tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post2299142793308169393..comments2023-11-02T10:50:42.128-05:00Comments on CLOSED: Sobering evidence of Liberal* Protestantism's emptinessTLF+http://www.blogger.com/profile/01650010433581488888noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post-65455098591180888372009-06-27T12:51:28.599-05:002009-06-27T12:51:28.599-05:00James and Scott, thanks for this great discussion....James and Scott, thanks for this great discussion. Scott, your latest reminds me of the great Anglican Evangelical John Stott, who in <i> Basic Christianity </i> argues that the true church is visible only to God, not bound denominationally or traditionally.<br /><br />James, excellent pick up on the simultaneous historical development of these two extremes. Both claim to stand for transcendent values, but both can rightly be faulted as very earth bound "reaction formations" to particular historical developments.<br /><br />None of us are perfect - we are always holding back some aspect of our life (see my sermon notes when they post here tomorrow). Yet our ability to identify and lay aside such compromises is key to our growth from spiritual infancy into "the full stature of Christ."TLF+https://www.blogger.com/profile/01650010433581488888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post-20914778914995791572009-06-27T12:42:02.570-05:002009-06-27T12:42:02.570-05:00I have always believed that liberalism and fundame...I have always believed that <a href="http://www.sanctusbenedictus.com/2008/05/fundamentalism-and-liberalism-two-sides.html" rel="nofollow">liberalism and fundamentalism are two sides of the same coin</a>. They were both birthed during the "Progressive Era" and continue to operate under an anachronistic cultural paradigm. Liberalism has found a home in mainline Protestantism while fundamentalism has seeped its way into independent evangelical traditions, most notably the Southern Baptist Convention. Orthodox Anglicanism is a different species altogether. Our argument with liberalism is not helped by lapses into a minimalist fundamentalism which is foreign to our deeper and more ancient tradition.James Gibsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08020891895617539526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post-44494937432684148842009-06-27T12:37:03.723-05:002009-06-27T12:37:03.723-05:00That is a fantastic analysis of the current state ...That is a fantastic analysis of the current state of the American Christian landscape. I have always been deeply drawn to the Anabaptist model of the church and theology specifically because it denies the role of a Christian "culture" that can be normative for any society. True followers of Christ have always been and will always be part of the Kingdom of God which has no earthly boundaries and will always be at odds with society. I pray that with the development of the ACNA we may be able to witness Anglicanism in the US living out the best of the tradition. But to be honest... <br /><br />I'm not holding my breath.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06759667280025997344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post-84401413626095952702009-06-27T12:31:26.326-05:002009-06-27T12:31:26.326-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.James Gibsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08020891895617539526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post-16715199261271047902009-06-27T11:36:39.782-05:002009-06-27T11:36:39.782-05:00Scott, excellent point you add. In some ways, bot...Scott, excellent point you add. In some ways, both Liberal Protestants and Fundamentalist Christians are fighting over the same "prize" - control of a Constantinian model in which there is a nominally Christian culture of which they hope to be arbiters. American Fundamentalists are as culturally entangled as the LibProts with, as you say, the same soul crushing result.<br /><br />The Anglican Via Media was meant to chart a course between clerical authoritarianism on the one hand and uncritical Biblical proof texting on the other. With the State Church model, we wound up over time with a spiritually cold "cultural consensus" church of our own. Now that the American cultural consensus has brokend down, we have opportunity to get back to God-given sources of our identity and ministry. Last night's reading from Luke 22 meant alot to me - yes, Satan will "sift us like wheat", but Jesus has prayed for us and the time to turn back and find strength will come.TLF+https://www.blogger.com/profile/01650010433581488888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-873059253261642303.post-22907198746673228692009-06-27T11:29:18.710-05:002009-06-27T11:29:18.710-05:00Amen. Liberal Protestantism is vapid. However, F...Amen. Liberal Protestantism is vapid. However, Fundamentalist Protestantism is soul crushing. One has turned political/social ideals into a god and the other has turned the Bible into a god. We must resist both and seek after Jesus Christ, as revealed in scripture, as our lord and God.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06759667280025997344noreply@blogger.com