All correct...except that 'more Old Testament' comment...

  1. 999 Posts.
    lightbulb Created with Sketch. 46
    All correct...except that 'more Old Testament' comment and last comparison with Islamic sharia law. That's not accurate.

    Protestantism can be dogmatic...like any belief (or political, philosophical, etc.) system. Yet, it never advocates for the death of heretics or non-believers. Rather it seeks to convert them through argument and reason...evangelism! If a person rejects the Gospel of Jesus, a Protestant will be sad and disappointed, but never violent. If they are, then they have sinned or they are not a real convert to Jesus Christ...probably both!!!

    Protestantism is very New Testament (as well as Old Testament) focussed. That's one reason why they reject the intercession of priests on behalf of the individual (unlike Catholics...who are very Priestly, like the Levites of the Torah). Catholicism is way more OT oriented than Protestantism on many levels.

    Also, Protestantism seeks biblical purity and in doing so hopes in the kingdom to come, and therefore doesn't cling as tightly to earthly realms as Islam or Catholicism. Consequently, it doesn't seek to force cultures or opposing faiths into submission like sharia law does. The word 'Islam' actual literally means 'submission'. The word 'Muslim' literally translates 'One in Submission'. Sharia is all about Submission! Catholicism is more subtle but still elevates a priesthood over and above the faithful who stand between God and the church/world. They create a legal framework for accessing the divine.

    Protestantism says you as an individual have the choice to choose to believe in Jesus. That you have unfettered access to God... they call it the Priesthood of All Believers. No one can force you to believe or stand between you and Jesus. That's Protestantism. And that's why it's so dangerous...It allows pure individual freedom of faith. One on one...You as an individual face to face with God. That's scary is it not!!!

    That's why we have much more eclectic freedom of thought (tolerance) in western cultures...western culture owes that to the Protestantism of their founding fathers who's faith informed their writing of liberty and freedom of religion into their constitutions.

    Protestants are certainly confident of their faith in Jesus. They certainly want others to believe in Jesus too. But they also defend your right to reject the Gospel.

    After all, Why would Jesus die for us if it were not for our freedom to enter the presence of God without fear or by force.
 
arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch. arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch.