A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD.
It is CHRIST who is the chief CORNERSTONE of the WHOLE BUILDING, a HOLY TEMPLE (the church), not Peter.
Paul wrote of having laid a foundation, which is Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 3:10-11
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Paul DID write that the church was being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Note, that He did not say upon Peter, but the apostles and prophets - plural. The Rock upon which the church was, and is, built is Christ Jesus, with the apostles and prophets being foundational stones (the first disciples and teachers of Christ).
Ephesians 2:19-22
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Catholics believe the church was founded upon Peter (and so making Peter the first 'pope') because Peter means rock. But Christ was not speaking of Peter as a person upon which the church would be built, but that the faith Peter had made him a stone, which would be used to build the church, with Christ Himself as the foundation stone. This is the only reading of this scripture which aligns with the other scriptures saying CHRIST is the rock upon which the church is built.
Let us look at the verse used to support the idea that Peter is the rock upon which the church was built.
Matthew 16:15-18
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD BY CHURCH, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Peter DOES mean rock. But this does not mean Christ was saying that Peter would be the foundational stone upon which He would build His church. If this were the case, it would contradict other scripture that clearly stats otherwise.
Christ warned the Jews of what would happen, that they would reject Him, and He would become the capstone.
Mt 21:42:43 (cp. Psalm 118:21-23; Mk 12:10-12)
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes"? 43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."
If Peter was the foundation upon which the church was built, why would Peter saying exactly CHRIST is the foundation stone in Acts 4:8-12?
Acts 4:8-12
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. HE IS THE STONE YOU BUILDERS REJECTED, WHICH HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Note, CHRIST is the CAPSTONE, the cornerstone, the foundational stone used to construct a building. Salvation is found in no one else.
Jesus did not come to build his church upon a man called: Pope, Sovereign Pontiff, Our Holy Father, Your Holiness, Most Blessed Father, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Sovereign of the State of Vatican City, or Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church.
Take heed.
Ever wonder why the Catholic church is always right when it comes to morality???? The Pope is infallible in faith and morals and while you may disagree with some of our doctrines, maybe you should consider then why would the Catholics always be right in morality???
The Catholic church has always been against:
Gay Marriage or gay sex or union of any type,
embryonic stem cell, abortion, cloning, invitro-fertilization, euthanasia and contraception(all protestant churches thought contraception was evil till 1930, then they all became more secularized but we did not). We are also against female pastors or priests. Where is the solid ground of the Rock in times of Trouble??? Look to the Church that was founded by the Rock who is Jesus, on the Rock with Christ authority who is Peter(Kepha-Cephas=means Rock) with the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The vast majority of Protestant sects have fallen to immorality because the Spirit of Truth was not promised to them. While the Holy Spirit DOES and I repeat DOES work in the lives of non-Catholic Christians, certain gifts of the Holy Spirit were only endowed to the original Church.
IGH,
Sola Scriptura does not guarantee Truth, as we see with almost 50,000 denominations all disagreeing with one another over major and minor doctrine.
1Tim 3:15, "The Church is the foundation and bulwark of Truth" no sola scriptura. Now, who is the Church? Well that is the Hiearchy established by God and its members. Unfortunately only the Catholic and Orthodox have preserved this ancient line of Apostolic succession so it is impossible for Protestant sects to have the guarantee of Truth. The guarantee of Truth was to Peter and the Apostles and church hiearchy in communion with him. The Office of the bishop of Rome, through gift of the Key of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the promise of the Holy Spirit specifically to Peter and His office is our guarantor of TRUTH in faith and morals.
No where in the Bible does the Bible say that scriptures are self attesting. It takes a person to attest, and interpret. Sola Scripture actually means "The Bible plus my own interpretation". It is actually an oxymoronic doctrine, which can also NOT be found in the Bible.
The Holy Spirit gift of Truth was only given to Peter office and the Bishops in communion with him. Read Is. 22 to understand more about Keys and the dynastic office of the Pope as Prime Minister for Christ.
msnchris, your wrong on every point.
Martin Luther was searching for the Truth.
He could not find it in the accepted interpretation of the catholic church. He tried to reform it, hence the name 'Reformation.'
His efforts brought forth more who were already 'protesting rome' but gave them courage to proceed. There's alot of History of Europe, but one thing is clear, to keep the Gospel pure the Reformation had to happen and its been a long road to keep it that way.
Now on JW's, Mormons, Scientology, and the new Wave of Church's who want to accept anybody except those who Stand on the Truth, They have chosen by there own wills to rebell against God, and not one of them was founded by anyone who put there Faith in Christ. They are anti-christ church's from the get-go.
Sola Scriptura is necessary to keep the Truth the TRUTH!! The Holy Ghost will keep you in the Truth, if you humbly seek Christ then you will indeed Grow in the knowledge of the Lord. Simple, so don't make it difficult.
Now on the many denominations, let me re-iterate, satan sets up many false church's and infiltrates the the ones who truely Worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth.
We can see this here on CP, it is the way it has always been, and will be, till the time of the New Earth and the New Heavens and the New Jerusalem.
In the days of the Apostles, nay even when our Lord was upon the earth, there were many who tried to lead many away from God. It is Scriptural that many will try to destroy the Children of God with false doctrine. It will continue as i have said.
O ya one more thing, on the 'arguing' you say over doctrine we have, it is necessary. The Apostles had to learn, if you read the Bible carefully they argued, made mistakes, even after receiving the Holy Ghost.
So there ya go. A view from one who Humbly seeks the TRUTH.
Would it have been better if Luther would have stayed within the Church and sought Reformation within? Most Protestant historians and theologians are starting to agree that within THE CHURCH Luther would have been more effective and the CHURCH as a whole would be stronger today than its current weakend disunity among thousands of denominations.
It is hard to admit that Luther was right in what he said, but wrong in how he handled it. Why? Well, because we Americans love to be independant and WE HATE anyone telling us what to do. We AMericans also do not like an authoritative group telling us what to believe either. The British know how we don't like that some 200 years ago.
The fact is, the Bible alone theory is a doctrine that has failed because it makes each person their own infallible Pope without ecumenical councils without synods without years of research without historical witness and ESPECIALLY important without the promise of the Holy Spirit to lead ALL individuals into ALL TRUTH. The gift of TRUTH was promised to Peter and His office alone. The bible alone concept has failed because it has wrought more disunity than ever before.
Today, Christians continue to water down the Gospel so that their worship style, way of Preaching and understanding of Grace and Sacraments have become so far removed from what the Apostles handed down to us from Christ.
Today, Protestant denominations argue about morality, they argue about Baptism, the Eucharist(communion), they argue about speaking in tongues, they argue about female vs. male hiearchy, and some even argue about Christ humanity and the Trinity. What is the result of all this debate without a God given authority to speak Truth and say this is right and this is wrong like the POPE???? The Result is Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Church of Scientology, Christian Science, etc, etc, etc. Most of these groups are not even Christians anymore and yet they were all founded by fundamentalist Protestant Christians who go by the BIBLE ALONE.
The Pope or the office of the Bishop of Rome always understood to be the Vicar of Christ helped create unity in the Christian faith because he was given His authority by Christ to Shepherd the flock of God and to keep us wandering sheep together; one faith, one Lord, one baptism. The gift of authority given to the Pope is a gift to all of us, so that in a relativistic world we know we can count on Christ power to speak the Truth through the Holy Spirit to us. When you need someone to speak up for Truth and tell the World what is right and what is wrong, it is the Pope who will not only stand up for all of us Christians but he will stand up for the Truth of Christ which benefits all of God's Children.
You have GOD's WORD ON IT.
Online,
Your bias seems to always eclipse your historical knowledge. "Dark Ages" were in the 4th and 5th Century and were not called that because of the Catholic Church. It was called that because there was very little intellectual gains, massive famine and plagues that killed millions and the Vikings and Saxon Pagans that ransacked Europe killing thousands of innocent people.
In fact, it was the Catholic Church that held Europe together through the Benedictine Monasteries where people were fed, hospitalized, cared for, housed and educated. The Catholic church continued to spread the Gospel during this dangerous time and was the only LIGHT in dark times. The Church stood firm when all governments of the time failed to protect their people from disease and barbarianism.
I think you were referring to the "Middle Ages", but your bias wanted to jab at us Catholics.
(Let's be real here - Calvin and other reformers have done more damage in the past 500 years than any other doctrine on the face of the planet.)
I too do not agree with everything that Calvin taught but to say that the Reformers have done more damage in the past 500 years than any other doctrine on the face of the planet.
On the planet . . .? Come on now . . . If the Reformation had not taken place Europe would still be in the dark ages; there would be no religious liberty as we know it today.
Nommensen brought us the good news from the Church of Wuppertal-Barmen in 1862 and currently our church have 3 millions believers. May our great Lord keeps us strong and guides with His Holy Spirit especially in times of persecution.
Here's a quote from John Calvin to Phillip Melanchton, after the Protestant "reformers" couldn't even agree amongst themselves in 1522:
It is of great importance that the divisions which subsist among us should not be known to future ages, for nothing would be more ridiculous than that we, who have broken ourselves off for the whole world, should have agreed so poorly among ourselves from the very beginning of the Reformation.
Behold, these divisions (all 40,000 of them) are known. Brothers and sisters, come home to the Church that Jesus founded, the one that the gates of hell have not prevailed against. Mt. 16:18
Most Catholics, including our Church Hiearchy, have no problem with Luther and his grievances with the Church at the time which had some very bad people in very high places. Having said that It is also important to note that the way he handled the situation was the main issue. Rather than working within the only Church founded by Christ, in the end his actions sought to destroy the Church that Christ founded. In the beginning he was probably not thinking that his actions could do this, but they did.
Moreover, the Lutherans and many Protestants today bare no resemblance of the faith that Luther taught. Now, 500 years later we see the tragedy of what division wrought; 50,000 denominations all saying they go by the Bible and yet none of them agreeing with each other on basic doctrine. The newer the Christian denomination the more watered down is their Gospel.
I think he should be celebrated as a man of courage to want to right the injustices of the time, and I think he should also be remembered as a man who's ego and sometimes psychological state took things too far.
The Reformation was won at Trent, and failed outside the Church.
Yea! I like Martin Luther. :) He had some guts to stand on the Truth. He stood against threats, death sentences, and intimidation, not to mention he stood against the lies of the rcc.