I can understand disagreements between the Roman Church and the Protestant Churches. But to actually write a caricature article against Lutheranism and Calvinism seems extremely childish and uncharitable to me. Here are some of the excerpts: So according to the author, anyone who believes in justification by faith alone lacks a “metaphysical” spirit??? I will grant that the religious libertine is such a person who believes and behaves in a manner that is similar to a brute beast, but there are most definitely Lutherans who are invested in achieving holiness in their lives. The Pietism movement is a testiment to that. How interesting. I visited a Presbyterian Church (PCA) a year ago that had a huge feast with a whole pig. No one was moping about the troubles of this world. Bitterness is the result of unforgiveness; traits that are repudiated in the Reformed tradition, so I don’t know where the author is getting his information. He is also playing on the old meme of Calvinists/Puritans having no fun, or thinking that fun is a sin. We in the Reformed tradition recognize the meanness and baseness of such pleasures. While it is okay to feast, and dance, and drink wine, and play cards (no gambling, of course), these things only bring temporary comfort to the body and mind; these things can never satisfy the soul, so why place such a huge emphasis on these things? Sounds like a intelligent course of action to me. I don’t see what the problem is. God himself plans his course of action in the world, so I don’t understand why we can’t do the same. That might be true if we are talking about some beastly atheist, but the Reformed tradition states that spiritual pleasures ought to be what a Christian seeks after the most. He seems very hell-bent on caricaturizing all Calvinists as bitter people, when he is conveniently forgetting about all of the bitter people within his own sect. How many stories have I heard about the bitter and wrathful nun or friar? The rest of his bullshit against Calvinism warrants no serious response; the author seems to have a gripe against the doctrines of grace since the criticisms of Calvinism compose the bunk of his article. He even goes as far as using ‘’American Gothic’’ to prove his point, despite the fact that picture has nothing to do with religion. Sadly, this mindset of caricaturizing the opponent is a theme that permeates theological discussions. How many times have I heard people twist and distort the doctrines of grace like the following: traditioninaction.org/Cultural/D015cpProtestantMentalities.htm
Also, this traditionalist reminds me of meme monastery and the super Diamond bros.
and then you actually read the Reformers and it turns out they just heap baseless calumny and teach lies about the Catholic Church
Have you even read Luther? Or understand what he did? He was a monk who rebelled and ran off with and married a nun. Only the "high church" protestants have kept most of the catholic understandings, but the entire spirit of the Reformation is colored by ditching implicitly catholic spiritual understandings.
there's about 4 centuries worth of puritanism in America to look back on and see that it's all true though.
Calvinism warrants no serious response, just read St. Augustine and go no further, no reason to buy into the Calvinist doctrine when you have Augustine.
Ian Hernandez
Not so long ago (let's say to about the 1960s) a kid cycling around a church was scolded for having fun and playing cards was frowned upon. Don't know how the reformed live nowadays but then again they're pretty sparse even in their former bastion of Friesland.
Evan Turner
Your entire religion is based on a man that due to his own inability to fight his own vices declared penance, confession and prayer useless. Have you ever read what Luther said and did? When he speaks how he's unable to pray without cursing? Or how he says he knows he's not going to heaven? When he calls Christ names when talking to his relationship to Mary Magdalene? How he ultimately died by hanging himself? Any insight into what he actually said and wrote will make it clear to you that he was most certainly not inspired by God.
As for Calvin, the very proposition that God, who is infinitely good, deliberately creates humans to go to hell and suffer for all eternity, which is a terribly evil act, is blasphemy of terrible proportions. It doesn't stand up to common sense and logic, and God is not illogical. Everything else you said about 'no fun' or whatever is just irrelevant. If your fate is already predetermined, whatever you do in this life is utterly meaningless since you're nothing but a computer program running whatever was programmed into you to run. The very proposition that God created such a system is just crazy, only a lunatic can believe that a God ordered the world to be absurd.
Nolan Young
I don’t give a shit about Luther’s personal life. Stop making theological arguments into a personal issue. I’m talking about people who believe in justification by faith alone IN GENERAL.
[citation needed] Also, what was the context of the scolding? Was he supposed to be in church at that time??? You’re leaving a lot of details out.
I’ll post an ebook on this very subject. Puritan attitudes about recreation were somewhat complicated, but it is simple minded to say that they opposed recreation across the board. Come back to me when you finish it
Excerpt:
So many activities were banned because of the perceived way people would exploit and pervert the activities, not because the activities were intrinsically sinful. Context is key
Jayden Myers
Hear here DO NOT DELETE HIS POST MODS HE ISNT WRONG
Austin Foster
Somehow, the ebook didn’t post: here it is
Luke Baker
It did stem from a personal issue, his issue with scrupulosity and not being able to control his lust, hence he concluded that nothing we do can actually stop us from sinning, so he declared works irrelevant when it comes to salvation. So he started speaking against chastity and how a man who doesn't have a woman isn't a real man, hating on monks, saying that prostitutes will sooner go to Heaven than monks, etc. It's really important to know where theological arguments come from. It's important to know the argument came from anger and personal frustration, not some interpretation of the Scripture inspired by the Holy Ghost.
Jason Anderson
Pathetic jab, I bet you actually had no idea how indulgences work, I started writing an explanation but then I realized I don't care what you think. Good luck with thinking that saying 'I'm sorry Jesus i'm a gud boy' will take you to Heaven.
Owen Jenkins
I will never say that I worship Kek not some buybull demonic jüden entity Also the Eucharist is technically spirit cooking. I'll pass thanks