Today we commemorate the 490th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg chapel. Luther's act can be considered the "official beginning" of the Protestant Reformation and a quest to return to a purer form of Christianity, and the church, than had developed in the Roman Catholic Church through the middle ages.
Our church's children's ministry celebrates The Reformation the last Wednesday of each October with a dinner and an emphasis on some aspect of church history. This evening we are considering life in the early, 1st century, church.
There is considerable discussion (at least in the circles, especially Internet circles, I pay attention to) these days about the status of "the Reformation" and how it should be evaluated in our time. Some are saying that it is over and accomplished what it set out to do, some are saying it was misguided, or at least became misguided, and others are saying it was incomplete.
The Reformation sounded a call back to simple New Testament faith commonly expressed in 5 "solas" (only's) - (1) Only Scripture, not Scripture plus tradition (2) Only Christ, not Christ plus self-effort (3) Only Grace, not grace plus our merit (4) Only Faith, not faith plus works (5) Only the Glory of God, not God's glory plus self-pleasing and man-pleasing.
The Reformation was a call to individual spiritual responsibility, and privilege, of knowing the truth of Scripture directly. Individuals were given access to Scripture and interpret it themselves. The works-salvation of Roman Catholic doctrine was to be rejected and justification through free grace through Christ was to reign bright and clear. All the man-made legalism and tradition of the Roman Catholic church was to be plowed under.
The benefits of the Protestant Reformation have been numerous. Freedom of religion and thought were given wings. Individual freedom and responsibility were significantly increased. Well documented arguments have been made about a multitude of goods that have come from the liberation achieved by the Reformation.
I observe very significant problems within Protestantism, Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism that lead me to think that evangelicalism needs a reformation of doctrine and revival of life. In many respects what I see in the church is Reformation principles gone haywire. Some of the principles of the Reformation are heralded, but a whole view of how it fits together and is practiced is missing.
What are the significant problems within the heirs of the Reformation? There are many, perhaps 95, or more. On the other hand the problem may be simple at root. A case can be made that there has been a simple, but fundamental, shift from a G0d-centered Christianity toward a self-centered Christianity. Here are a few evidences of it.
1. Doctrine is languishing and it is difficult to see how it is going to be revived. It is not just that there is wrong doctrine, but that the whole category and idea of doctrine seems dull, trivial and insignificant to real life. There is a general mood, a cultural "fog,"a prevailing spirit or attitude that makes conversation about doctrine seem out of place.
This can even be sensed even in conversation by those who talk about doctrine and claim believe it is important. They are struggling to show how it is still vitally important and they obviously know others are skeptical. It is clearly an uphill climb. One feels at times that the styles and forms used in churches and Christian ministries carry more weight than theology. Doctrine frequently feels dead but music and style feel alive and compelling. The concert hall surely has triumphed over the lecture hall.
2. Biblical interpretation seems to continue to spiral into a multitude of opinions leaving a sense that communities, churches and families flounder in quick sand and without a sufficient authority to organize people together
3. Belief in the sufficiency of Scripture is also in significant turmoil. Just the right methods and means are seen as critically important and Scriptural truth is largely assumed and taken for granted. Directly opening the Bible with someone is nearly seen as abuse of power and an unloving act. Vibrant personality seems to be much more important in influencing people than the truth of Scripture itself. Church ministry seems to continually face issues that the church is not clear that the Bible speaks directly to and yet that cause significant personal and interpersonal problems and divide the body of Christ.
4. The church as a good in itself is weak. It is very difficult to get commitment from people to churches without showing in very clear and direct ways that it helps the individuals who are involved. There seems to be a mandated principles of "what's in it for me" that church leadership must respect (although not apply to themselves!).
5 Church authority seems to be very weak. The majority of the power rests in individuals and the burden is on the side of church leadership to justify itself in relation to superiority of individual belief, opinion and taste. If someone is upset, leaves a church, or is disciplined by the church there is a latent suspicion of the church and its leadership. Churches seem to live under suspicion of abuse of power and arbitrary power. Story after story is told of how innocent individuals are mistreated by churches and their leaders. There is very little pervasive doubt about the innocence of these individuals. Much is expected of churches and very little seems to be expected of individuals.
6. Professing Christians live in considerable moral carelessness, and sometimes even moral chaos, and much of it is excused either through "opinions about the Bible" or "we are just forgiven sinners." There is a lot of "justification" going on, but it is a justification that is leading to disintegration of families, churches and communities.
7. Christians live for entertainment and pleasure and there is very little sense of self-denial, self-sacrifice and service. The amount of time invested in entertainments by Christians is astounding. It is almost unthinkable now that Christians used to have a problem with movies and TV. That generation seems hopelessly legalistic now. Movies and TV programs have to be extremely perverse to escape Christian viewing.
Christians have developed a definite kind of "sensibility" - a way of feeling and interacting with life. It is a sensibility that demands stimulation and expecting the "outside" factors to bend to meet the desires of comfort of selves. Church, if it expects people to attend at all, is expected to mimic the entertainment driven culture that requires very little effort on the part of listeners.
8. Pastors have not been agents of change against this attrition away from God-centeredness. Instead we tend to use the self-centered orientation of the day to make "a career" out of the ministry and use people and churches to attain status, comforts and priviledges. Rather than shepherding and molding into the image of Christ we are given to pleasing people. What pleases people is entertaining them and staying out of their way. The Reformation call to shepherding and pastoral care has given way to managing an organization that has very little to do with the glory of God.
Conclusion:
It seems to me that the Reformation has gone wrong in significant ways. There is a growing crisis of authority that is harming both church life, family life and then even individual happiness. Too much freedom leads again to bondage. The difficulty is in convincing individuals to give up some of their perceived freedom for the good of the whole so that individuals can again grow in freedom.
I do not believe this means that we should go back to Roman Catholicism. It does mean questioning the church that has abandoned the Biblical concept of the church and rebuking the "Protestant Pope" - the sovereign self.
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