8 Comments

As a light-weight note to your very interesting post, when I was watching the series "The Chosen," I kept thinking that many of the powerful criticisms that Jesus makes there to religious authorities of his time could be made to any religious authorities of our time—with uncertain consequences about the justification, unity, or endurance of any of the institutions we consider "church" now.

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That the Reformation coincided with the rise of scientific Rationalism seems to have exacerbated the shift away from church or any traditional non-hyper-logical authority.

I have not listened or heard Holland’s reasoning yet, but McGrath also traces the rise of atheism from the Reformation, and I find the argument compelling: the fading of mystery and beauty in Protestant churches made church less vital and relevant to our, never completely logical, souls.

Thanks, as ever, for a thought-provoking article.

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I love it when you break down Christian history like this! Thank you for bringing the cookie jar down to the shelf where us common folk can reach it.

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Perhaps Cardinal Ratzinger’s (Benedict XVI) comment that the Reformation was a ‘happy fault’ is an apt description. ‘happy’ in that it restored some of what had been obscured. ‘Fault,’ because it brought war and fracturing of church unity.

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Dear scarlet Ratzinger, there is a place for preserving the precious unity of the body of Christ (Ps.133.1; Pr.6.16-19; Jn.13.34-35; Eph.4.3; 1Cor.1.10-17), and there is a place for drawing a line in the dirt and separating from hypocrites, immoral compromisers, and deniers of the gospel (Exod.32.26-29; Ps.1, 26.4-5; Isa.52.11; 2Cor.6.17-18; Gal.1.8-9; 3.1). Strength of character, wisdom and God fearing love, is to know the difference and how to stand and act in each case, and not to distort the instructive cases of history.

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I think Ratzinger is trying to recognise the positive role of the reformation whilst mourning its excesses.

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Mourning its excesses.

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When I am talking with my atheist friends. I have many. I see a strong reaction against Christians who marginalise people groups, who use verses without context of the Bible to attack people, hell fear mongers, creationists, and Christian nationalists attacking those who don't look like them. Many examples apply to the evangelical church and people following reformed traditions. Roman Catholicism is mainly criticised for child abuse. Reason and science are often used mainly in their arguments. For many of my good friends though, it is the lack of love of neighbour, superior attitude, conversion tactics and attacks on people not like them. They tolerate my beliefs and I hope I don't reflect any of those traits.

The discussion here has given me food for thought.

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