[A true Christian] takes the Bible as the final authority, believes in salvation by faith in Christ alone through God's grace, nothing added.
We often hear this definition or something like it stated by adherents of today's fundamentalist Protestant sects. This example comes from post 462 of the 'Protestantism through the Ages' thread. The assumption fundies make, based on a Golden Age myth crafted and retold by their leaders, is that early Christians used this formula and that more recent fundamentalist sects have 'restored' it.
Not so. I submit that the definition of 'true Christian' shown above is a doctrinal formula of Reformation origin. To ascribe it to early Christians is an anachronism. In historical terms it is both impractical and incomplete. This can be demonstrated.
We may then consider what additions and modifications the definition requires in order to meet the test of historical plausibility. In doing so, some merits will be seen in the approach that was actually taken by pre-Protestant Christians.
'Comparative Religion' would seem to be a natural fit. Thanks for considering this topic.
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Edited by Archer Opteryx, : typo
Edited by Archer Opteryx, : typo
Archer O
All species are transitional.