- Nov 11, 2017
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I think it's finally time for me to post this. I would love TAW's thoughts on my own.
Keep in mind that this is more or less a giant throwing up of all my ideas and thoughts as to why I'm falling away from all of this. Please do read.
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I would like to begin by saying that the Salvation Army (TSA) is a great organization that helps millions of people every year. This is not one of those flawed articles calling TSA a cult as it is far from it. This is also not a paper saying that all the Protestant Reformers were some evil people. Sadly, the path to Hell is paved with good intentions. I would also like to clarify that I do not believe that protestants are doomed to Hell. Salvation is given through faith and through that faith you will produce good works. It’s not enough to use good works to be saved, but it’s not good enough to simply have faith either as even the demons believe in Him. In this article I would like to shed light on why I feel I am being pulled away from where I’ve been raised and what I’ve been taught my whole life. Jesus started the Church, the Apostles carried out their mission, corruption crept in, and the church tried to root it out but through the baby out with the bathwater.
Pentecost occurred, according to most church traditions, in AD 33. This event, recorded in Acts chapter 2, is the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit entered the first followers of Christ giving them a gift of speech. They suddenly could speak languages they had never studied, yet were all spoken by people in the city they were in. This allowed the Apostles, the messengers of the Gospel, the ability to tell the Gospel to all peoples, nations, and tribes. Many of the Jews in the city were shocked and thought that these men were drunk. Peter, one of the twelve apostles, raised his voice and preached to the Jews that thought them drunk. After his sermon, led by the Holy Spirit, around 3000 people were baptized and then joined the followers of Jesus. Reading Acts 2:38 we find my first issue with TSA. The Salvation Army does not actively practice baptism of new members of the Church. They cite that the Baptism of the New Testament after John the Baptist was only that of Baptism by the Holy Spirit. However, that flies in the face of what Peter says. He says that one must repent, be baptized, and THEN receive the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit and being Baptized are two entirely different actions. As we go on through the book of Acts baptism is brought up again and again. Then we come to Acts chapter 15. This reports on the Council at Jerusalem and how it would shape the spread of Christianity in the Apostolic Age. Gentiles were to be accepted fully, without need for circumcision, into the Christian Church. Still marching through Acts we come to Acts 16:4-5 which states that there were decrees, or doctrines, that were determined by the apostles and elders. And verse 5 goes on to say that because of this those doctrines the churches that were reached were strengthened and increased in number daily. This is just one instance of scripture condemning schismatics by saying that the apostles’ teachings are the way to strengthen a church. Acts 16 also gives us MANY more important events for the Church. The first European convert, a woman named Lydia, as well as Paul exorcizing a spirit, Paul and Silas being imprisoned, and the conversion of their jailer. Now this New Testament Church is shown to of done a handful of things just within the New Testament, things we do not do today, as Protestants (in most cases).
It could be argued that, in an effort to rid the Church of all things Roman Catholic, Protestants managed to rid their congregations of things like Tradition, Marian Veneration, Sacramental Worship, and in some cases Episcopalian Church Hierarchy. What’s important to note is that word Protestants used in the beginning, Reformation. Martin Luther, the Father of Protestantism, was at first merely looking to reform the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. Indulgences were the main issue at hand however he also addressed several other issues with the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther, however, goes further once he is excommunicated. He starts to claim that the current Pope was the antichrist and he even added to scripture while attempting to remove several New Testament books from the canon. He didn’t like James, Hebrews, Jude, not Revelation because they flew in the face of his idea of deedless faith. His “Faith Alone” would go on to form apathetic Christians whom did nothing for their common man and didn’t care for their neighbor. This is why I feel Faith shown through Works is required which is what the book of James declares. If we are to believe Sola Scriptura as Protestants claim, then deedless faith is no faith at all. Yet they also hold to Sola fide or faith alone. The two are not compatible. It’s also important to note that Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura were invented in the 1500s. That’s 1500 years after Christ. To trust in these ideas is to trust in Martin Luther’s ideas. Martin Luther had good intentions initially. He wanted to weed out corruption and he pointed out good points.
Here’s the next problem. If Protestants don’t have it right and Roman Catholics don’t have it right, who does? Did the Apostles’ deaths mark the end of the proper doctrines and proper faith? To say such a thing is true says that God abandoned His Church. He did not. The Apostles’ Church still stands and, much like how the Jewish people didn’t recognize their Messiah, Protestants don’t see it. It looks too Catholic to them. It follows traditions that we don’t understand. It calls out Roman Catholicism as having fallen away but also respects Mary above all other women (something that is scriptural). I need more time to truly accept this church as the Church but I am approaching it with prayer and an open heart.
God Bless.
Keep in mind that this is more or less a giant throwing up of all my ideas and thoughts as to why I'm falling away from all of this. Please do read.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I would like to begin by saying that the Salvation Army (TSA) is a great organization that helps millions of people every year. This is not one of those flawed articles calling TSA a cult as it is far from it. This is also not a paper saying that all the Protestant Reformers were some evil people. Sadly, the path to Hell is paved with good intentions. I would also like to clarify that I do not believe that protestants are doomed to Hell. Salvation is given through faith and through that faith you will produce good works. It’s not enough to use good works to be saved, but it’s not good enough to simply have faith either as even the demons believe in Him. In this article I would like to shed light on why I feel I am being pulled away from where I’ve been raised and what I’ve been taught my whole life. Jesus started the Church, the Apostles carried out their mission, corruption crept in, and the church tried to root it out but through the baby out with the bathwater.
Pentecost occurred, according to most church traditions, in AD 33. This event, recorded in Acts chapter 2, is the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit entered the first followers of Christ giving them a gift of speech. They suddenly could speak languages they had never studied, yet were all spoken by people in the city they were in. This allowed the Apostles, the messengers of the Gospel, the ability to tell the Gospel to all peoples, nations, and tribes. Many of the Jews in the city were shocked and thought that these men were drunk. Peter, one of the twelve apostles, raised his voice and preached to the Jews that thought them drunk. After his sermon, led by the Holy Spirit, around 3000 people were baptized and then joined the followers of Jesus. Reading Acts 2:38 we find my first issue with TSA. The Salvation Army does not actively practice baptism of new members of the Church. They cite that the Baptism of the New Testament after John the Baptist was only that of Baptism by the Holy Spirit. However, that flies in the face of what Peter says. He says that one must repent, be baptized, and THEN receive the Holy Spirit. Receiving the Holy Spirit and being Baptized are two entirely different actions. As we go on through the book of Acts baptism is brought up again and again. Then we come to Acts chapter 15. This reports on the Council at Jerusalem and how it would shape the spread of Christianity in the Apostolic Age. Gentiles were to be accepted fully, without need for circumcision, into the Christian Church. Still marching through Acts we come to Acts 16:4-5 which states that there were decrees, or doctrines, that were determined by the apostles and elders. And verse 5 goes on to say that because of this those doctrines the churches that were reached were strengthened and increased in number daily. This is just one instance of scripture condemning schismatics by saying that the apostles’ teachings are the way to strengthen a church. Acts 16 also gives us MANY more important events for the Church. The first European convert, a woman named Lydia, as well as Paul exorcizing a spirit, Paul and Silas being imprisoned, and the conversion of their jailer. Now this New Testament Church is shown to of done a handful of things just within the New Testament, things we do not do today, as Protestants (in most cases).
It could be argued that, in an effort to rid the Church of all things Roman Catholic, Protestants managed to rid their congregations of things like Tradition, Marian Veneration, Sacramental Worship, and in some cases Episcopalian Church Hierarchy. What’s important to note is that word Protestants used in the beginning, Reformation. Martin Luther, the Father of Protestantism, was at first merely looking to reform the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. Indulgences were the main issue at hand however he also addressed several other issues with the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther, however, goes further once he is excommunicated. He starts to claim that the current Pope was the antichrist and he even added to scripture while attempting to remove several New Testament books from the canon. He didn’t like James, Hebrews, Jude, not Revelation because they flew in the face of his idea of deedless faith. His “Faith Alone” would go on to form apathetic Christians whom did nothing for their common man and didn’t care for their neighbor. This is why I feel Faith shown through Works is required which is what the book of James declares. If we are to believe Sola Scriptura as Protestants claim, then deedless faith is no faith at all. Yet they also hold to Sola fide or faith alone. The two are not compatible. It’s also important to note that Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura were invented in the 1500s. That’s 1500 years after Christ. To trust in these ideas is to trust in Martin Luther’s ideas. Martin Luther had good intentions initially. He wanted to weed out corruption and he pointed out good points.
Here’s the next problem. If Protestants don’t have it right and Roman Catholics don’t have it right, who does? Did the Apostles’ deaths mark the end of the proper doctrines and proper faith? To say such a thing is true says that God abandoned His Church. He did not. The Apostles’ Church still stands and, much like how the Jewish people didn’t recognize their Messiah, Protestants don’t see it. It looks too Catholic to them. It follows traditions that we don’t understand. It calls out Roman Catholicism as having fallen away but also respects Mary above all other women (something that is scriptural). I need more time to truly accept this church as the Church but I am approaching it with prayer and an open heart.
God Bless.
