Reformed or Deformed?

Caution:  The information below will shock many.

Many people today choose to call themselves "Reformed" and they are proud of this distinction. Many denominations and churches call themselves "Reformed" and the word is even used in the name of some of these organizations like the Dutch Reformed Church for instance.  For most Christians we have been told over the years that the Reformation was a good thing so why shouldn't Christians, churches and denominations not proudly display their affinity for the Reformation?

The rhetoric today by those who lead today's "Reformed" movement would lead us all to believe that being "Reformed" is a great legacy and something to have pride in.  The reality and the facts surrounding the Reformation might shock you.  The Reformation was an unmitigated mess!  It was as much a deformation as it was a reformation.                                                                    

What made the Reformation so bad?  Why is it a bad legacy to be tied to?  The answers to these questions simply lie in the obvious facts.  History records the Reformation's shocking foundations. There were many reformers but three of them in particular founded the reformation as we know it today and two of the founders have people who actually use their names to identify their Christian affiliation (Lutherans, Calvinists).  The three men were who founded and contributed most to the Reformation were Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin.  In some circles these men are much revered because their treachery is simply ignored or not known.

As you read what follows please remember that Jesus said we would know "them" by their fruit:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matthew 7:15-20 NIV

Martin Luther is known best for his nailing of the 95 theses on the door challenging the Roman Catholic Church.  For this I guess we all owe him some thanks.  I can grant him credit for doing what he did but not too much because I believe that someone else would have risen up and done the same thing but maybe in a much better way.  The problem with Martin Luther is that his actions after nailing his theses produced fruit that is unacceptable for any Christian let alone a leader of what some regard as the greatest move of God since the rise of the New Testament church.

Martin Luther's first intention was to effect change in the Roman Catholic Church and there certainly was no harm in this.  The Church was hemorrhaging with bad doctrines, beliefs and practices. When Luther's attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church from within failed he attempted to reform the Church from the outside.  It was too bad that Luther did not simply found a movement that was a restoration to the New Testament church.  Restoration of the New Testament church would have meant bringing forth a new wineskin.  Instead Luther chose the "reformed" route which means that he kept much of what Catholicism was and rejected only some of its bad doctrines.  Some of these bad doctrines he used as building planks for his new "reformed" movement.

These false doctrines held by Luther have too often been glossed over and ignored. These false doctrines include the belief that one must be baptized to be saved and that infant baptism must be done for babies.  He also believed that the sacraments were part and parcel of salvation.  He stated:

"Namely, that the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are given to us through these words in the sacrament.  Because, where sins are forgiven, there is life and salvation as well."

Even most Calvinists believe that Luther taught consubstanation which is the doctrine that says that the physical body of Christ is present ‘in, with, and under’ the bread of the Lord’s Supper. Luther believed and taught the veneration of Mary and even insisted that Mary was a virgin all her life.  He even believed in the "Immaculate Conception" heresy which states that Mary was born without any original sin and was saved from birth.  Luther also endorsed the Catholic Rosary.  Luther must be held accountable for believing and teaching these gross heresies.  

Clearly Luther rejected only some of Roman Catholicism's heresies and then founded the reformation on some of the others.  Is that Reformed or Deformed?  Luther attacked the Catholic Church for promoting a salvation by works but then he carried the same practice into the formation of the Reformation.  He taught salvation by faith but then believed that works like baptism and sacraments were mandatory for salvation.  Sadly, the Reformation was founded on Luther's "works" foundation.

Luther's faults don't end in his beliefs in bad doctrines and his desire to build the Reformation with these doctrines in tow.  No indeed, Luther stirred up his followers to exterminate the Anabaptists who simply believed in rebaptizing those who came to faith as adults. For ten long years Luther's  

followers tortured, imprisoned and killed thousands of Anabaptists. Bad fruit?  Yes.  Reformed or Deformed?

Now modern day "Reformed" folks simply ignore the facts I have stated above or defend Luther and his persecutions on the weakest of grounds.  For instance, they make statements about Luther's persecution of the Anabaptists that sound like this:  "This was the way that these kind of issues were handled during that time in history."  Really?  Murder, mayhem and persecution over baptism?  The Father of the Reformation did not know what the Bible says about murder and about being at peace with everyone?  Excusing Luther's actions borders on the ludicrous.  How can he be given credit as being a great theologian when he did not even understand Christ's commands to love and pray for his enemies?  Yet those that are saturated in today's "Reformed" movement defiantly defend the man.  Reformed or Deformed?

Jesus warned his disciples what the religious rulers of the day would do to them:

They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.  John 16:2-3

How sad that the same accusation can be leveled at Luther, his followers and other reformers too because they too put other Christians to death thinking they were doing the will of God.

There is much more on Luther that could be stated here but I want to move to Huldrych Zwingli. Luther and Zwingli were co-initiators of the Reformation.  Like Luther, Zwingli believed in all the same false doctrines except he held a minor difference on the Lord's Supper.  Like Luther, he and his followers also persecuted the Anabaptists.  By the way, why did Luther and Zwingli persecute the Anabaptists?  The Anabaptist's "crime" was that they did not baptize their infants and they re-baptized adults when they came to faith in Christ.

Then Zwingli and his alliance applied a food blockade against some Catholics and he took up arms along with his "reformers" to do so.  He died on the battle ground with sword in hand prompting the "compassionate" Luther to say upon hearing of Zwingli's death:  "he got what he deserved...His death proved I was right and he was wrong." Reformed or Deformed?

John Calvin became the most famous of all the reformers and today many people associate their lot with him by referring to themselves as "Calvinists".  Calvin is considered a second-generation Reformer and it was he who set in to stone most of the "Reformed" doctrine held to today.  John Calvin was influenced some by Luther but even more by Augustine.  He developed the doctrines that we all call "Calvinism" these days which are even now revered and adopted by those who are Reformed.

Calvin also held to several heresies too.  Like Luther and Zwingli he believed in Infant Baptism for instance.  He also believed that the sacraments were equal to God's word. Calvin also believed in the heresy that Christ suffered in hell after his death on the cross despite the fact that Jesus said "It is finished" and there is no Biblical evidence for such a ridiculous doctrine.

Beyond his heresies, John Calvin also believed in mixing the kingdom of God with man's governmental institutions.  He and his top cronies seized control over the city of Geneva where Calvin became known infamously as the "Pope" of Geneva because of his despotic rule over the city. Like Augustine before him he instituted forced church attendance.  He also instituted multiple extremely legalistic laws over the people of Geneva and these included some of the most ridiculous laws ever concocted like how many dishes you could have or how high a woman could wear her hair. Here are a few examples of the penalties that came about:

• Three men who laughed during a sermon were imprisoned for three days.
• A child was whipped publicly for calling his mom a thief.
• A girl who struck her parents was beheaded.

There are many more crazy examples about the laws and regulations that Calvin and his cronies put on the good citizens of Geneva.  Calvin formed a "Nazi" like secret police who made sure that every home was compulsorily searched and examined.  Compulsory church attended was monitored by watchmen who made sure that people attended services at Calvin's approved churches.  From 1541 to 1546 Calvin's stooges executed 58 people and 76 people were exiled from the city. Who wants to be a Calvinist now? Can you smell the bad fruit?  Reformed or Deformed?

Those of the Calvinist "Reformed" persuasion have for years persecuted other believers. There are many documented examples but I will share only some of them here.  The Puritans were "Reformed" and they believed anyone who was not Anglican was a heretic.  They adopted their own faith as the only State approved religion in New England.  In 1650 the Quakers came to New England and were persecuted for insisting that they be allowed to pr   actice their faith.  The first Quakers had their

belongings seized and destroyed.  Others were beaten, whipped and imprisoned.  Many were expelled and literally sent back to England.  Some Quakers were even executed only because of their faith. Other Christian groups were persecuted harshly by the Reformed Puritans including the first Baptists that came to America. The Baptists were even charged with child abuse by the Puritans for refusing to baptize their infants.  Reformed or Deformed?

Historians tell us that the Dutch Reformed Church was a major contributor to the continuance of racist Apartheid in South Africa.  Some church groups over the years holding to Calvinism have been exclusive and have taught that only their church was accepted by God.  This includes Witness Lee's "Local Church" among others which held Calvinist beliefs and who eventually claimed that they were the only true church.  More bad fruit with roots firmly planted in the reformation.

In recent years some Reformed groups have hit the news cycle.  This includes the Westboro Baptist Church who protests the funerals of U. S. soldiers who have fallen in battle and they hold up signs saying "God hates fags".  Their website states that they are 5 point Calvinists.  A church in Texas with ties to Calvinist doctrine has also been in the news recently for their cult like activities.  The church of Wells of Wells, Texas restrained some of their people from seeing family members among other things that cults are prone to do.  Many Calvinists point out that these kinds of churches are Hyper-Calvinist not Calvinist.  That may be true but aren't all Hyper-Calvinists Calvinists first?  No one just becomes a Hyper-Calvinist.  Their entry point is being a Calvinist first.  This is the slippery slope traced all the way back to the Reformation.  It is clear that Calvinism leads to exclusivism and even persecutions of others solely on their theology.

Even among the newly coined "New Calvinists" there are problems.  Recently, the well-known Mars Hill Church which had been the third fastest growing large church in America closed its doors after its Superstar "New Calvinist" pastor, Mark Driscoll, was criticized for being arrogant and power mongering.  Driscoll admitted his theology came from Luther and Calvin.  Even self-proclaimed Calvinist Samuel James admits that Calvinism today has too many bullies.  Reformed or Deformed?

Finally we get to the "new" reformed doctrines that are so controversial today.  In addition to their involvement with persecutions and believing in heresies, our three heroes also developed "new" troubling doctrines.  Martin Luther believed that man did not have free will.  John Calvin was the most prevalent of the three, coming up with doctrines including Limited Atonement and My question to all is why would anyone anchor their theology on what these guys believed in and taught given the bad fruit they exhibited in their reprehensible actions and their belief in obvious heresy?  Reformed or Deformed?

Jesus said that we would know them by their fruit.  The fruit of the Reformed movement from the Reformation all the way to today is clear---it stinks.  This bad fruit and the theology that proceeds from it should be roundly rejected.  Today's Christian needs to heed our Lord's warning and judge the theology by the fruit of its founders.

Thanks be to God because he released to us the "Great Awakenings" beginning in the early 18th century and it started a restoration of New Testament theology in the church which has impacted the church in America in a very positive way.  Still Reformed theology and Calvinism live on today and has become stronger in recent years. Therefore we should not be deceived or unaware of the contemptible acts that took place in the Reformation and the legacy of corruption that sprung from it.  Neither should we keep silent about these things for all men deserve to know the truth.

So Reformed or Deformed?  Let the facts speak for themselves.

(Check out my many tweets on Twitter at #confrontcalvin).