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In this episode, Adam, Brett, and Jason continue their examination of Article 25 of the Augsburg Confession and Apology.
Sep
27
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Hey guys,
Another area in which it seems to me that the American evangelical church is very Catholic is in their worship. As I understand it, back at the time of the Reformation the worship service was mostly performed by the people on stage, so to speak. The congregation simply watched them perform and had very little role in the service. That seems to be a lot of what passes for church services these days.
Also, I absolutely love Jason’s statement that “the Gospel is dangled and never applied”! That is such a great observation!
Also, as you know, I have been a Calvinist for a long time and I think I know what it is we actually believe. I have listened to thousands of sermons by Calvinists, read hundreds of Calvinistic books, and engaged in thousands of discussions with Calvinists. I have to say I have never heard or read anything that makes the argument that very shortly after the Reformation Calvinists asserted that the work ethic was the way “to prove one’s calling and election”, that the Industrial Revolution came about because of a Calvinist teaching that this is how you make your calling and election sure, or that the work and the effort was to somehow provide assurance of salvation. Even though I have listened to thousands of sermons by Calvinists, read hundreds of Calvinistic books, and engaged in thousands of discussions with Calvinists, I have not heard them all. So, it is possible that there are Calvinists out there who advocate for that position. So, I would ask Adam to provide the source for these assertions so I can see for myself where this is true about my theological community.
Thank you again for this ministry and I look forward to hearing from Adam soon.
Your brother in Christ,
JT Borah
Excellent podcast! I too have over the years come to the conclusion that works righteousness is a part of at least modern Evangelicalism in America. Like JT I have been a lifelong Calvinist, but I can attest that the “Protestant Work Ethic” or more specifically “Calvinist Work Ethic” was not only very influential in my Presbyterian and Reformed upbringing but also as a student of history was a significant factor in early America, which was not that long after the Reformation. This definitely arose from Calvinist Christianity as the colonists were mainly of the Reformed persuasion, either Dutch Reformed, English Puritan, Calvinist Anglican’s, etc. One may not be able to point to an article in the Calvinist confessions that spells this ethic out, but it most certainly was a principle that was embraced and encouraged.