7 Lessons from the German Liberal Theologians

Posted on April 13, 2012 
Filed under History

“Despite standing in the shadow of the Reformation, many German Protestant theologians abandoned the historic truth claims of biblical Christianity due to the mounting popularity of Enlightenment rationalism.

In so doing, they shipwrecked their own souls while simultaneously devastating the faith of millions of others…”

– Nathan Busenitz draws some sobering lessons from the German Liberal Theologians –

  1. The way to reach skeptics with the gospel is not by watering down the gospel.
  2. True religion can be lost in just one generation.
  3. German liberalism does not represent merely a divergent form of Christianity, but – in actuality – a completely new religion.
  4. The liberals honoured doubt as being noble and intellectually honest. In reality, doubting God’s word is a heinous sin.
  5. German liberalism teaches us that ideas have consequences, and that bad ideas have very bad consequences.
  6. The social gospel of the liberals is still alive and well in many mainline Protestant churches.
  7. Higher criticism, in particular, is built on the notion that the wisdom of man trumps the revealed wisdom of God.

– Very relevant to the Anglican Communion. Read it all at The Cripplegate. (h/t Tim Challies.)