What ever happen to the Historic Protestant Churches?

[Carbon]

From the web:

A historic Protestant church is a Christian denomination that emerged in the 16th century as part of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was a movement to reform the Catholic Church's beliefs and practices.

This is a great concern of mine, along with many others I'm sure. We are living in a day that we see practically all of the historic Protestant Churches attacked by unbelief from within. Many churches have already succumbed, and many churches have gone from Calvinism to Arminianism; From Arminianism to Modernism, or Unitarianism. And has proved to be self destructive.

Boettner said (and I agree), We firmly believe that the fortunes of Christianity are bound up with the fortunes of Calvinism. Certainly the history of Modernism and Unitarianism in this country has proved that they are to weak to maintain themselves. Where the principles of calvinism are abondaned, there is a powerful tendancy leading downward into the depts of Naturalism. Some have declared - and rightly we believe - that there is no consistent middle ground between Calvinism and Athiesm.

Boettner goes on to say: These distinctions which we have set forth between Calvinism and Arminisnism are broad and important; and until one has made a special study of these truths he does not realize what a large amountof heresey has been incvorporated into the Arminian system.
If one system is true, the other is radically false.

 

[Carbon]

From the web:

A historic Protestant church is a Christian denomination that emerged in the 16th century as part of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation was a movement to reform the Catholic Church's beliefs and practices.

This is a great concern of mine, along with many others I'm sure. We are living in a day that we see practically all of the historic Protestant Churches attacked by unbelief from within. Many churches have already succumbed, and many churches have gone from Calvinism to Arminianism; From Arminianism to Modernism, or Unitarianism. And has proved to be self destructive.

Boettner said (and I agree), We firmly believe that the fortunes of Christianity are bound up with the fortunes of Calvinism. Certainly the history of Modernism and Unitarianism in this country has proved that they are to weak to maintain themselves. Where the principles of calvinism are abondaned, there is a powerful tendancy leading downward into the depts of Naturalism. Some have declared - and rightly we believe - that there is no consistent middle ground between Calvinism and Athiesm.

Boettner goes on to say: These distinctions which we have set forth between Calvinism and Arminisnism are broad and important; and until one has made a special study of these truths he does not realize what a large amountof heresey has been incvorporated into the Arminian system.
If one system is true, the other is radically false.

There are a few books I'm working through, the Boettner quotes are from his book, "The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination.

 

[Josheb]

Whatever Happened to the Historic Protestant Churches?

The answer lies in correctly defining the word "Church," because the Church is those called out of the world by God to serve His sacred purpose in Christ, His resurrected and ascendant Son.

It's not a matter of denominational or sectarian affiliation. We could, in fact, rationally view much of any given congregation as not the Church. Protestants do not have a claim on doctrinally defining the Church any more than the RCC or EO do, and definitely not more that the restoration movements sects say they have. Christ, not doctrine, defines the Church and its members. That is not to say doctrine is irrelevant, only that there is a person who defines the doctrine.

You know my viewpoint: Most of the erosion of the Church over the last two hundred years is due to modern futurism and the so called "restoration movement" that restored very little and paradoxically exacerbated the problem.

Why was the choice made to couch the topic in predestination and not ecclesiology?

 

[Arial]

This is a great concern of mine, along with many others I'm sure. We are living in a day that we see practically all of the historic Protestant Churches attacked by unbelief from within. Many churches have already succumbed, and many churches have gone from Calvinism to Arminianism; From Arminianism to Modernism, or Unitarianism. And has proved to be self destructive.

Once what is called Christianity starts down that slippery slope of throwing sound biblical doctrine that was laid out in the Reformation (Reformation theology/Calvinism)out the window as a hindrance rather than a help, a great deal of historic Christian Faith is lost and the people and pastors alike are standing on shifting sand, no longer on the Rock, the solid foundation laid by the apostles. The slip becomes a landslide, opening the gates wide for anyone and anything to come in and call itself Christianity. For any teaching to be considered truth if isolated scriptures were used to verify what is being taught.

I no longer remember when it began but I do remember a R C Sproul video about it. The seeds of revolt against the Bible as the authority of doctrine were planted in the Age of Enlightenment by philosophers deciding that the purpose of the Bible was mainly training in how to improve the human race. They studied all the religions of the world to find out the common denominators, including Christianity, and came up with moral teachings, not doctrines, as common to all, and that they said was Christianity. No need for doctrines or the ologies involved in theology that tell us about God, Christ, the means of salvation etc. No need of a doctrinal foundation.

It was Charles Finney that started the first boulder down the hill into Arminianism. Oddly at this point, much of the teachings under the heading of Christianity have reverted even farther back to Pelagianism and semi-Pelagianism. But those were not the only two doors opened. The problem we now have is that these things, with other even more bizarre teachings cropping up, have been singularly taught and swallowed for so long that one is hard pressed to even find a pastor who is able to discern between what it true and what is not true--biblically. Few are equipped to recognize a wolf beneath the wool he wears as a covering. Christ and him crucified is the last thing any wants to hear taught in the assemblies.