Do Protestants follow the teachings of St. Paul closer than Jesus?

Question

Why else would they think that men and women could not divorce and remarry if their spouses were unfaithful? Why do they believe that man can achieve salvation through faith without works? Why else would they respect Henry VIII and Martin Luther?

Answer 1

Ahem! Your question makes no sense! Protestants are the ones who allow divorce and remarriage!

Answer 2

"And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of dismissal'; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." (Matt 5:31-32, NASB)

Protestants do believe in divorce, and it is supported in the bible.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. “ -John 3:16

Protestants believe in salvation through faith, which is also supported in the bible.

And as far as respecting Henry VIII, I don't think anyone does. He was not a protestant in the true sense. He retained all catholic doctrine except he replaced himself in the Pope's role and then made divorce legal. Whereas Martin Luther wrote well thought out theses about the problems in the church. And suggested that Christians begin following the Bible as the word of law, and not the Pope's interpretation of it.

Answer 3

well i am a protestant, and i am not seeing the Bible saying that that form of divorce you are talknig about to be real. and as far as salvation by works, where would you be getting that from? James says faith without works is dead, but i think you would understand that he means being saved isnt enough, you need to change the world for Christ as his servant, not to be saved, but to be a true follower of Jesus. And i think the Catholic church follows Jesus' teachings and Paul equal, why would you not? if you believe that all scripture is God Breathed, wouldnt you say that its all from God, therefore none more important or reliable than the other? And Martin Luther only eas opposed to the curruption on the Catholic Church of his day, its not like he would disapprove of Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict persay, its just that they would make you pay to get out of pergatory and they would falsely tax the poor in order to pay for their building structures. Also the common man was not permitted to read the Bible on his/her own, they were read it in Latin, they had to take a priest word for it, now that isnt even close to the way God intended it, and i think you would agree with that, so he wasnt rebelling exactly against our Catholic Church (meaning universal perfect church) he was rebelling against a corruption system of individuals.

Answer 4

Martin Luther was not a protestant.

Protestants took doctrine outside of Scripture and tradition.

Lutherans too doctrine back to what was commonly taught before Rome made changes through the Pope.

The teachings found in Protestantism can not be traced as ever being formally taught by any church in history.

These doctrines include the sinless nature of babies, making a choice to believe, symbolism of Baptism and the Lord's Supper etc.

Divorce is difficult. But Jesus did speak about it and gave guidelines for divorce. So I would say that your assumption is based on an incorrect premice.

Answer 5

Your question doesn't make sense....

From a Biblical literalist point of view, the teachings of Paul are the teachings of Christ.

Your examples need clarification, You'll have to cite a chapter and verse where Paul contradicted Christ's teachings. I'm not really sure what Henry VIII and Martin Luther have to do with any of it... Paul nor Jesus spoke of them in the Biblical record.

Answer 6

Well I try to refrain from answering a question that already has lots of answers becaue I don't feel like sifting through all the BS. But I just have to say, I don't think many protestants or catholics really do truly follow the teachings of Jesus. The reason I say that is because if Christianity really followed the teachings of Jesus, Christianity would be Gnosticism and the leaders who developed what is now Christianity did not want Gnosticism. They wanted to control the people not teach them to "know."

Answer 7

Most Protestants do not know the truth about Henry VIII and Martin Luther. For example, if poor Martin Luther did not suffer from constipation, he might not have been so angry all the time.

Answer 8

Which Protestants are you talking about? There are about 50 different Protestant denominations of the Christian faith. And none of them that I've ever heard of believe in any of the things that you've mentioned. Henry VIII and Martin Luther weren't even in the Bible!

Answer 9

Paul taught what Jesus taught, there is no conflict in the two. Paul was led by the Holy Spirit in everything he wrote. As far as Paul and Jesus, both were against divorce and remarriage, and called it adultery. This is Jesus speaking in the Gospel of Mark:

Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put [her] away.
Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mar 10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same [matter].
Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Concerning faith and works:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast

Christ did all the work of Salvation on the Cross. He died for our sins. To think we can do anything ourselves to help in our Salvation is blasphemy. Christ doesn't want anyone in heaven to be prideful and boast that he's there because of all the good works he did. Remember, pride comes before a fall.

Answer 10

I really think it depends on each person, not protestants in general. I am protestant but I don't believe as you say that we can achieve salvation without works. I believe they go hand in hand. I think we are taught to admire those who stand up for what they believe in as long as we don't harm others in the process.