Carbon
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Roman Catholics often attempt to represent Protestantism as something comparatively new, as having originated with Martin Luther and John Calvin in the 16th century. We do indeed owe a great debt to those leaders and to the Reformation movement that swept over Europe at that time. But the basic principles and the common system of doctrine taught by those Reformers and by the evangelical churches ever since go back to the New Testament and to the first-century Christian church.
Protestantism, as it emerged in the 16th century, was not the beginning of something new, but a return to Bible Christianity and to the simplicity of the Apostolic church from which the Roman Church had long since departed.
For more than a thousand years before the Reformation, the popes had controlled Europe and had said there was only one way to worship God. That period is appropriately known as the "Dark Ages." In the church and, to a considerable extent, in the state, too, the priest held the power. They suppressed the laity until practically all their rights were taken away. They constantly pried into private affairs, interfering even between husband and wife and between parents and children by means of the confessional. All marriage were in their hands. They interfered in the administration of public affairs, in the proceedings of the courts, and in the disposition of estates. The revenues of the state built new churches and paid the salaries of the priests in much the same manner as in present-day Spain. Anyone who dared resist ran the risk of losing his job, his property, and even his life. Life under such tyranny was intolerable; from that condition, the Reformation brought deliverance.
One of the first and most important results of the Reformation was that the Bible was given to the people in their own languages. Previously, the Bible had been kept from them, on the pretext that only the church speaking through the priest could interpret it correctly. Luther translated the bible into his native language, German, and edition followed edition in rapid succession. Similar translations were made in England, France, Holland, and other countries.
Protestants of our day who have not been called to suffer or to make any sacrifices to secure this rich heritage are inclined to hold these blessings lightly. But the advances that Romanism is making today in this nation and in other parts of the world should cause even the most careless to stop and think. It seems that, as Protestants, we have forgotten how to protest against those same religious and political abuses that were common before the Reformation. We need to acquaint ourselves with and to teach the principles of our faith if we are not to be overwhelmed by a religious despotism that, if it gains the upper hand, will be as cruel and oppressive as ever it was in Germany, Italy, France, or Spain.
Taken from: Roman Catholism : Loraine Boettner
.
Protestantism, as it emerged in the 16th century, was not the beginning of something new, but a return to Bible Christianity and to the simplicity of the Apostolic church from which the Roman Church had long since departed.
For more than a thousand years before the Reformation, the popes had controlled Europe and had said there was only one way to worship God. That period is appropriately known as the "Dark Ages." In the church and, to a considerable extent, in the state, too, the priest held the power. They suppressed the laity until practically all their rights were taken away. They constantly pried into private affairs, interfering even between husband and wife and between parents and children by means of the confessional. All marriage were in their hands. They interfered in the administration of public affairs, in the proceedings of the courts, and in the disposition of estates. The revenues of the state built new churches and paid the salaries of the priests in much the same manner as in present-day Spain. Anyone who dared resist ran the risk of losing his job, his property, and even his life. Life under such tyranny was intolerable; from that condition, the Reformation brought deliverance.
One of the first and most important results of the Reformation was that the Bible was given to the people in their own languages. Previously, the Bible had been kept from them, on the pretext that only the church speaking through the priest could interpret it correctly. Luther translated the bible into his native language, German, and edition followed edition in rapid succession. Similar translations were made in England, France, Holland, and other countries.
Protestants of our day who have not been called to suffer or to make any sacrifices to secure this rich heritage are inclined to hold these blessings lightly. But the advances that Romanism is making today in this nation and in other parts of the world should cause even the most careless to stop and think. It seems that, as Protestants, we have forgotten how to protest against those same religious and political abuses that were common before the Reformation. We need to acquaint ourselves with and to teach the principles of our faith if we are not to be overwhelmed by a religious despotism that, if it gains the upper hand, will be as cruel and oppressive as ever it was in Germany, Italy, France, or Spain.
Taken from: Roman Catholism : Loraine Boettner
.
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