The Gospel Versus "God's Economy"

[OBW]

Originally Posted by Ohio

In my mind, rallying behind a leader, whether Luther, Darby, Calvin, or Lee, is little difference other than time. The "dangers" seem to diminish as the years go by. In other words, following Luther back in the day labeled you a heretic of the worst sort, but today Lutherans are accepted as orthodox and benign main-streamers. Perhaps being Lee-ites will one day bring about the same responses.

I can only say "maybe." And that would be only if they excise some of their exclusivist teachings, one of the primary ones being the belief that there is some "ground of the church," coupled with the teaching that theirs is it and all others are not.

Yes, the Lutherans were heretics of their day. But their heresy was not something driving them to the margins, but back to the center. Groups that have "heresies" that drive them to the margin may eventually get left alone, but they are at the same time not considered among the mainstream of Christianity. Neither orthodox nor benign. Just off the radar because their novelty has lost its allure and few worry about them stepping out to capture more for their cause. They tend to exist on those born into the system.

In other words, don't look to the Lutherans for the parallels. Look at the followers of Herbert Armstrong. At the Seventh Day Adventists. In other words, at the groups that remain at the fringes generations after their start. Or that are marginal, but less so now because they began to moderate later-on.

Luther, Darby, Calvin, and Lee are not "little different." Luther and Calvin are clearly in a different category than Darby and Lee. Darby is problematic because so much of the Fundamentalist/Evangelical sides of things rely on his teachings. But ultimately he painted himself and his group out of the mainstream. Other than claiming a genealogy that ties through Luther and Darby, and using a fair bit of Darby's teachings, Lee stands pretty much alone. The only thing in common is that Lee was the leader of renown for the group. That is not really much "in common."