The Protestant Reformation
When the Protestant Reformation officially occurred on Oct. 31, 1157 AD with the Catholic Monk Martin Luther posting of his Ninety-Five Theses complaints against various Catholic church practices and some abuses. The Protestant Reformation in splitting from the Catholic church actually split into two Protestant factions the Evangelical faction and the Reformed Calvinism faction.
Evangelical Protestant Christianity tends to view a fallen mankind as capable of doing good and generally being pleasing to a Good, Loving, Caring, Faithful and approachable Father God.
Calvinism Protestant Christianity tends to view a fallen mankind as unable to please God and tends to see the Father God in a more stern and unapproachable way.
The word Protestant means Pro “in favor of” and Testament “witness” the Christian Protestant movement is not an anti-Catholic movement it is a movement that is “in favor” and for primarily three Christian traditions that Christians felt were being neglected or denied by the Catholic church.
1. Sola Scripture – the Bible is the only authority for Christian doctrine and the main authority for Christian living.
2. Sola Fida – meaning that “Faith” not our works but Faith in the finished works [cross and resurrection] of Jesus Christ is our primary acceptable entrance into heaven.
3. Sola Sacerdos – interaction between God and mankind is via a “Sacred Priesthood” the Priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) {Royal Melchizedek Priesthood} is available to all Christians at all times by and thru the agency of the Holy Spirit and is not strictly a human appointed priesthood as had developed in the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.
By David Anson Brown