[MacDuff]

UntoHim

I have only this to say about Martin Luther. Martin Luther was perhaps one of the greatest heretics of the past two millennia. When considered in the context of Christian history. When considered in the context of the ekklesia as portrayed in the New Testament, he totally missed the point. He was too immersed in the thinking of his day.

Martin Luther wasn’t a reformer of “the Church”. “The Church” as it existed in Luther’s day, the 16th century, was the Western church. Luther was excommunicated by the designated human ruler of the Western Church. At the point of excommunication he became a rebel, who rebelled against the authority of the designated human authority of “the Church”.

You quoted Martin Luther as if he were an authority. And indeed he was. Among those who rebelled against the human authorities in the Western Church. His rebellion resulted in a multitude of Protestant and Protestant like Churches. Each a denomination in itself when considered in the context of all other Protestant Churches. Each a denomination in itself when considered in relation to the Roman Catholic Church. The Church that has continued most closely to be the same as “the Church” as it existed in the 16th century. The Western Church itself being one of two denominations when considered in context with the Eastern Church.

Now, if “the Church” as it existed in the 16th century wasn’t actually the Church at all, then perhaps you might think you have a semblance of a case for the authority of Martin Luther. But not really. Seeing as no one gave him that authority, other than his own followers. And by that thinking, Witness Lee is just as much an authority, his authority having been given to him by his followers.

How many people here realize that, if they are operating under the principles of Protestant thinking, they are part of a rebellion against the principle of authority? None I would venture to say. Even Witness Lee, claimed to be the authority for today by his followers, never realized how unreasonable his own self-acknowledged association with Protestantism really was. Is it really any wonder that the Recovery is just another Protestant denomination?

Are you defending a Protestant scheme of authority? A scheme of authority that can easily be rebelled against for any personal reason? That does seem to be the consensus here. Christianity needs human authorities. But they are to only be obeyed as far as the individual deems necessary. Having an array of excuses where such authorities are not to be obeyed. Conscience is especially popular. Something as variable as personal opinion.

MacDuff