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via_dolorosa said:
Covenant,

Thank you for clearing up the hierarchy. I assure you I want to respect the rules and the governing authorities in this forum.

I have a question though. You said:

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we Reformed consider it (Perseverence) to be one of the important doctrines that was recovered in the Reformation.

Which again gives me the impression that the prevailing opinion here is the Reformation was entirely subscribed to Perseverence (since you link the Reformation with Perseverence too) when history doesn't bear that out. Why is this such an important doctrine? Is it because it opposes what the RCC teaches? I only ask this because E.G. White condemned Sunday worship because the RCC taught it, so there is a precident for this sort of reasoning (setting aside that I'm sure everyone here agrees that EGW was, to put it kindly, mentally unstable).

As I read the history of the Reformation, Luther made every effort not to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Calvin also maintained certain points of orthodoxy, such as affirming the perpetual virginity of Mary using Biblical exegesis. (If you want to discuss this further, we can open another thread) The Armenians constituted a substantial part of the Reformation. Although this board's doctrines seem to be from the school of the Huguenots, the Huguenots were not the entire Reformation movement.

This is a point I wish to clarify.

I will make a brief response to this.

First, where you get the idea that we believe the entirety of the Reformation was subscribed to Perseverance from what I've said is beyond me. No, it is well-known that not all Protestants subscribed to Perseverance. Nonetheless, it is a matter of historical fact that the doctrine was recovered in the Reformation, regardless of whether all Protestants subscribed to it. So, while not a "Reformation doctrine" in the sense of being monolithically accepted in every wing of the Reformation, it is nevertheless a "Reformation doctrine" in that it was recovered and subscribed to by many Reformers and by the Reformed Churches.

Second, the Arminians did not historically come into play until the latter part of the Reformation. Their teachings were anathematized at the Synod of Dordt. More substantial and influential during the 16th century were the Anabaptists, whose teachings did bear many similarities to the later Arminians. Also, "Huguenots" is simply a designation for members of the French Reformed Church. The Reformed movement was quite a bit more international, with significant Reformed churches in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, England, and Scotland.

Please start a new thread if you wish to discuss these matters further. Thank you.

Last edited by CovenantInBlood; Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:19 PM.
Kyle

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.