This was the message I was to comment on --
My view was twofold:
1) Protestantism is a very broad and general term and not one that everybody agrees on. It certainly does not refer to a particular set of doctrines or worship practices or etc. Yet people often talk as though all Protestants are peas in a pod. So when it comes to a comment like the one above, the first thing that would be necessary would be to know which denominations the writer has in mind.
2) The idea that members of a Protestant church are somehow required to be better informed than the average person (or however that was meant), escapes me.
If the idea is that every Protestant is on his own when it comes to the doctrines he believes, that's wrong, except for people who refuse to join any church or those who belong to the very, very few denominations that are so liberal as to actually say that members should define the faith for themselves. Almost always, a Protestant church will have and insist upon its own creedal statement, whatever that might be.
I assume that there are some. Certain non-denominational congregations perhaps, but even the Unitarian Universalist Assn., which is often considered to be about as liberal as one can get, doesn't do that. And, therefore, the idea that Protestants are "open to any kind of cultish thing" doesn't seem valid. Maybe with a little more explanation????
But year's a flaw right there. Protestantism requires people to be 'well informed' to a degree that is outside the capacities of the average masses... leaving them open to any kind of cultish thing.
My view was twofold:
1) Protestantism is a very broad and general term and not one that everybody agrees on. It certainly does not refer to a particular set of doctrines or worship practices or etc. Yet people often talk as though all Protestants are peas in a pod. So when it comes to a comment like the one above, the first thing that would be necessary would be to know which denominations the writer has in mind.
2) The idea that members of a Protestant church are somehow required to be better informed than the average person (or however that was meant), escapes me.
If the idea is that every Protestant is on his own when it comes to the doctrines he believes, that's wrong, except for people who refuse to join any church or those who belong to the very, very few denominations that are so liberal as to actually say that members should define the faith for themselves. Almost always, a Protestant church will have and insist upon its own creedal statement, whatever that might be.
I assume that there are some. Certain non-denominational congregations perhaps, but even the Unitarian Universalist Assn., which is often considered to be about as liberal as one can get, doesn't do that. And, therefore, the idea that Protestants are "open to any kind of cultish thing" doesn't seem valid. Maybe with a little more explanation????
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