FLAGLESS

Hi Casey,

Well, we’re obviously leaning Protestant. We’re not really here to argue with Catholics (or Mennonites, or Anabaptists, or Greek Orthodoxy, or etc.) We’re geared more for the Evangelical and the Protestant.

I think I’ll probably change that blurb because you’re right, Luther didn’t “set out” anything.  Good catch.

The generalized answer to your question is that Jesus and the early Church set out the gospel, Augustine and many of the fathers nailed the soteriology, it was lost, and then Luther “recovered” it (which is different from “set out.”)  This is certainly one way to interpret the historical event known as the Protestant Reformation and it is how (I anyway) will unapologetically interpret it (as sad as it makes me that the church that was in place in the 15th and 16th centuries couldn’t simply be reformed in some major ways — in the definition and interpretation of Justification primarily — and left in place as one whole church.)

That said, we’re not here to shoot anyone with our “high-powered doctrine gun,” as our own David McElroy recently said in conversation with me.  There are plenty of places to go argue about Christian doctrine out there. I’m not going to argue with you about the nature or legitimacy of the Protestant Reformation. That is simply our (my) position at the moment and will go on being our (my) position until we (I) choose to change it. I can’t say that I speak for our whole cooperative. You would probably get different answers to this question from all five of us.

It is quite possible that we will adopt a more ecumenical stance in the near future. We certainly have leanings every which way among the five of us so it isn’t like we’re locked into criticizing Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, Mennonites, Ananbaptists, the LDS, or anyone else in the already established “Christarchy.” This isn’t really a place where we intend to argue doctrine. We will merely give our Protestant/Evangelical/Reformed slant on anti-statism and it can be read and interacted with from there. Preferably via email or even private conversation.

The Christian doctrinal statements we have made are informative, not debate oriented.  We want to talk about the subsequent relation of the Christian to earthly kingdoms.

Note: I say nothing about the legitimacy of the spirituality or eternity of any of the above groups. That isn’t the end of this blog despite our overt stances on the nature of various doctrinal positions.

Does that help? I hope so. I’d be happy to answer any followup questions you may have.

Ryan Day Thompson
Contributor at The Flagless Cooperative