Do you know anything about Protestants other than that you hate them?
The reformers were reacting to excesses in the Latin church, excesses that we Orthodox would have found repulsive, as well. They didn't approach their reforms with an attitude of "hmm...what do I not like and want to get rid of?" but one of "hmm....what here is a foreign addition to the church and what is pure and needs to be kept?" While they went too far and threw out things that should have stayed, that was due to the fact that the Latin church was all they knew; they didn't exactly have an Orthodox priest nearby whom they could ask what needed to be reformed to bring it back in line with the Apostolic faith. They did the best they could but were operating blind, without any sort of instructions. Try to get past your own irrational contempt for all things not exactly like your tradition and try to understand
why Protestants wound up where they did. You don't have to approve of what they teach today, but that also doesn't give you license to blame them for not being Orthodox when they were essentially orphaned, thanks to the Latins. Try sitting down with a Lutheran or a Methodist sometime and try to understand their past; it might not be as fun as bashing them online all the time, but it'll be a lot more enlightening.
I should not have to defend myself for dis-approving of protestantism within an orthodox setting.
Luthers actions were foolish. He actually beleived that he could "reform" what he had NO power over then or now. We see today that the only thing he accomplished was division and confusion.
He might have had some chance if he would have employed peaceful and Christ-like patience and humility as the stregnth of his actions. This would in my opinion may have made an example of the Latin hierachy as impudent even insolent by contrast and in effect 'championed the cause'.
But what did he do? He nails a blistering charge against the church on the parish door and He crashes a Holy Mass and slams down some awful edict regarding the same. This action by him and his cohorts were arrogant, blasphemous, angry, thoughlessness. They were like mobster monks as far as I can tell. It does not matter how right he was these are not the actions of a true man of God. Its not even justifiable actions for any person who are truely following Christ....a 'Christian'.
This is the same "holy"-aggressive -hostillity we find with the crusader cult of the previous age.
The crusader cult were suppossedly set to rout the Islamic spread and retake the holy land. The Lutheran or protestant movement was to rout out the "wickedness" from the 'church' and re-establish the churches former glory and truth.
Two different periods, two different problems......but the same manner of approach...'A hostile aggression fused to a holier-than-thou mentallity'.
Thus to me protestantism during Luther and the crusader cult are kissing "cousins".
Of course in the end both failed to produce anything meaningful for mankind and his peace with himself and his God.
I feel sorry for the people who suffered at the hands of the Latin church in the past which caused the strife. I feel sadder that Luther was the hope they depended on.
Yes the case they had to handle was extremely bad. The condition of the church and faithful was deplorable at lease from what I have read and what was depicted in the major motion picture 'Luther'. I agree that the situation was way out of line and needed serious realignment.
Luther and his actions were not the answer.
Seems to me anyone can be rowdy; this takes no special talent.
