Imperial Christianity: American Presbyterians and Revival with W. Robert Godfrey

[@ligonier]

This message is from Dr. Godfrey’s 11-part teaching series American Presbyterians and Revival: Lessons from the Nineteenth Century. Watch the entire series: www.ligonier.org/learn/series/american-presbyterians-and-revival-lessons-from-the-nineteenth-century

[@mtngirlbunny9290]

Wow! This really has me curious to watch the rest of the series...thank you!

[@rhondae8222]

Thank you for sharing.

[@dirkbindemann1852]

Very interresting, seeing how the three Dutch Reformed churches, here in South Africa changed to accommodate the politicial situation after 1994. Some didn't change much, but the main Reformed churches changed to such an extreme that they have lost many members to other churches, especially charismatic (less imperial?) churches.

[@jimgordon7305]

Dirk, it was much more than just to follow the politics of the country. In 1978-1981 I studied at the Reformed faculty in Pretoria. Our teachers were committed to the inerrancy of the Word and Reformed doctrine. I feel very privilege to have been trained there. In the early 2000s two of my nephews went to the same faculty. Their experience was very different. It seems as if liberalism or progressivism took over. New ministers entering the church no longer held on to the central doctrines. Many of my family left the church for denominations that are still holding on to the Word. Here in Canada the same is occurring. In the early 1990s the Presbyterian Church was still relatively orthodox. As many leaders and congregations move away from this position, I see one congregation after another closing. (In the last year alone 3 congregations in my area closed their doors.) This had very little to do with politics, but with what Christ said to the church in Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

[@DogSoldier1948]

@@jimgordon7305 it's very clear the churches are moving towards apostasy

[@jimgordon7305]

@@DogSoldier1948 Thank God that there are still faithful churches. They are just harder to find in the Western culture.

[@stuartjohnson5686]

Separation of church and state is NOT in the US Consitution. It came from a private letter written by Thomas Jefferson who only meant the state is not to interfere with churches.

[@carmenforsyth1313]

👼.. Amen!. 👼

[@rhondae8222]

Amen!

[@JohnMoog-dn9dt]

Thanks for this - so much is skipped over in standard American history courses

[@chrislamont6936]

Speaking of legalities is it a church if it's a 501c3 non-profit corporation which did not exist in the time frame that you're speaking of?or there was no connection in the purview of the government? Is this the freedom of religion and the body of Christ or a dead legal fiction known as a corpse and is the Presbyterian polity the same as corporate polity? And in the case of church membership with a vow was that practice a couple hundred years ago? And finally under church discipline are you disciplining people corporately through 501c3 jurisdiction or through du jour legitimacy, to establish legal protections?

[@tnetrucking]

This is why our constitution does not allow our government to establish a religion. And that is why religion in America has flourished

[@DogSoldier1948]

tnetrucking: Many worship the government.

[@possumhunter1179]

It prohibits the federal government from establishing a national religion. It does not prohibit the states from establishing a religion for their particular state. As England has the Church of England (Anglican), so many former colonies (states) retained their official state religion well into the 19th century (Rhode Island Baptists; Roman Catholic Maryland, etc.). The particular state governments, one by one, passed bills to rescind any state religion. But the legality of it was never questioned or overturned by the Supreme Court.

[@robmarshall956]

Americas lost as a nation,the Religious liberty in America is perpetually a work in progress. The free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment live in perpetual tension - two goods that would like to be balanced but never will be. The Supreme Court’s recent religious liberty rulings are fully a part of America’s long struggle to define religious freedom and only the most recent attempt to achieve a balance between goods, they are simply trying to call evil good.

[@chrislamont6936]

@@1Whipperin excellent point it is for freedom that Christ has set you free no longer return to your slavery Liberty as well has to do with the law of the seas bringing granted by a captain rather than God and the pledge of allegiance was indoctrination from socialists it's nice to see an intelligent person online

[@duncanbryson1167]

@@1Whipperin Delusional 🙄 Jesus Christ may have existed but only as a human being. There's no evidence of anything supernatural including deities.