Protestantism is a major constituent branch of
contemporary
Christianity that contains
many denominations with varying practices and doctrines.
It is
dated as beginning with the Protestant Reformation in 1517 when
Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and
Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of the All Saints'
Church
in Wittenberg, Germany.
Protestantism is one of the major divisions within Christianity,
together with the
Roman Catholic,
Eastern Orthodox,
Oriental Orthodox and
Anglican traditions.
Introduction
The term 'Protestant' applies most correctly to those churches that
separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century's
Protestant Reformation.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism does not consider itself to be 'Protestant.'
It gained
much of its distinctive identity during and immediately following
the English Reformation, which
by some was seen as a continuation of John
Calvin's reformation in Geneva
. It
is viewed by many of its adherents as not having its origins in the
Reformation but as a "Reformed Catholic" tradition because it
maintained many Catholic practices.
Non-descendant groups
Some groups often loosely labeled "Protestant" do not see
themselves as descendants from
16th-century Protestant movements. Thus they do
not use the term to define themselves. Some even reject any
connection, claiming they never were a part of Catholicism. These
include many (though not all)
Baptists and
Pentecostals.
Therefore, the term Protestantism is often used loosely to denote
all non-Roman Catholic varieties of Western Christianity, rather
than to denote those churches adhering to the principles described
below.
Protestant denominations
Denominations within Protestantism include
Lutheranism,
Episcopalians,
Calvinism (including
Reformed churches and
Presbyterianism),
Methodism,
the Baptist
churches,
Holiness,
Pentecostalism, and
Adventist.
Protestant doctrines
Although the doctrines of Protestant denominations are far from
uniform, some beliefs extending across Protestantism are the
doctrines of
sola scriptura
and
sola fide.
- Sola scriptura maintains that the
Bible (rather than church tradition or
ecclesiastical interpretations of the Bible) is the final source of
authority for all Christians.
- Sola fide holds that salvation comes by faith alone in Jesus as the
Christ, rather than through good works.
Protestant churches reject the Catholic and Orthodox doctrines of
apostolic succession and the
sacramental ministry of the clergy. Some
exceptions to this are groups, mostly in countries such as the
southern parts of Europe, that came under non-Catholic influences
long before the Reformation.
Luther's theses debated and criticized the Church and the Pope, but
concentrated upon the selling of indulgences and the doctrines of
purgatory,
particular
judgment,
Mariology
(devotion to
Mary, Jesus’
Mother), the intercession of and devotion to the
saints, most of the
sacraments, the mandatory clerical
celibacy including
monasticism, and the authority of the
Pope.
Protestant ministers and church leaders have somewhat different
roles and authority in their communities than do Catholic and
Orthodox priests and bishops.
Conservative/Liberal
Protestantism has both
conservative and
liberal theological strands within it.
Protestant styles of
public worship tend to
be simpler and less elaborate than those of Roman Catholics,
Anglicans, and Eastern Christians, sometimes radically so, though
there are exceptions to this tendency.
Dissension in the ranks of Protestantism
The reformers soon disagreed among themselves and divided their
movement according to
doctrinal differences
— first between Luther and Zwingli, later between Luther and
John Calvin — consequently resulting in
the establishment of different and rival Protestant Churches
(
denominations) such as the
Lutheran, the
Reformed, the
Calvinist,
and the
Presbyterian.
Meaning and origin of the term
The word
Protestant is derived from the Latin
protestari meaning
publicly declare/protest which
refers to the
letter of
protestation by
Lutheran princes
against the decision of the
Diet
of Speyer in 1529, which reaffirmed the edict of the
Diet of Worms in 1521, banning Luther's
documents. Since that time, the term Protestantism has been used in
many different senses, often as a general term merely to signify
people who believe in Christ who exist outside of the
Catholic Church.
History
Fundamental principles
The three fundamental principles of traditional Protestantism are
the following:
- The belief in the Bible as the sole
infallible authority.
- Justification by Faith Alone
- The subjective principle of the Reformation is justification by faith alone, or, rather, by free grace through
faith operative in good works. It has reference to the personal
appropriation of the Christian salvation, and aims to give all
glory to Christ, by declaring that the sinner is justified before
God (i.e., is acquitted of guilt, and declared righteous) solely on
the ground of the all-sufficient merits of Christ as apprehended by
a living faith, in opposition to the theory—then prevalent, and
substantially sanctioned by "the Council of Trent—which makes faith
and good works co-ordinate sources of justification, laying the
chief stress upon works. Protestantism does not depreciate good
works; but it denies their value as sources or conditions of
justification, and insists on them as the necessary fruits of
faith, and evidence of justification."
- Universal Priesthood of Believers
- The universal priesthood of believers implies
the right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the
Bible in the vernacular, but also to take
part in the government and all the public affairs of the
Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system,
which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive
priesthood, and makes ordained priests the necessary mediators
between God and the people.
Major groupings
Trinitarian Protestant
denominations are divided according to
the position taken on Baptism:
- "Mainline
Protestants", a North American phrase, are Christians
who trace their tradition's lineage to Lutheranism, or Calvinism. These groups are often considered to be
part of the Magisterial
Reformation and traditionally have adhered to the central
doctrines and principles of the
Reformation. Lutheranism, Calvinism, and a Zwinglian
theology are typically mainline, and as denominations, "mainline"
is typically seen as referring to Methodists, Presbyterians and Lutherans, all large
denominations with significant liberal and conservative wings.
- Anabaptists were so
named from the fact that they re-baptised converts. According to
the Edinburg Cyclopedia this name dates as far back as Tertullian, who was born just fifty years after
the Apostle John; by about 1600 they were referred to simply as
Baptists. Many Baptists do not claim to be Protestant, as this
claims a heritage from the Protestant Reformation which came
through the Roman Catholic Church, of which the Anabaptists were
never a part. Today, denominations such as the Brethren, Mennonites,
Hutterites, and Amish
eschew infant baptism and have historically been Peace churches. Typically, independent
Pentecostal and Charismatic denominations, and the house church
movement belong in this category too.
- Certain Protestant denominations do not practise Baptism
sacramentally, including Baptists, the Quakers and the Shakers. These denominations view baptism as part of
a process on ongoing renewal. Antecedents of these beliefs may be
found in Strigolniki theology.
Normatively, the Salvation Army does
not practise Baptism.
There are many independent, non-aligned or non-denominational
Trinitarian congregations that may take any one of these or no
particular position on Baptism.
Other groups rejecting Protestant label
Some religious movements, such as
Restorationists,
Nontrinitarian movements, and the
New Religious Movements which share
certain characteristics of Protestant churches, are sometimes
termed 'Protestant' by some outsiders even though neither
mainstream Trinitarian Christians, nor the groups themselves, would
consider the designation appropriate.
Denominations
Protestants often refer to specific Protestant churches and groups
as
denominations to
imply that they are differently named parts of the whole "church",
as Protestants reject the Catholic doctrine of the Catholic Church
as the sole true Church of Christ. This "invisible unity" is
assumed to be imperfectly displayed, visibly: some Protestant
denominations are less accepting of others, and the basic orthodoxy
of some is questioned by most of the others. Individual
denominations also have formed over very subtle theological
differences. Other denominations are simply regional or ethnic
expressions of the same beliefs. Because the five solas are the
main tenets of the Protestant faith,
Non-denominational groups and
organizations are also considered Protestant. The actual number of
distinct Protestant denominations is hard to calculate, but has
been estimated to be over thirty thousand,although often new groups
are formed.Various
ecumenical
movements have attempted cooperation or reorganization of the
various divided Protestant denominations, according to various
models of union, but divisions continue to outpace unions, as there
is no overarching authority to which any of the sects owe
allegiance, which can authoritatively define the faith. Most
denominations share common beliefs in the major aspects of the
Christian faith, while differing in many secondary doctrines,
although what is major and what is secondary is a matter of
idiosyncratic belief. There are "over 33,000 denominations in 238
countries" and every year there is a net increase of around 270 to
300 denominations. According to David Barrett's study (1970), there
are 8,196 denominations within Protestantism.
There are about 800 million Protestants worldwide, among
approximately 2.2 billion Christians. These include 170 million in
North America, 160 million in Africa, 120 million in Europe, 70
million in Latin America, 60 million in Asia, and 10 million in
Oceania.
Protestants can be differentiated according to how they have been
influenced by important movements since the magisterial Reformation
and the Puritan Reformation in England. Some of these movements
have a common lineage, sometimes directly spawning later movements
in the same groups. Only general
families are
listed here (due to the above-stated multitude of
denominations); some of
these groups do not consider themselves as part of the Protestant
movement, but are generally viewed as such by the public at large
:
Theological tenets of the reformation
The
Five Solas are five
Latin
phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the
Protestant Reformation and summarize
the Reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in
opposition to the teaching of the
Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word
sola means "alone", "only", or "single".
The use of the phrases as summaries of teaching emerged over time
during the reformation, based on the over-arching principle of
sola scriptura (by scripture
alone). This idea contains the four main doctrines on the Bible:
that its teaching is needed for salvation (necessity); that all the
doctrine necessary for salvation comes from the Bible alone
(sufficiency); that everything taught in the Bible is correct
(inerrancy); and that, by the Holy Spirit overcoming sin, believers
may read and understand truth from the Bible itself, though
understanding is difficult, so the means used to guide individual
believers to the true teaching is often mutual discussion within
the church (clarity). The necessity and inerrancy were
well-established ideas, garnering little criticism, though they
later came under debate from outside during the Enlightenment. The
most contentious idea at the time though was the notion that anyone
could simply pick up the Bible and learn enough to gain salvation.
Though the reformers were concerned with ecclesiology (the doctrine
of how the church as a body works), they had a different
understanding of the process in which truths in scripture were
applied to life of believers, compared to the Catholics' idea that
certain people within the church, or ideas that were old enough,
had a special status in giving understanding of the text.
The second main principle,
sola
fide (by faith alone), states that faith in Christ is
sufficient alone for eternal salvation. Though argued from
scripture, and hence logically consequent to
sola
scriptura, this is the guiding principle of the work of Luther
and the later reformers. As
sola scriptura placed the
bible as the only source of teaching,
sola fide epitomises
the main thrust of the teaching the reformers wanted to get back
to, namely the direct, close, personal connection between Christ
and the believer, hence the reformers' contention that their work
was Christocentric.
The other solas, as statements, emerged later, but the thinking
they represent was also part of the early reformation.
- The Protestants characterize the dogma concerning the Pope as
Christ's representative head of the Church on earth, the concept of
works made meritorious by Christ, and the Catholic idea of a
treasury of the merits of Christ and his saints, as a denial that
Christ is the only mediator between God
and man. Catholics, on the other hand, maintained the traditional
understanding of Judaism on these questions, and appealed to the
universal consensus of Christian tradition.
- Protestants perceived Roman Catholic salvation to be dependent
upon the grace of God and the merits of one's own works. The
Reformers posited that salvation is a gift of God (i.e., God's act
of free grace), dispensed by the Holy Spirit owing to the
redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone. Consequently, they argued
that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change
wrought in the believer by God's grace, and that the believer is
accepted without regard for the merit of his works—for no one
deserves salvation.
- All glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished
solely through his will and action—not only the gift of the
all-sufficient atonement of Jesus on the cross but
also the gift of faith in that atonement, created in the heart of
the believer by the Holy Spirit. The
reformers believed that human beings—even saints canonized by the Catholic Church, the popes,
and the ecclesiastical hierarchy—are not worthy of the glory
Christ's presence in the Lord's Supper
The Protestant movement began to coalesce into several distinct
branches in the mid-to-late sixteenth century. One of the central
points of divergence was controversy over the Lord's Supper. Early
Protestants rejected the Roman Catholic
dogma
of
transubstantiation, which
teaches that the bread and wine used in the sacrificial rite of the
Mass lose their natural substance by being transformed into the
Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. They disagreed with one
another concerning the presence of Christ and his body and blood in
Holy Communion.
- Lutherans hold that within the
Lord's Supper the consecrated elements of bread and wine are
the true body and blood of Christ "in, with, and under the form" of
bread and wine for all those who eat and drink it, 1 Cor. 10:16, 11:20, 27, Engelder, T.E.W., Popular Symbolics. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing
House, 1934. p. 95, Part XXIV. "The Lord's Supper", paragraph 131.
a doctrine that the Formula of
Concord calls the Sacramental
union. God earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament
forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.
- The Reformed closest to Calvin emphasize the real
presence, or sacramental presence, of Christ, saying
that the sacrament is a means of saving grace through which only
the elect believer actually partakes of Christ, but merely WITH the
Bread & Wine rather than in the Elements. Calvinists deny the
Lutheran assertion that all communicants, both believers and
unbelievers, orally receive Christ's body and blood in the elements
of the sacrament, but instead affirm that
Christ is united to the believer through faith—toward which the
supper is an outward and visible aid, this is often referred to as
dynamic presence. Why this aid is necessary in addition to
faith differs according to the believer. Some Protestants (such as
the Salvation Army) do not believe it is necessary at
all.
- A Protestant holding a popular simplification of the
Zwinglian view, without concern for theological intricacies as
hinted at above, may see the Lord's Supper merely as a symbol of
the shared faith of the participants, a commemoration of the facts
of the crucifixion, and a reminder of their standing together as
the Body of Christ (a view referred to somewhat derisively as
memorialism).
Catholicism
The official Roman Catholic view on the matter is that
Protestant communities cannot be considered "churches", but rather
that they are mere ecclesial communities because they do
not all have true sacraments, true doctrines, and authentic
apostolic succession. On June 29, 2007, the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, under the presidency of William Cardinal Levada, issued an
official document called "Responses to Some
Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the
Church".
Contrary to how the Protestant reformers were often characterized,
the concept of a catholic, or universal, Church was not
brushed aside during the Protestant Reformation. On the contrary,
the visible unity of the Catholic Church was an important and
essential doctrine of the Reformation. The Magisterial Reformers,
such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli, believed that they were
"reforming" the Catholic Church, which they viewed as corrupted.
Each of them took very seriously the charges of schism and
innovation, denying these charges and maintaining that it was the
Catholic Church that had left them.
In order to justify their departure from the Catholic Church, Protestants often posited a new argument, saying that there was no real visible Church with divine authority, only a "spiritual", "invisible", and "hidden" church.
Wherever the Magisterial Reformation, which received support from
the ruling authorities, took place, the result was a reformed
national Protestant church envisioned to be a part of the whole
"invisible church", but disagreeing, in certain important points of
doctrine and doctrine-linked practice, with what had until then
been considered the normative reference point on such matters,
namely the Papacy and central authority of the Catholic Church. The Reformed churches thus
believed in some form of Catholicity, founded on their doctrines of
the five solas and a visible ecclesiastical organization based on the 14th
and 15th century Conciliar movement,
rejecting the Papacy and Papal Infallibility in favor of Ecumenical councils, but rejecting the
latest ecumenical council, the Council
of Trent. Religious unity therefore became not one of doctrine
and identity, but one of invisible character, wherein the unity was
one of faith in Jesus Christ, not common identity, doctrine,
belief, and collaborative action.
Today there is a growing movement of Protestants, especially of the
Reformed tradition, that reject the
designation "Protestant" because of its negative "anti-catholic"
connotations, preferring the designation "Reformed", "Evangelical"
or even "Reformed Catholic" expressive of what they call a
"Reformed Catholicity" and defending their arguments from the
traditional Protestant Confessions.
Radical Reformation
Unlike mainstream Evangelical (Lutheran), Reformed (Zwinglian and Calvinist) Protestant movements, the Radical Reformation, which had no state
sponsorship, generally abandoned the idea of the "Church Visible"
as distinct from the "Church Invisible". It was a rational
extension of the State-approved Protestant dissent, which took the
value of independence from constituted authority a step further,
arguing the same for the civic realm.
Protestant ecclesial leaders such as Hubmaier and Hofmann preached the invalidity of infant
baptism, advocating baptism as following conversion, called
"believer's baptism",
instead.
In the
view of many associated with the Radical Reformation, the Magisterial Reformation had not gone
far enough, with radical reformer, Andreas von Bodenstein Karlstadt, for
example, referring to the Lutheran theologians at Wittenberg
as the "new papists". A more political side
of the Radical Reformation can be seen in the thought and practice
of Hans Hut, although typically Anabaptism
has been associated with pacifism.
Early Anabaptists were severely persecuted by both Calvinist and
Catholic civil authorities.
Movements within Protestantism
Evolution of major branches and
movements within Protestantism
Pietism and Methodism
The German
Pietist movement, together with the
influence of the Puritan Reformation in
England in the seventeenth century, were important influences upon
John Wesley and Methodism, as well as new groups such as the
Religious Society of
Friends ("Quakers") and the Moravian Brethren from Herrnhut
, Saxony
,
Germany.
The practice of a spiritual life, typically combined with social
engagement, predominates in classical Pietism, which was a protest
against the doctrine-centeredness
Protestant Orthodoxy of
the times, in favor of depth of religious experience. Many of the
more conservative Methodists went on to form the
Holiness movement, which emphasized a
rigorous experience of holiness in practical, daily life.
Evangelicalism
Beginning at the end of eighteenth century, several international
revivals of Pietism (such as the
Great Awakening and the
Second Great Awakening) took place
across denominational lines, largely in the English-speaking world.
Their teachings and successor groupings are referred to generally
as the Evangelical movement. The chief emphases of this movement
were individual conversion, personal piety and Bible study,
public morality often including
Temperance and
Abolitionism, de-emphasis of formalism in
worship and in doctrine, a broadened role for laity (including
women) in worship, evangelism and teaching, and cooperation in
evangelism across denominational lines.
Adventism
Adventism, as a movement, began in the United States in middle
nineteenth century. The Adventist family of churches are regarded
today as conservative Protestants and considered as being the
opposition to Sunderianism
Modernism and Liberalism
Modernism and Liberalism do not constitute rigorous and
well-defined schools of theology, but are rather an inclination by
some writers and teachers to integrate Christian thought into the
spirit of the
Age of
Enlightenment. New understandings of history and the natural
sciences of the day led directly to new approaches to
theology.
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism, as a movement, began in the United States early in
the twentieth century, starting especially within the Holiness
movement. Seeking a return to the operation of New Testament gifts
of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as evidence of the "baptism
of the Holy Ghost" or to make the unbeliever believe became the
leading feature. Divine healing and miracles were also emphasized.
Pentecostalism swept through much of the Holiness movement, and
eventually spawned hundreds of new denominations in the United
States. A later
"charismatic"
movement also stressed the gifts of the Spirit, but often operated
within existing denominations, rather than by coming out of
them.
Fundamentalism
In reaction to liberal Bible critique,
fundamentalism arose in the twentieth
century, primarily in the United States, among those denominations
most affected by Evangelicalism. Fundamentalism placed primary
emphasis on the authority and sufficiency of the Bible, and
typically advised separation from error and cultural conservatism
as an important aspect of the Christian life.
Neo-orthodoxy
A non-fundamentalist rejection of liberal Christianity, associated
primarily with
Karl Barth, neo-orthodoxy
sought to counter-act the tendency of liberal theology to make
theological accommodations to modern scientific perspectives.
Sometimes called "Crisis theology", according to the influence of
philosophical
existentialism on some
important segments of the movement; also, somewhat confusingly,
sometimes called
neo-evangelicalism.
New Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a movement from the middle of the twentieth
century, that reacted to perceived excesses of Fundamentalism,
adding to concern for biblical authority, an emphasis on liberal
arts, cooperation among churches, Christian
Apologetics, and non-denominational
evangelization.
Paleo-Orthodoxy
Paleo-orthodoxy is a movement similar in some respects to
Neo-evangelicalism but emphasising the ancient Christian consensus
of the undivided Church of the first millennium AD, including in
particular the early Creeds and councils of the
Church as a means of properly understanding
the Scriptures. This movement is cross-denominational and the
theological giant of the movement is
United Methodist theologian
Thomas Oden.
Ecumenism
The ecumenical movement has had an influence on
mainline churches, beginning at least
in 1910 with the
Edinburgh Missionary
Conference. Its origins lay in the recognition of the need for
cooperation on the mission field in Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Since
1948, the World Council of Churches
has been influential, but ineffective in creating a
united Church. There are also ecumenical bodies at regional,
national and local levels across the globe; but schisms still far
outnumber unifications. One, but not the only expression of the
ecumenical movement, has been the move to form united churches,
such as the
Church of South
India, the
Church of North
India, The US-based
United
Church of Christ, The
United
Church of Canada,
Uniting Church in Australia and
the United Church of Christ in the Philippines which have rapidly
declining memberships. There has been a strong engagement of
Orthodox churches in the
ecumenical movement, though the reaction of individual Orthodox
theologians has ranged from tentative approval of the aim of
Christian unity to outright condemnation of the perceived effect of
watering down Orthodox doctrine.
[3764]
A Protestant
baptism is held to be valid in
a Catholic church because it is a sacrament borrowed from the
Catholic Church and derives its efficacy from Christ. However,
Protestant ministers are not recognized as valid Church leaders,
due to their lack of
apostolic
succession and their disunity from the
Catholic Church. Therefore, laymen who
convert are not re-baptized, although Protestant ministers who
convert are ordained to the
Catholic
priesthood(cf
Apostolicae
Curae).
In 1999, the representatives of
Lutheran World Federation and
Catholic Church signed The
Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, apparently
resolving the conflict over the nature of
Justification which was at the root
of the
Protestant
Reformation, although some
conservative Lutherans did not agree
to this resolution. This is understandable, since there is no
compelling authority within them. On July 18, 2006 Delegates to the
World Methodist Conference voted unanimously to adopt the Joint
Declaration.
[3765] [3766]
Founders: the first Protestant major reformers and
theologians
- Twelfth century
- Fourteenth century
- John Wycliffe, English reformer,
the "Morning Star of the Reformation".
- Fifteenth century
- Sixteenth century
- Jacobus Arminius, Dutch
theologian, founder of school of thought known as Arminianism.
- Heinrich Bullinger, successor
of Zwingli, leading reformed
theologian.
- John Calvin,
French theologian, Reformer
and resident of Geneva, Switzerland
, he founded the school of theology known as
Calvinism.
- Balthasar Hubmaier,
influential Anabaptist theologian, author of numerous works during
his five years of ministry, tortured at Zwingli's behest, and
executed in Vienna.
- John Knox, Scottish Calvinist
reformer.
- Martin Luther, church reformer,
Father of Protestantism, theological works guided those now known
as Lutherans.
- Philipp Melanchthon, early
Lutheran leader.
- Menno Simons, founder of Mennonitism.
- John Smyth, early
Baptist leader.
- Huldrych Zwingli, founder of
Swiss reformed tradition.
Protestantism by country
Distribution of Protestantism
(including Anglicanism) in Europe
See also
References
- O'Gorman, Robert T. and Faulkner, Mary. The Complete
Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism. 2003, page
317.
- Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th edition Article
52364.(http://www.diclib.com/[1])
-
dicitnoary.reference.com(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/protestant)
- Johann Jakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, Albert. The New
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. 1911, page
419.
http://books.google.com/books?id=AmYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419
-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/quakers_2.shtml
- World Christian Encyclopedia (2nd edition). David Barrett,
George Kurian and Todd Johnson. New York: Oxford University Press,
2001
- Jay Diamond, Larry. Plattner, Marc F. and Costopoulos, Philip
J. World Religions and Democracy. 2005, page 119.(
also in PDF file, p49), saying "Not only do
Protestants presently constitute 13 percent of the world's
population—about 800 million people—but since 1900 Protestantism
has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America."
- "between 1,250 and 1,750 million adherents, depending on the
criteria employed": McGrath, Alister E. Christianity: An Introduction. 2006, page
xv1.
- "2.1 thousand million Christians": Hinnells, John R. The
Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion. 2005, page
441.
- , , , ,
- The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord,
Article 8, The Holy Supper
- ,
- ,
- Luther's Small Catechism, Part IV, The Sacrament of the Altar, "What is the
benefit of such eating and drinking? That is shown us in these
words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely,
that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are
given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of
sins, there is also life and salvation."
- The Protestant Reformers formed a new theological opinion, that
the visible Catholic Church is "catholic", rather than "Catholic".
You have not an indefinite number of Parochial, or Congregational,
or National churches, constituting, as it were, so many
ecclesiastical individualities, but one great spiritual republic,
of which these various organizations form a part, notwithstanding
that they each have very different opinions. The visible church is
not a genus, so to speak, with so many species under it. It is thus
you may think of the State, but the visible church is a totum
integrale, it is an empire, with an ethereal emperor, rather than a
visible one. The churches of the various nationalities constitute
the provinces of this empire; and though they are so far
independent of each other, yet they are so one, that membership in
one is membership in all, and separation from one is separation
from all... This conception of the church, of which, in at least
some aspects, we have practically so much lost sight, had a firm
hold of the Scottish theologians of the seventeenth century. Dr.
James Walker in The Theology of Theologians of Scotland.
(Edinburgh: Rpt. Knox Press, 1982) Lecture iv. pp.95-6.
- reformedcatholicism.com
- The Canadian Reformed Magazine 18 (September 20–27, October
4–11, 18, November 1, 8, 1969)
http://spindleworks.com/library/faber/008_theca.htm
- The Magisterial Reformation.
- "Adventist and Sabbatarian (Hebraic) Churches" section (p.
256–276) in Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill and Craig D. Atwood,
Handbook of Denominations in the United States, 12th edn.
Nashville: Abingdon Press
- Challenges to Authority: The Renaissance in Europe: A Cultural
Enquiry, Volume 3, by Peter Elmer, page 25.
- "What ELCA Lutherans Believe." Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. 26 July 2008 .
External links
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, Holy Roman Empire
in 1415 by Roman Catholic Church authorities for unrepentant and
persistent heresy. After the devastation of the Hussite Wars
some of his followers founded the Unitas
Fratrum in 1457, "Unity of Brethren", which was renewed under
the leadership of Count Zinzendorf in
Herrnhut
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