A New Kind of Reformation by: Mark S. Case
The following is an excerpt from Mark A. Noll’s Turning Points, a book of Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. In this paragraph, he begins to describe how a new and tumultuous secular climate played a vital role in the shakeup of Roman Catholicism. Without a doubt, the winds of change around the world during the sixteen century made a broken religious system ripe for change too.
“The centrifugal forces that, when viewed in retrospect, can be seen as anticipating the breakup of the Western church in the sixteenth century were of several kinds… Regionalism, nationalism, tumultuous new patterns in economic and social life, as well as broad intellectual upheaval were all well advanced before the appearance of Protestantism. By the same token, while the specific Christian activities of Protestant reformers brought considerable innovation in the sixteenth century, the religious questions and church situations they addressed had all been thoroughly explored in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries… In the large sphere of European history, Protestantism acted as an accelerator for forces or developments that were already well underway by 1517 and Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses. In the political realm, for example, Protestantism would require local rulers or urban councils with the ability to act self-confidently and with a fair measure of independence… The combination of tectonic movement in political and economic life naturally had repercussions in social relationships.”
I would like to draw your attention to upheavals of our day by comparison. We are certainly in the midst of “tectonic” political and economic shifts throughout the world today, and social relationships are being carefully shaped and fitted into this new era. At the top of those “social relationships” is RELIGION. Governmental leaders must take in hand their role for religious transformation just as seriously as economic and political reform – and evangelical Christianity is not immune to it. In fact, it is the weak among us who will encourage these new Christian developments that will lead to a one-world-religion ideology. It is happening even as we speak, and many who are involved on the cutting edge, do not even realize it. The underlying pieces have been evolving for several decades; they only need to be consolidated into a new religious form.
Much like the days before the Roman Catholic empire began to crumble, when it had become increasingly distasteful to many of its clergy, our modern late protestant/evangelical version of Christianity has lost its luster too. For this reason, believers throughout developed nations of the world, and particularly throughout these United States of America, are “jumping ship” in droves. While some mega-churches would present a different picture, they do not by any means represent what is really happening across the board in American Christianity. Even those churches are going to run out of steam when their distorted message of “What’s in it for me?” falls with the world’s increasing economic ills.
In summary, as we take a close look at the historical environment that Mark Noll so aptly put forward, we can see uncanny similarities in our day. The world has recently entered a time of the clashing of civilizations. The world has matured beyond the level when nations can stand alone. At the same time, political, economic, and religious traditions worldwide have grown beyond inter-compatibility. Thus, there is only one way through – we must join together as one. The key words going forward are “tolerance,” “understanding,” and “compassion.” We will be often told to seek harmony for the sake of peace. Concerning these days our Lord warned that we should. “Beware!” The Holy Spirit spoke through the apostle Paul writing, that “The Lord will send them strong delusion so that they will believe a lie because they did not love the Truth.” (Matt. 24, II Thess. 2)
“The centrifugal forces that, when viewed in retrospect, can be seen as anticipating the breakup of the Western church in the sixteenth century were of several kinds… Regionalism, nationalism, tumultuous new patterns in economic and social life, as well as broad intellectual upheaval were all well advanced before the appearance of Protestantism. By the same token, while the specific Christian activities of Protestant reformers brought considerable innovation in the sixteenth century, the religious questions and church situations they addressed had all been thoroughly explored in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries… In the large sphere of European history, Protestantism acted as an accelerator for forces or developments that were already well underway by 1517 and Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses. In the political realm, for example, Protestantism would require local rulers or urban councils with the ability to act self-confidently and with a fair measure of independence… The combination of tectonic movement in political and economic life naturally had repercussions in social relationships.”
I would like to draw your attention to upheavals of our day by comparison. We are certainly in the midst of “tectonic” political and economic shifts throughout the world today, and social relationships are being carefully shaped and fitted into this new era. At the top of those “social relationships” is RELIGION. Governmental leaders must take in hand their role for religious transformation just as seriously as economic and political reform – and evangelical Christianity is not immune to it. In fact, it is the weak among us who will encourage these new Christian developments that will lead to a one-world-religion ideology. It is happening even as we speak, and many who are involved on the cutting edge, do not even realize it. The underlying pieces have been evolving for several decades; they only need to be consolidated into a new religious form.
Much like the days before the Roman Catholic empire began to crumble, when it had become increasingly distasteful to many of its clergy, our modern late protestant/evangelical version of Christianity has lost its luster too. For this reason, believers throughout developed nations of the world, and particularly throughout these United States of America, are “jumping ship” in droves. While some mega-churches would present a different picture, they do not by any means represent what is really happening across the board in American Christianity. Even those churches are going to run out of steam when their distorted message of “What’s in it for me?” falls with the world’s increasing economic ills.
In summary, as we take a close look at the historical environment that Mark Noll so aptly put forward, we can see uncanny similarities in our day. The world has recently entered a time of the clashing of civilizations. The world has matured beyond the level when nations can stand alone. At the same time, political, economic, and religious traditions worldwide have grown beyond inter-compatibility. Thus, there is only one way through – we must join together as one. The key words going forward are “tolerance,” “understanding,” and “compassion.” We will be often told to seek harmony for the sake of peace. Concerning these days our Lord warned that we should. “Beware!” The Holy Spirit spoke through the apostle Paul writing, that “The Lord will send them strong delusion so that they will believe a lie because they did not love the Truth.” (Matt. 24, II Thess. 2)