This desire to find religious, doctrinal truth is part of what led me from the Pentecostal church to the Lutheran church. (Don't mistake such statements for hating against Pentecostals; they have just as much faith in God, perhaps more, as other types of Christians. But I don't think a lot of their doctrine is what was historically believed by the church.) Yet part of me feels... uncertain? Unconvinced?
Let's face it, Protestantism happened a long time after the age of the apostles. Two of the big names of the Protestant Reformation are Martin Luther and John Calvin. Both spoke of salvation by faith alone, but in different ways. How do I know Luther wasn't wrong? How do I know Calvin wasn't also wrong? What if sola fide is a man-made doctrine - one which excludes us from eternal salvation?
Eternal salvation is really all I care about. But Christians can't seem to agree who is saved. Many Protestants will say the Catholics aren't saved. Official Catholic doctrine seems to both say that Protestants are disconnected from Jesus thus unsaved, yet also says Protestants are able to be saved. Which side is right?
- Either the Catholics are right, and Protestants aren't saved.
- Either the Protestants are right, and the Catholics aren't saved.
- Either both are wrong, and both sides are saved.
- Either both are right, and non are saved.
My main concern, as a Protestant, is whether or not Protestants - despite our comparatively young theology - are saved. If I could be given an intellectual, theological confirmation that yes Protestants despite are varying theologies are saved, I would be satisfied. Right now I have not come across anything convincing, though.
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