Mere Protestantism

Hmmm! said:

The style of worship was quite diverse though but each had it's appeal if you gave it a chance!

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I agree. I have a personal preference, and I think it's for a good, theological reason. Still, I've found that the widely varying styles found in different churches are each capable of providing reverence, a sense of intimacy, fellowship, and all the rest that people expect.

Hmmm! said:

• Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

• Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")

• Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone"

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These three are and have always been teachings of the Catholic Church.

Albion said:

In general, though, Lewis's work provides his reasons for coming to Christianity and does not intend to get deeply into all the theological issues that a person could concern himself with after having been convinced of the Christian faith itself.

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^this.

Some of Lewis's material indicates theological beliefs that no Calvinist would agree with; for example, Emeth's recounting of his meeting with Aslan in The Last Battle.

Hmmm! said:

I've not read CS Lewis's Mere Christianity but am I right in thinking that it describes the fundamentals of the Christian faith that all demoninations, including the Catholic and Orthodox churches, are in agreement on?

If so, is there something similar specifically for Protestant denominations and would this be the five solas of the Reformation, namely:

• Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
• Sola fide ("by faith alone")
• Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
• Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
• Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

Is this something that all Protestant churches agree on?

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Not all of them, but they should adhere to all 5.

chilehed said:

These three are and have always been teachings of the Catholic Church.

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and the first three definitely are not.

So that is why it's common to cite the first three but not the last three--which are true as statements but not very controversial.

Hmmm! said:

I agree, differences do exist but they are not as important as the similarities. I've been church hopping over the past year and attended churches from several denominations and I found little difference in the content of what was said, at least nothing that particularly worried me. The style of worship was quite diverse though but each had it's appeal if you gave it a chance!

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Church hoping is dangerous. I've experienced it myself many times recently, including jumping to this and that preacher on sermon audio. It makes you doubled-minded (James warns against that), you become unbalanced as a Christian with unsteady roots, blowing about with the wind. You start to follow many masters/teachers which is dangerous.

You must search for a church and belong to it. Colossians 1:18, a local church 1 Corinthians 1:2, because you need teaching and ministry Acts 2:42, because you need fellowship Acts 2:42-46.

You need to belong to a local church Ephesians 5:25; 4:11-12. Hebrews 13:17, Acts 14:23, Acts 6:3, Hebrews 10:24-25

which church? search for one with bible teaching Acts 2:42, prayer meetings Acts 4:32-31, evangelism Acts 11:20-21

Find a good church, worship there, become a member, pray for its ministry, make friends there, take your friends there.

"IN ESSENTIALS UNITY, IN NON-ESSENTIALS LIBERTY, IN ALL THINGS CHARITY.

In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity by Mark Ross

Victor in Christ said:

Church hoping is dangerous. I've experienced it myself many times recently, including jumping to this and that preacher on sermon audio. It makes you doubled-minded (James warns against that),

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you become unbalanced as a Christian with unsteady roots, blowing about with the wind. You start to follow many masters/teachers which is dangerous.

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You must search for a church and belong to it.

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There is a big difference, though, between ''church hopping'' and searching through the churches for the right one.

Albion said:

There is a big difference, though, between ''church hopping'' and searching through the churches for the right one.

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To me searching for the right church is about what they teach - Scripture or social Christianity - ie- inward edification for the mind, soul and heart or an outward show of works to impress others.

Albion said:

and the first three definitely are not.

So that is why it's common to cite the first three but not the last three--which are true as statements but not very controversial.

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There are five, not six.

These three:

• Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

• Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")

• Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone"

absolutely are and have always been Catholic teaching.

Victor in Christ said:

To me searching for the right church is about what they teach - Scripture or social Christianity - ie- inward edification for the mind, soul and heart or an outward show of works to impress others.

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We must always take opportunities to learn and grow whenever and however we can. We may find the "right" church one year, but a few years later, we may yet need to move on. One of the reasons John Wesley was so adamant in the early methodist movement that pastors needed to move on to a different church every year was there was a risk of both the pastor and congregation becoming spiritually stagnant.

Too many people treat churches like a country club that they've been to all their lives and they've always done things a certain way and are extremely resistant to any sort of necessary change.

With that said, there isn't anything wrong with remaining with a church for many years provided that you are aware of the above spiritual risks and act and behave accordingly.

Becoming spiritually dead and stagnant is a much greater risk than confusion brought on by "church hopping". Any confusion is much easier to solve than a problem that has been ingrained in a person for half a lifetime.

Hmmm! said:

Yes, I was quite happily ensconsed in my parish Church of England church but then sadly got divorced and so I've been looking for another church. It's been an interesting experience at least and one thing I've learnt is how much it means to a newcomer if someone says hello to you! No-one should ever go to a church service and leave with no-one talking to you. In most churches I went to people did anyway but they also had a welcome team to look out for newcomers but I remember in one church I hung around pathetically holding a cup of tea and no-one introduced themselves to me and so I definitely decided not to go back there!

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I don't really get to be a member of any particular church anymore due to being in ministry and itinerant, but I still consider my "home church" fondly in this respect. When I first visited that church, a lady almost immediately came up and talked to me for a good few minutes, I wrote down her name in my notebook so I wouldn't forget, and now years later, I'm still friends with her today.

I have been in churches (largely the very large to mega-church variety in my personal experience) where you're basically alone in a crowd the entire time. It's one reason why I tend to prefer more mid-sized congregations.

chilehed said:

There are five, not six.

These three:

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Sorry. I know that, but my mind just went sappy as I was staring at the three you posted.

The point that should perhaps be added here is that the reason for the additional ones being part of the "picture" even though we often associate the Reformation with Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, and Sola Gratia is that there is a continuity among them to be maintained.

So if a person is to explain the importance of Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide without these seeming to be plucked out of context, it is good to list them all, even if the ones you identified are not points of contention between the reformed churches and the RCC.

Hmmm! said:

Okay. I know the RCC has additional stuff in it's Sacred Tradition but do you know which fundamentals that Lewis describes it disagrees with?

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All of them?

Hmmm! said:

I've not read CS Lewis's Mere Christianity but am I right in thinking that it describes the fundamentals of the Christian faith that all demoninations, including the Catholic and Orthodox churches, are in agreement on?

If so, is there something similar specifically for Protestant denominations and would this be the five solas of the Reformation, namely:

• Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
• Sola fide ("by faith alone")
• Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
• Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
• Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

Is this something that all Protestant churches agree on?

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This idea of 'mere Protestantism' was outlined in Biblical Authority after Babel | Baker Publishing Group

Stop Blaming the Reformation

Yours in the Lord,

jm

Hmmm! said:

I've not read CS Lewis's Mere Christianity but am I right in thinking that it describes the fundamentals of the Christian faith that all demoninations, including the Catholic and Orthodox churches, are in agreement on?

If so, is there something similar specifically for Protestant denominations and would this be the five solas of the Reformation, namely:

• Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
• Sola fide ("by faith alone")
• Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
• Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")
• Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

Is this something that all Protestant churches agree on?

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Even if they agree on these 5 points, there's no guarantee they'll agree on what they mean or how to apply them.

Francis Drake said:

Not sure Catholics would agree with CS Lewis's definition of Christianity.

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Lewis' writings IMO are more Catholic than Protestant.