Many visit this
site intrigued but find themselves also a little confused. The things being
said here are often a little different than what they're used to.
Let me try and
explain....
The modern
Church is something of a mess, no one would dispute that. We have thousands of
denominations, many different theologies, and more than a few agendas. Despite
this God is glorified and we know from Scripture that there are true believers,
a Remnant who are undoubtedly scattered among the various bodies and groups.
I'm not trying
to deal with all of the traditions, theologies, and agendas, but I will say
that despite the confusion that's out there....it's not really that
complicated.
Most of the
denominations and traditions have split over secondary issues, often minutiae.
In terms of principal, in terms of foundational doctrine there are really only
a handful of groups available.
The primary core
issue is Authority. Is it Scripture? Is it Tradition? Is it reason? or is it
Continuing Revelation? Or some combination of these?
Everything else
is secondary...stemming from this issue. If you don't believe the Authority
base is tradition, then you can quickly cross out Roman Catholicism, Eastern
Orthodoxy and many other like minded groups. If you don't believe in Continuing
Revelation, the Charismatic Movement, the now dominant form of Christianity on
earth can also be discounted.
That leaves
Scripture as the Authority? What does that mean? This is complicated
by Church History, Tradition, and how both of those issues play out in
method. We come to the Bible reading it in a certain way. I spend a lot of time
talking about this issue. I think the Bible itself provides a doctrine of logic
and teaches us how to interpret it. I would argue most Americans read the Bible
as Americans, British as British etc....certainly to be expected, but not
something we should just accept or be satisfied with.
Evangelicals
almost universally claim Scripture as their authority and yet I argue almost
universally it is not. Though they pay lip service to the Reformation
doctrine of Sola Scriptura, there are few Protestants and few Evangelicals who
really hold to it. Most unwittingly embrace other authority forms. If
you're interested in this topic, you'll find many posts that deal with this
issue.
It is my thesis
that once the Authority issue is obscured or lost, the Church enters a path
that we keep seeing over and over again throughout Church history. The
Scriptural and particularly New Testament teaching concerning the Kingdom of
God is lost and a new concept of the Kingdom arises.
It has taken
many forms and has a variety of theological terms, systems and methods to
describe and develop it, but we know this Kingdom concept as: Constantinianism,
Sacralism, Dominionism, Theonomy, Kingdom Monism, One Kingdom
Theology, Reconstructionism, Kuyperianism, Transformationalism and all
forms of Christian Nationalism. These are not all the same, but they are all
related.
This is a
constant recurring theme in these writings.
I am very much
out of the mainstream, but I'm not espousing anything cultish or out of accord
with historic and orthodox Christian doctrine. Those whom I am opposing will
not share this sentiment. They will accuse me of advocating retreatism,
defeatism, and they love to accuse their opponents of promoting Gnostic
Dualism. (see page in righthand column)
None of the
charges are accurate or fair and similar accusations were made against groups
like the Waldensians who also rejected the Constantinianism of their day.
I'm arguing for
a strictly Biblical Christianity and I am consciously attempting to filter out
external Traditions and Philosophical commitments which many of us embrace
without even realizing it.
To
do this, I'm talking about issues like Authority, Church History,
Theological Methodology, and often tying these all in with a critique of
contemporary theologies and particularly what I believe to be the most
dangerous and destructive heresy there is...Sacralism. Only heresies directly
related to the character of God and the person of Christ are more destructive
to the Gospel.
In fact I argue
the Methodology of many of these related systems actually come from a
wrong view of God and a massive and large scale misreading of Scripture.
These are not
issues that are merely esoteric and theoretical. They are playing out in our
churches and on the front pages of our newspapers. Consequently I spend a great
deal of time also commenting on issues related to current events and
geo-politics. I live in the United States which let's face it is often the
nexus of both the geo-political and geo-ecclesiastical realms. The United
States through its political, military, cultural, and spiritual influence is a
colossus in world affairs and cannot be ignored. It is the Political and
Cultural Rome of our day. The commentary here is deliberately Christian, and
thus very different from what most Christians are used to. I'm arguing against
the accepted paradigms and models by which we understand the nations we live in
and the world around us.
My hope here is
not to win anyone over to embrace 100% of what I'm saying. It's not possible
and it would be wrong. No one should just sign on to an author's views. I'm
trying to provoke people to think, to be challenged and to challenge
themselves. We live in the midst of Cosmic happenings. God is at work, and as
Christians we are living in This Age and The Age to Come at the same time. We
are Born Again, our minds are renewed. We should be vigilant, awake, full of
energy and zeal....all tempered with wisdom.
We are citizens
of the Kingdom of God, ruled by our Risen King Jesus Christ. If this doesn't
stir us and affect how we live and think, then something is wrong.
If you read
these posts, I will challenge your allegiances, sentiments, traditions, and if
you've grown up in the United States...probably many other things you hold dear
and were ingrained within you from childhood.
You can either
get mad, or you can start thinking and dig in. This is not a site for the lazy.
I'm not going to do the work for you. I hope you read and are challenged and as
a result start reading and learn to challenge yourself and others.
Who
am I?
I
grew up in a politically conservative (McCarthy/Goldwater) household that was
also Baptist and Dispensational. I used to be a die-hard American Patriot and
was a big fan of Rush Limbaugh back when he first was appearing on the national
scene...I remember his explosion in popularity during the 1992 election and
especially after Bill Clinton's victory.
Then
in 1995 I became a Christian and everything changed, though not all at once.
I
entered the world of Reformed Christianity but in time grew frustrated and
disappointed with what I found. I've spent years working through the
Scriptures, History and Church History to try and find some answers.
I'm
happy to exchange emails. You can write me at protoprotestant@gmail.com
Just
please be patient. I'm often busy with work and other things. I will get to
your email eventually.
God Bless,
John the Protoprotestant
John the Protoprotestant