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Sceptical on Restoration Movements
Seems to me that no post New Testament era Christian movement is exactly the same theologically as the biblical original (yes that includes evangelical).
The Protestant Reformation had a considerable biblical basis with Martin Luther and John Calvin, and others that attempted to stay true to Scripture in context. This is also true in the off-shoot Anabaptist movement, such as with the Mennonites.
Millard Erickson explains that systematic theology draws upon the entire Bible and does not exegete texts in isolation. Erickson (1994: 21). It attempts to analyze and understand Scriptural teachings in a harmonized way. Erickson (1994: 21). He makes it clear that Biblical doctrines may not necessarily be maintained precisely with the same form of expression as they were in Biblical times, and notes philosophical truth can be found from other sources. Erickson (1994: 37).
Within my Christian faith, theology and philosophy, I have been sceptical of restoration movements arising from the nineteenth century. With many of these movements there is over-speculation and a lack of hermeneutical approach that will lead to contextual analysis of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and reasonable, sound, theology based on the Scripture within the Bible.
The video
Cited
'During the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th Century, a parallel movement in England produced the innovative eschatological scheme known as Dispensationalism, the creation of John Nelson Darby. This movement was widely popularized in American through James Brooks and his most famous protege, C.I. Scofield. For more free resources, please visit www.brucegore.com.'
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Presentation includes
The Second Awakening era featured speculation on the Second Advent of Christ
Briefly on the origin of the Jehovah's Witnesses
Briefly on the origin of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Briefly on the origin of Dispensatiionalism
Briefly on the origin of Rapture theology
In regard to 'the great disappointment' from Adventists and like of October 22, 1844; these followers that identified as biblical Christians, should have known better. A reasonable contextual evaluation of Scripture would have led to a theology that abandoned date setting and instead would take the words of Jesus Christ plain literally, as context demands. Jesus Christ stated that no one knows when the second advent will take place (Matthew 24, Mark 13). The Church is to be ready for the second coming without assuming when the event will occur.
False predictions on the second advent lead to further error of a theology of Christ's invisible second coming. The second coming is to be physically, empirically observed:
Matthew 24: 30 from the New American Standard Bible:
"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
See also 2 Thessalonians 2 which implies a physically returned Jesus Christ.
ERICKSON, MILLARD (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.
ERICKSON, MILLARD (2003) What Does God Know and When Does He Know It?, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.
