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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   34907 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

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If one believes that Christ actually is who he says he is, and that he instituted a Church for our benefit, it's enough to want what that is without resorting to vengeful deities. "Faith Not Works" also isn't a great member of this category for several reasons.

"Faith not works" is one of the distinguishing tenets of fundamentalist Christianity (it's the entire basis of exclusive salvation through Jesus Christ - everyone is a sinner and unfit to enter heaven, therefore your "good works" are irrelevant).

The "vengeful deity" isn't so much of a core principle, just something that tends to appeal to the same people who believe everyone but them is going to burn in hell.

"Faith not works" is one of the distinguishing tenets of fundamentalist Christianity.

"Faith not works" was one of the key theological arguments of Martin Luther. Unless you are claiming that all Protestant sects which are derived from Martin Luther's theology are fundamentalist (a claim that requires far more evidence), this is incorrect.

Edit: I should also add "everyone is a sinner" is more or less just original sin which goes back to Saint Augustine in the 3rd century which is hardly a novel creation of modern fundamentalist Christianity.

It's a tenet of some varieties of Protestantism, not a universal principle of every Christian denomination, and the same is true of the vengeful deity view. Without delving hugely deeply into the differences between (at a very high level) Protestantism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy, the concept that no human is without sin is not inexorably tied to "faith not works" as the basis of salvation across those denominations (see, for example, the extremely different treatment that the "faith without works is dead" bit gets).

It's a tenet of some varieties of Protestantism, not a universal principle of every Christian denomination

That's why I said "fundamentalist Christianity" (though I realize that definition is also kind of nebulous).

Fair enough. I suppose my point was that if you broaden to "traditional Christianity" instead of "fundamentalist Protestant," there are quite a number of denominations available that would appeal to the group of people that would like a relatively stable foundation for beliefs and doctrine that doesn't have to involve the specific ones you mention.

It's just weird because from where I'm sitting Protestantism is already hopelessly-progressive Christianity.

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