Interesting commentary on how the Agnostics (Atheists) objection to Christian philosophy and theology helped shape early Adventist (and mormon) theology. It could be argued that the liberalization of religion tends not to occur through internal transformation but by the churn of denominational birth and decay. The trick is that denominations dont always follow an arc of liberalization. Adventism is in many ways more conservative and traditional than the Catholic Church. Mormonism is most aspects is more conservative than Catholicism. But Catholicism has mostly been responding to protestant defection for the last couple thousand years. Almost all of its liberalization has been in response to new protestant denominations here and there. Im curious though how far this can extend. Atheism and Agnosticism is no longer chipping away at questions of salvation, its now largely contesting the whole of Christian philosophy. Is it possible for much more liberalization in Religion before it no longer meets the definition? This kind of hits the ultimate nail on the head: The church may pass resolution upon resolution to put down all disagreement of opinions, but we cannot force the mind and will, and thus root out disagreement. These resolutions may conceal the discord but they cannot quench it and establish a perfect agreement. How do you maintain an identity while half of the group disagrees with a key point of identity. Eventually you fracture. And with a fresh start comes the ability to rethink everything. We havent really had a new wave of denominations since the late 1800s. Will there ever be another? Is Atheism and Agnosticism the last competition that the mainstream Christian denominations will face?
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 22:29:22 +0000
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