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liberal Protestants. Word study
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LIBERAL PROTESTANTS
In the early 19th century, another Great " Awakening, or revival, swept through New England. By no means were all of New England's clergymen happy with this upswelling of religious feeling.
Many had given up Calvin's idea of predestination, which is the belief that God chooses those who will be saved, and that man cannot win salvation through good works or other means—salvation can only come from God, and then, only to the " elect. " Some Protestant clergy now preached that all men had free will and could be saved. Others moved on to positions yet more liberal, giving up many traditional Christian beliefs.
Individual experience and Puritan virtues like self-reliance received a new spiritual foundation. The writings of Emerson and other Transcendentalists are read by millions of schoolchildren in American elementary and high schools.
The idea of progress was appealing to liberal Protestants of the 19th century. Why
should religious doctrines not become more rational as science made the natural world more open to human understanding?
In Europe, and particularly in Germany, scholars were reading and studying the Bible in a new way. They questioned the reality of Bible miracles, and challenged traditional beliefs about Bible authors.
These and other opinions of Bible scholars frightened many religious people. But liberal Protestants believed that if Christianity were to continue to appeal to educated people, it must accept these ideas.
In the same spirit, liberals wrestled with the problems which Charles Darwin's theory of evolution presented. If human beings had descended from other animals—an idea which almost all scientists quickly accepted—then the story of Adam and Eve, the Biblical first parents of human beings could not be literally true.
To the many questions raised by the progress of science, Protestants sought and found answers. These answers stressed the moral and spiritual meaning of the Bible but did not depend on its reliability as a book of factual history.
What set apart 19th century liberal ministers from their descendants in the 20th century was their optimism about man's ability to make progress. Some, like Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), still held that poverty and sin went hand in hand. Some liberal ministers were not very critical of the excesses of capitalism. But others, like Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918), thought that the Church should concern itself with reforming society. They discovered a " social message" in the Gospels, the Biblical accounts of Christ's life, and began to concern themselves with the problems of workers and the city poor.
Modem liberal clergymen are less optimistic about the speed and extent of " social
reform. But they are still convinced that the Church must fight for the rights of poor people.
They manage shelters for homeless people. They feed the poor, run day-care centers for
children and speak out on social issues. They seek areas of agreement with other Christians, with Jews and with those of other world religions. Many are active in ecumenical movement which seeks to bring about the reunion of Christians into one church. [6]
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GUIDE
WORD STUDY
I. Match the words from the two columns to make appropriate word combinations:
1. to devote to a. religious themes
2. ecumenical b. God
3. obedience to c. movement
4. affiliation with d. hand
5. upswelling of e. educated people
6. to appeal to f. an established church
7. to go hand in g. religious feeling
II. Give synonyms to the following words:
1. strange, odd
2. various
3. to fight with
4. to flourish
5. to predict
6. to appeal to
7. certain to happen
8. a peer
9. earthly
III. Give the word to the definition:
1. A trained religious leader in some Protestant Christian Church
2. The process of questioning people who are representative of a larger group in order to get information about the general opinion.
3. The holy book of the Christian religion, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament.
4. To introduce a new public official or leader at a special ceremony:
5. Easy to see or notice; likely to attract attention.
6. A branch of the Christian Church.
IV. Find some information about the following religious groups or cults:
1. The Holiness church
2. A snake handling cult
3. Presbyterians
4. Lutherans
5. Episcopal
6. Quakers
V. Form the derivatives to the words in the table:
| Verb | Noun | Adjective |
| Prosper | ||
| Descend | ||
| Pervasion | ||
| Rebellious | ||
| Affiliation | ||
| Persecute | ||
| Resentment | ||
| Diverse | ||
| Permit | ||
| Obedient | ||
| Purify |
VI. Substitute the words in bold by the phrasal verbs given below:
1. to set apart
2. to appeal to
3. to bring about
4. to speak out
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5. to sweep through
6. to provide for
1. What makes liberal Protestants different from others is the fact that they gave up many traditional Christian beliefs.
2. Congress makes no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting any belief thus creating freedom of religion.
3. Calvin’s ideas that salvation comes only from God didn’t attract many liberal protestants.
4. Puritans wanted to make people saved by God through hard work.
5. The ideas of liberal protestants about the reality of Bible miracles spread quickly all over Europe.
6. Many protestant ministers state their opinion publicly on the most urgent social issues.
COMPREHENSION
I. Answer the following questions:
1. What are the visible reminders of American people being a religious nation?
2. Which religion prevails in the USA?
3. Who are Puritans? Why are they called so?
4. How are liberal protestants different from traditional Christians?
5. What kind of ‘social message’ did they discover in the Gospels?
II. Explain the meaning of the following:
1. Visible reminders of American religious activity
2. Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.
3. Religion is bound to have an influence on politics.
4. Minor sectarian churches
5. They viewed prosperity as an outward sign.
6. Another Great Awakening or revival swept through New England.
7. Many are active in ecumenical movement.
8. They discovered the social message in the Gospels.
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