Whatever happened to the Protestant Reformation? Seriously. I thought that, 500 years ago, the Protestants were the ones who opposed mansion-like church buildings, clergy who lived like royalty and using religion for political gain. So how did we get here?
How did we get here? Bill Hybels' Willow Creek Mega-church has a larger net worth than the gross national product of each of the 17 poorest nations in the world. Granted, a lot of good things are done by the congregation at Willow Creek, but the thing that it is known for is, well, its sheer size and cutting edge technology. What happened to the humble, white washed churches of the reformation?
How did we get here? In the 95 Thesis, Luther wrote, "Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath." Yet the televangelists of Trinity Broadcasting, without exception, preach the heresy of 'seed money'. Loosely defined, this is the giving of money one doesn't have (almost always to TBN itself) in hopes of receiving more money from a presumably very impressed God. TBN false prophet, Benny Hinn, says repeatedly, "You can’t expect millions from the Lord if you give him (Really meaning, give Hinn.) some small amount." Instead of selling indulgences, Hinn, and so many other prosperity preachers -Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, Paul Crouch, and more - are selling a false get rich quick scheme to their often elderly, low income viewers.
How did we get here? The reformers spoke unanimously against the papacy elevating clergy to the position equal to royalty. Yet now, Joel Osteen lives in a 10.5 million dollar 17,000 square foot mansion. According to the New York Times, Creflo Dollar, another TBN superstar, drives a Rolls Royce, owns a private jet, a million dollar home in Atlanta and a 2.5 million dollar home in New York. Yet Martin Luther said, “So our Lord God commonly gave riches to those gross asses to whom he vouchsafed nothing else.”
How did we get here? “War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it," Luther wrote. Yet today there is arguably no more militant and nationalist segment of our society than conservative Protestants. And while Luther said, "Nothing good ever comes from violence", Evangelical Christians comprise a large part of the NRA. In fact, 65% of white evangelicals favor the NRA agenda on gun control issues.
How did we get here? While the Protestant reformers spoke out against much of the Sacramental system of the papacy, today we have evangelical 'sacraments', and I don't mean baptism and communion. Altar calls and sinners prayers are standard form in many of our protestant churches, and what are these? They are merely contemporary, less formal versions of Confirmation. "Come forward," our pastors plead, "Recite this prayer with me, and God will enter your heart and you'll be saved." Frequently these promises are made without any mention of repentance, change of heart, behavior, or the Lordship of Jesus.
It is time for a new Protestant Reformation. But how did we get here?