The Protestants are here

The Protestants are here. 

 That's what my father-in-law would say when our family would come to visit. My father-in-law and my father, as I mentioned in my last post, were both the oldest of 7 children and were both raised Catholic. I was thinking of my F-I-L today . There is a student in my school with  his exact first and last name, and I was subbing in that student’s first period class today.  Their first name is Donnell so it's not exactly an every day name.

My wife's Dad was not only raised Catholic, but he also was a Benedictine Brother living in a monastery before he gave up his vows and married  my mother-in-law.   So when he called us Protestants,  this was a little more than the average layman's opinion. 

This opinion was true. We were in fact, Protestants.  We never referred to each other as such.  While it was true that both Amy and I had grown own of our Catholic beliefs and were attending a Bible church when we married, we simply referred to our selves as Christians. 

It was on this day in 1517 that a professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg by the name of Martin Luther is credited for changing the course of religious history and making a distinction between Protestants and Catholics.

What's A Catholic?

The first use of Catholic dates back to 110 A.D. It basically means universal.  Saying the Catholic Church in it's original meaning was talking about all Christians.  In AD. 380 Christianity became the state religion of the Roman empire.  In essence the Roman Catholic church just means the Christian church operating in Rome.  

What's a Protestant?

A Protestant is called this because historically  they protested against the teachings of the Catholic church.  These protests led to the Protestant reformation.  The reformation was meant to reform the Catholic church not to necessary split from it,

Martin Luther was one of the original reformers. He nailed 95 theses on the wall of the Wittenberg Door.  These theses were protesting Catholic practices like indulgences.

What's an indulgence?

In the medieval church, a system developed of how to earn your way out of purgatory into heaven.  It began as  a series of "good works" like fighting in the crusades and then devolved into a practice of purchasing indulgences from the church in order to get sins forgiven.  Lost in all these practices were the biblical teachings of Grace, Faith and Redemption.  One of the myriad reasons for this is that the truth of the Bible was not accessible at time to the masses.  The Protestant reformation  that followed changed 

Christianity back to its Biblical roots. 

What Separates Protestantism And Catholicism?

The Reformation highlighted 5 core beliefs that distinguished it from the Catholic church.  These are often referred to as the 5 Solas (Latin for Alone).

Sola Gratia  - Faith Alone 

Salvation is in no way deserved, cannot be earned and is entirely from God.

Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone

The Bible is God's authority on how we are to live.

Sola Christus - Christ Alone

The Bible teaches that salvation  comes from Jesus Christ.

Sola Fide - Faith Alone

Faith (not works) in Jesus Christ is the only way to Salvation

Soli Deo Gloria - Only God receives the glory

There is nothing special in us that allows us to be saved.

My Father In Law would often use the phrase Sola Scriptura but not in a positive sense.  He disagreed that scripture in itself was enough.  This is not only a typically Catholic belief but it is also present in all of us.  It is in our nature  to think more of ourselves and our traditions than actually exist.  The truth is that we as individuals and institution are always in need of Bible based reformation.  I hope today on Reformation Day and every day you endeavor to let God reform you into his image. The image of God who created, lived for, died for , and redeemed you.  It sometimes may seem tricky but it really is a treat. 

  

95 Reasons by First Call

SOULMATES 34 years and recounting.

Here are the prompts for this week’s Writer’s Workshop: 

1.  Write a post based on the word soulmates. 
2. Write a post in exactly 8 sentences. 
3. Post photos of your Halloween costume or your (grand)child(ren)’s costume(s). 
4. Make a list of things you have planned for November. 
5. List the top ten songs that you never want to hear again, and why. 
6. Write an essay entitled “Giving a child an unusual name is a bad idea.”

I chose #1. I decided to write an Acrostic essay about my soulmate and best friend who is also my wife of 65 years.  (We've only completed 26 so far.)

Suited to one another? I met Amy in the fall of 1990. I was 25 and she was 21.  I was returning to the WIU campus after having to take the semester off for academic reasons.  She had just graduated from Northern Illinois University that Spring and was starting graduate school in Macomb. 

Our paths meet. She decided to go to the year's first large-group meeting of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship which met on the 2nd floor of the student union.  I believe the meeting was held in the Fox Room.  A majority of our meetings were held in that particular room.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, our meeting at the Fox Room (if it was the Fox Room), was not the first time Amy encountered me.  She had gotten to the Student Union early that night and was studying at the Hardees when she spotted me waiting in line to order. She thought to herself, self, that the guy in the ball cap stroking his chin and pondering what type of Hardee’s  fare he will consume tonight is just the kind of guy who is likely to be at this meeting tonight.

Lisle, Illinois is where Amy said she was from when I introduced myself to her at the I-V meeting.  It turned out her hunch was right I was one of the students on the exec committee for our chapter and introduced myself to all the newcomers that night.  It also turned out that Lisle was where my grandparents lived.

Many things in common. Besides Lisle, it turned out that Amy and I shared quite a few similarities.  We were both from families with 5 children.  Our fathers were both the oldest of 7 children.  We were both raised Catholic and we both became disillusioned with that faith when our Parish priests came into our Parochial schools in 7th grade to tell us that not all of the Bible was true.

A Friendship quickly blossomed. We were inseparable.  Because I did not have a car at school and because we lived in suburbs near each other we drove back to the Chicago area on holidays and vacations.  We both enjoyed watching and playing sports and so many other things.  Whether at school or back at home we spent most of our free time together.

Time Passed as it always does.  She was the closest friend I ever had.  But life outside of university beckoned us both and we began to make our way in the wide world.  We talked on the phone,  exchanged letters and tapes over the years,  and spent as much time together when we were in the same time zone. Many people began to realize that there was something between us beyond friendship.  If there was we were oblivious to that notion.  

Eventually, we realized what others had already figured out.  We loved each other, and one night in February of 1997 on AOL of all things, I got the memo that the Godly wife I had almost given up on finding was the same person who had sized me up at Hardees all those years before,

Soulmates? Certainly, but the best kind. Best friends who fell in love and never stopped being best friends.

Thanks to John Holton for hosting the Writers Workshop at The Sound of One Hand Typing.