LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
CROSS-CULTURAL CHURCH PLANTING TO REACH AMERICA
FROM THE PAST INTO THE FUTURE
A PAPER PURPOSAL
SUBMITTED TO DR. JONATHAN YEAGER
IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE
HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY II CHHI 525
BY
JONATHAN R CHAMBERS
WHITESBORO, TEXAS
March 7, 2014
Thesis Statement
In this paper we will endeavor to explain and show the purpose of the modern day church and to purpose a cross-cultural church planting strategy to reach our American culture with its wide variety of cultures, modernism, secularism and atheism while showing the planning that goes into the beginning stages of reaching the modern American culture with the Gospel of
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Luther was adamant that the church must begin and end with the Word of God and that Jesus was the Word made flesh.2 Luther believed that Jesus Christ created the Bible and the church and therefore it was impossible for the church to create the Bible because it was the inspired Word of God.3 The Bible was the one and only authority of the Church and nothing else compared. His beliefs lead him into conflict with the Catholics who believed that they had the authority over the church. Out of this belief in the Word of God came all of His other theological teachings such as salvation by grace, the sacraments of the church, the law and the gospel, and the cross.4 His belief that he did not have to work for God’s approval but that it was given to him freely by grace and this was a starting point for all of his other views to really take shape. In so doing this he found a boldness to stand up for his beliefs and went down in history when he nailed the Ninety-Five Thesis to the door of the Church at Wittenburg.5 There was new technology taking place namely the invention of the printing press and the world was growing and moving forward.6
In America today, there are churches that are adopting and accepting things that are contrary to the Word of God and those who stand up for truth are considered non-tolerant of others. Technology is
Luther was zealous towards the gospel. He felt strongly about the gospel and felt it was unfair only the upperclassmen and well educated could read and interpret the bible themselves. People should be able to read and interpret God’s word themselves rather than trusting the pope’s interpretations. This was unpopular with the Catholic Church because they felt a loss of control over the masses and common people. What is more is the people of Wittenberg were too unintelligent to understand God’s word and this lead to the translating of the New Testament to German in 1529. It was not long before Luther took it upon himself to translate the Gospel in its entirety to German.
Martin Luther was a German professor of theology at Wittensberg. He later left his studies to peruse monkhood. In doing this, Luther had a lot of time to think about his relationship with God and realize the flaws in the church. Luther disagreed with many teachings/ ideas of the Roman Church, which he than acted upon. He strongly disputed the idea that one can obtain freedom from God 's punishment for committing sin by purchasing an expensive piece of paper from the church called an Indulgence. He wrote all about the usefulness of indulgences in community in a very sarcastic tone in Theses Ninety-Five in 1517. Although demanded, Luther refused to rid of his writings at the request of Pope Charles V.
Martin Luther was responsible for the start of the Reformation. He was against many of the Catholic Church’s teachings and beliefs, especially the sale of indulgences. He believed the Roman Catholic Church was corrupt and should be reformed. His beliefs were based on three principles: Sola Fide, Sola scriptura and Sola gratia. He believed that salvation should come from faith rather than from doing good deeds and that religious truth could be obtained by reading the Bible. He believed that humans are able to educate themselves and gain knowledge. At the time, the sale of indulgences was a common practice. On the 31st of October 1517, Martin Luther nailed a document,
When luther left the church he began writing his ninety-five theses. His theses was a list of things he thought was wrong with the church. Such as the church having people to work so that
Martin Luther is considered to be one of the greatest theologians of all time. He was the leader of the Protestant Reformation, seen as a great intellectual and reformer in the eyes of many modern day Christians. The common consensus is that Martin Luther, disgusted at the corruption of the Catholic Church, wanted to change everything for the better by bringing religion closer to the people, rather than just using priests to dictate everything. This is one perspective of Luther, but there is another side to the man that is much more accurate and unsettling that explains the effects that the offsprings of Lutheranism have had on the post-renaissance world. Luther was intolerant, sexist, racist, and very anti-Semitic. Luther’s first error is found in his wholesale acceptance of
Luther believed that church was not god and could not tell him what god really wanted. He posted the 95 theses, which were basically written text on luther opinion on the power of indulgences, on the door of a church. During the reformation people doubted the church and turned to the bible for the religious truths. The Bible
He wrote the 95 theses challenging the wealth of the church, the way to salvation, the authority, and indulgences. Moreover, his four concepts of sola fide, sola scriptura, priesthood of all believers, and all work is sacred challenged the very structure of the religion that the church was built upon. His belief of only faith alone could save one from purgatory, which nullified the need for indulgences. He proves this by quoting the Book of Romans and the New Testament, which was the passage God made him point to. He was able to justify faith alone by proving if one believed in Jesus's messages one was saved, because believing one was saved only with works while not believing in God was not the way to salvation (Justification by Faith). Moreover, Luther believed anyone could interpret the scripture and only what is in scripture should be believed, which challenged the Pope's interpretation and made people less dependant on the church. The Priesthood of all believers challenged the Pope's immediate connection to God and argued that even Priests and the Pope were susceptible to mistakes (The interpretation of the Bible and the Nature of the Clergy). In contrary to the Roman Catholic Church he was adamant about the fact of all being equal in God's eyes, thus the clergy was equal to the laity and not deserving of special privileges. He also stated that the church was protecting itself with the three concepts of spiritual power stronger than temporal power, only the Pope could interpret Scripture, and only the Pope could summon a council (On Papal Power). This allowed the papacy to defend itself from outside attempts to reform it. The papacy argued temporal power was earthly and ever changing, but spiritual power dealt with the after life and was constant, resulting in the papacy seeing itself more powerful than temporal power. Luther
One of the ideas is that that there is no authority and the people should be able to interpret things on their own,“He held that individuals might read the Bible and freely make their own interpretations according to their own conscience,” ( Palmer, Colton, Kramer p. 81). This idea was so revolutionary to the people because they were used to the authorities, the church, enforce the rules and interpret the Bible for them. This got many people on Luther’s side and they started to help him try to reform the church. Another idea Luther brought was Lutheranism. Luther broke off the Catholic Church when he kept asking them to make a change and they still did not do it. Many people broke off the Catholic Church and joined Lutheranism. The general population loved Luther’s ideas and they wanted to follow him. One more idea that Luther influenced was Calvinism because if Luther was not brave enough to speak up about what he felt was right; Calvin would not have done the
Martin Luther was “committed to the idea that salvation could by reached through faith and by divine grace only” (History). He wrote the 95 Theses, which talked about his belief that faith alone could lead to salvation and his criticisms about the selling of indulgences. Luther was among the first to start questioning the Church and its authority over the people. He became very influential in the Christian community as he became the leader of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther had a different belief system that many times went against and questioned the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Pope.
Martin Luther was eager to change the Roman Catholic Church since his beliefs clashed with the church’s practices. He proclaimed that salvation of the soul will come about because of the genuine confidence in God, not simply great deeds. Martin Luther also firmly hated the demonstration of conceding and offering indulgences since he felt that forgiveness came from that person and God.
What was different about Luther was that he did not use law and violence to coerce the masses like the Catholic Church. He also did not use a governing body of religious and secular powers (Calvin’s Consistory) to bring people under the Christian faith, instead he cultivated the mines of the people. Luther was first and foremost a theologian and a professor. His 95 theses
He strongly debate the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He also debated that anyone can have a direct relationship with God. A lot of people will agree that it is true that we cannot pay money to take away our sin. As a Christian and from what the bible said we do good things and pray to take away our sins. The righteousness of God does not condemn sinners but save them and bring them closer. So it is not ok for man to punish other man for their sin. In other word nobody is perfect and we should not judge people. Luther teaches the people about free will, he recognized the Erasmus's literary superiority. Luther claim that faith alone makes someone just and fulfills. In order words you can worship and pray God without going to church. Most people will agree with this one, but we do not have to go to church to be a Christian or to have faith in God. We just need to live according to the bible and not the pope as Luther said. As long as we have faith in our heart it is enough but some people will disagree because we as a Christian we have to worship together and it is more powerful to be
Initially, America did not have a Christian foundation in the sense of creating a theocracy. However, it was shaped by Christian moral truths, and the forefathers created a hospitable environment that supported this religion. The relationship linking the state and religion grew strong as most of the people in the nation became Christians. This research paper outlines how Christianity came to be one of the major religions in the United States of America.
Martin Luther rejected several teachings and practices of the church. He believed that freedom from sin didn’t have to be bought. Luther proposed his discussion of the usefulness of the indulgences in his 95 theses in 1517. In 1520, he refused to retract his writings by the commands of Pope Leo X and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, at the Diet of Worms in 1521. He was excommunicated by the pope and condemned as an outlaw by the emperor.
Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was a Christian theologian, Augustinian monk, professor, pastor, and church reformer whose teachings inspired the Lutheran Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Protestant and other Christian traditions. Luther began the Protestant Reformation with the publication of his Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517. In this publication, he attacked the Church's sale of indulgences. He advocated a theology that rested on God's gracious activity in Jesus Christ, rather than in human works. Nearly all Protestants trace their history back to Luther in one way or another. Luther's relationship to philosophy is complex and should not be judged only by his famous