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Here You should be able to read these without needing a Linkedin account. I have one but was able to access it without needing one. Overall this is an interesting article written by Mark Bernard, a Facilitator for Blessing Point Ministries. The group is not a church in itself (from what I understand, but I could be wrong) but a group that is designed to help with church healing and unity. The article, originally written back in 2021, presents 95 Theses for the Protestant Church pointing out flaws and concerns that this Reverend is starting to see within the Protestant Church. I think that we, as church members, could learn from and be better about. Some of my favorite theses or ones that I find most intriguing: 6. Whereas Protestants rejected extra-biblical authorities and appealed only to Scripture, we quickly made idols of our own favored teachers – repeating the pattern we once condemned. 7. Entire schools of theology arose from our chosen teachers, whose followers became as unbending as the group from which we originally parted. 16. Protestant leaders have overlooked the fact that how they handle a controversy is as important to God as the controversy itself. 17. We have behaved as if every doctrine, no matter how obscure, requires us to proclaim, “Here I stand; I can do no other!” 20. Protestantism infused “being right” (our convictions about “the truth”) with Papal primacy, elevating it over every other Christian virtue. 21. The Protestant need to always “be right” flowed from our insecurity over the pain we experienced (and caused) as the Reformation unfolded. 26. Some of our children witness us devouring each other and flee the church rather than joining our cannibalism. Generations have thus been lost. 27. Others of our children witness our divisiveness and inherit the same brutal spirit. 28. A layman could observe our behavior and astutely ask questions such as, “Where is discernment? Where is wisdom? Why have Protestants been so inclined to make war against brethren who disagree with them? Why wield the sword against one’s own?” (1 Kings 12:24) 30. Again, an observer could ponder, “Perhaps, after 500 years, it’s time for the Protestant Church to ask the question Gideon posed, ‘If God is with us, why has all this happened to us?’” (Judges 6:13) 34. Though we have been unable to stay unified for long, the Gospel has gone forth from us, but it has been tarnished by our divisions. 37. If God reaches anyone through such hostile divisions, it only reflects God’s mercy, or sense of humor. 42.When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church “For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you,” he acknowledges the presence of divisions threatening their spiritual health, yet the church retained its singular corporate identity. (1 Cor. 11:19) I'll stop there for right now. But I encourage the reading of this piece. I found it intriguing. It's caused me to ponder the reformation, the Church, and the purpose of the Restoration of the Gospel as a whole. There's plenty of other good points about the Protestant Reformation that could also be used for the Church as well. The phrase "always reforming" is something that is said in many Protestant Circles, but seems to hardly be really practiced outside of mentally excommunicating other churches for not believing the same thing as their particular church. Which one of these theses do you think most applies to our Church? What are your thoughts on the Protestant Reformation as a whole. I would love to get a Non-LDS understanding of it.
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