Today when I hear either Roman Catholic, Jewish, or Moslem theologians, the former sometimes called “Priests” or “Bishops,” next referred as “Ulema” or “Alim,” and the latter titled “Rabbis,” they will give their representation of Protestants or evangelicals. As to the numbers, there are 1.5 billion Catholics, 200 million Eastern Orthodox, which includes Russian, Greek, Coptic, etc., 2 billion Moslems, and then 1 billion Protestants. Out of the 2.5 billion Catholics and Protestants, 650 million are Pentecostal or Charismatic. There are 15-16 million in the Jewish religion or Jewish identity.
I hear theologians, who represent several billion people in the world, say what Protestants think about salvation by grace. It is not what scripture teaches, but it is what most evangelicals do, so why shouldn’t they think it? I wouldn’t call the Catholic, Jewish, and Moslem apologists presentation of grace a biblical or accurately Christian one, even if they claim to steelman it. However, they can find a giant amount of evidence for saying what they do from professing Christians. Saying they’re “professing” doesn’t mean that none of them are saved, but I still wouldn’t outright call them Christians.
Apologists for major religions point out certain qualities of Protestants as evidence that what those Protestants believe is not truly of God. What chief representatives of these religions — Catholic, Jewish, and Moslem — call Protestant is everything called Christian other than Roman Catholic. They use these qualities of Protestants then as characteristics of the gospel. I would want to call these stereotypes, because they aren’t actually true Christianity, but evident and plenteous enough for these enemies to stereotype what it is. By that, they aren’t what the Bible says it is.
A Stereotype
At what point is the problem of Protestants actually just Protestant? You can put in the words, ‘evangelicals actually just evangelical’? These people mean the same thing despite perhaps not getting the terms right. This is obvious by their descriptions of what these Protestants/evangelicals do. There is a reason something becomes a stereotype.
When the religious experts speak of something as Protestant, or maybe even evangelical, we may say, “That’s not what it is.” But it is. There is so much of it, that it is what it is now. It wasn’t always that, and it isn’t what the Bible says it’s supposed to be, but these critics are not wrong to characterize it as Protestant or evangelical now.
Common Characteristics in Direct Connection to the Doctrine of Salvation
These above religious apologists offer destructive stereotypes of the gospel reinforced by the cheap grace theology of most evangelicals. Some common characteristics of the stereotyping of Protestant soteriology (doctrine of salvation) is the following, first, concerning the most direct connection to it:
- In Protestantism, God is a sort of corrupt Judge, who ignores actual behavior, because the Protestant believer is declared innocent by the Protestant God just because someone else served his time for him.
- The law of God itself becomes a kind of burden or a curse because God’s grace is ‘freedom from God’s instructions,’ rather than the ‘power to do them.’
- A very, very minimalized entrance requirement, the free gift based on grace comes to the ones who specifically identify the right person as God.
- Works and sanctification are irrelevant to eternal destiny.
- The Protestant evangelical doesn’t need to bother with God’s laws, because he’s already saved by grace.
- Since grace doesn’t involve lifelong cooperation with God, just a momentary cooperation, it doesn’t require more than assent.
- Protestant grace motivates the fear that works might negate salvation by grace alone.
Other Items of Criticism of an Explanation of Relationship with God
Other items of criticism from above religious theologians concerns the Protestant explanation or description of relationship with God:
- The Protestant doctrine of the grace of God reveals a tendency to treat God like a personal buddy.
- The Protestant resultant grace relationship shows in casual attire, rock band worship, and “chummy” style prayer, which strips away the fear of the Lord.
- Furthermore in the relationship proceeding from apparent Protestant grace is worship like an entertainment based performance designed to manipulate human emotions.
- The religious critics of Protestant worship, which proceeds from its view of the grace of God, say that its “irreverence” is evidence that Protestantism itself is a modern invention disconnected from priestly and sacrificial gravity related to the worship of God.
The apologists of major religions in the world point out the above manifestations of a common view of saving grace among Protestants, which portray an unpersuasive gospel message. It results in a less than credible message or at least a contradictory one. This is partly if not greatly their argument against Christianity itself and in that among other things it is destructive.
Destructive to Biblical Evangelism
I didn’t come up with the two words, “cheap grace.” Concerning true grace, I like to say that it isn’t a garbage can that takes in all your behavior, all your sin. No, it is a cleansing agent that cleans up a life. I’m not going to write all the ways that evangelicalism eroded grace and the gospel, but it’s so much that it’s become almost unrecognizable. Now it’s used to reinforce a destructive stereotype of the gospel. It’s enemies are far from right, but they’ve been given a whole lot of ammunition.
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:32-33:
32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
This is about doing things, so also teaching things, that would result in the lost not being saved. Jesus Himself talks about not being an offense to one of these little ones, the point being a cause of stumbling that would move young people astray. The overall representation and direction of Protestantism or evangelicalism, this large category, results in their not understanding or not being interested in the true gospel. Other things are too important now for most of these professing Christians than to represent what the Bible says that true Christianity is.