Is anyone else annoyed at how much Protestants stress Jesus?

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Yeah, I was trying to not respond in kind to the back-handed slap at Luther. Perhaps I should have let it go completely.

I was complimenting you for doing so It may come as a surprised to some that there is that 55-volume English translation of his works; which is a bit more than the “juicy bits” that are commonly quoted against him (And Calvin ditto.)​

I think you make some good points here. As the Op pointed out, Lutherans tend to pray to God in ways similar to that of Catholics. I have no issue with the way others pray (though *for me *it sounds awkward when some use the direct address “Lord” or “Jesus” numerous times within a prayer).

I used to find that odd, at first; as I did other expressions that Evangelicals (at least in my limited experience) are fond of. After a while, such details no longer stuck out ​

The fact that we all pray to the Trinity should be unifying, not dividing. It is a distinction without a difference.

Jon

And how !​

 

[TheWhoFreak]

I think what the OP was trying to say was that the problem isn’t the stressing Jesus, it’s the leaving the Father and the Holy Spirit in the background. When most people, not just Protestants, talk about God, they tend to make Jesus Christ the ‘star of the show’, forgetting that the Father and the Holy Spirit are God as well.

Exactly! That’s what I was trying to say.

 

[TheWhoFreak]

I am being quite real! Your question was rude, offensive, and degrading.

In what ways? The only possible ways I could see my question being offensive is that you are offended because “stressing Jesus too much” annoys me.
Please quote my original post if you want to show me where I am “rude, degrading, and offensive”. Don’t tell me what you think I did, show me what I actually did that offended you. Otherwise I think that you are the rude and offesive one.

 

[bacalzoLDS]

Wait a minute, if God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are one, then what difference does it make who is mentioned? God is in Heaven.Jesus is His Son. The Holy Ghost testifies of all truths. God said, “This is my Son hear Him.” Jesus said, " Unto thee I command my spirit". When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Ghost came down in the form of a dove. So, Jesus commanded himself unto himself. Then as he was baptised, he also came as a dove, while at the same time, he said, “This is My son” when he spoke about himself. Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane told his father/ himself to take the cup from him, but his/his father’s will be done.

 

[JohnDeereFan]

They are three in one, the same. Each equal to the other.

Are you a modalist?

 

[JohnDeereFan]

Wait a minute, if God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are one, then what difference does it make who is mentioned? God is in Heaven.Jesus is His Son. The Holy Ghost testifies of all truths. God said, “This is my Son hear Him.” Jesus said, " Unto thee I command my spirit". When Jesus was baptised, the Holy Ghost came down in the form of a dove. So, Jesus commanded himself unto himself. Then as he was baptised, he also came as a dove, while at the same time, he said, “This is My son” when he spoke about himself. Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane told his father/ himself to take the cup from him, but his/his father’s will be done.

False. Jesus is not the Father, who is not the Holy Spirit, who is not Jesus.

 

[MarysGirls]

Exactly! That’s what I was trying to say.

Oh, good. I was hoping I got it right.

 

[MarysGirls]

False. Jesus is not the Father, who is not the Holy Spirit, who is not Jesus.

Exactly. Three distinct persons: one God.

 

[ScottishColleen]

I hope this doesn’t offend anybody, but something I’ve noticed about Protestants is that they have a slightly warped view of Jesus. I’m not saying that their God is different than the Catholic’s God, but I think that we view them vastly differently. Let me try to clarify that. When I hear Protestants talking about God’s love and mercy and kindness, they never mention God. Instead, they always say it’s Jesus’s kindness or Jesus’s mercy or Jesus’s love. But when they talk about God’s rage and anger and punishment, they never mention Jesus at all! It’s always God that gets angry and pissed off at His people, never Jesus! Now I now that because of the Trinity that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are the same Person. So technically, they are talking about all three. But what maddens me (if you think I’m overreacting, FYI this is a pet peeve of mine for whatever reason) is that they seem to limit God and Jesus to those attributes. I rarely ,if ever, hear a Protestant talk about how in the Gospel of John Jesus knocked over the moneychangers’ table. Sometimes the only time I hear them talk about the love of God is when they quote John 3:16.

NOTE: I always see this in the Evangelical/Pentecostal/Fundamentalist Protestants I hang out with (which is all of them lol). Lutherans/Presbyterians and other traditional Protestants I’ve never seen this with.

Your Thoughts?

You are correct in pointing out the differences in “Protestants” in your after note. As a Reformed person (Presby), I thank you for acknowledging this.

Another way you may want to look at it though, to see how we are all guilty of misunderstandings, is this is how some of those other protestants feel about the Catholic seeming overemphasis on Mary

 

[yellowbird]

I have more than not heard the speaker or minister say “Father God” over and over again. They seem to offer up their intentions more to Father God than Jesus. Also I don’t recall God referred to as “Father God” in the Bible.

I have a friend who does this. His prayer sounds like this:

Father God, I thank you for bringing us togther, Father God, and I ask you, Father God to please bless John, Father God, because he is sick, Father God, and I ask that you would also comfort his family, Father God, and give them peace, Father God, and I thank you, Father God for hearing our prayer. I ask this, Father God, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

I often wonder why he says Father God over and over again. I suppose it’s habit and nothing more… but still, it sounds as if he wants to remind God that he’s speaking to Him?

To the OP - as a former Evangelical - I totally agree w/ you. I only thought of Jesus… never God the Father or the Holy Sprit really. It’s been my experience as a Catholic that we focus on all three - which I like. Alot.

But I don’t think God minds that Evangelicals are totally “into” His Son. I wouldn’t take that away from them… I would just ADD that God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are worthy of our attention, worship, praise as well. And Mary is pretty cool too.

 

[bogeydogg]

I think we must draw some lines here.

First off there is a real heresy in certain protestant circles which preach a gospel of ‘Jesus Alone’ who have an understanding of God which is modalist in nature as well as practice. They teach that Jesus is God and that at any time Jesus acts toward us he will take on different roles be that as Father or Spirit but always as Jesus. I have even heard one minister on the radio refer to the Spirit as, “Jesus without His body.” That is heresy plain and simple and is peculiar to certain denominational stripes which also tend to be charismatic in their nature.

As far as being too focused on Jesus I don’t know if that is possible, however our understanding of God must always be trinitarian because because God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit in person but One in essence. As Augustine pointed out to call God Father, Son and Spirit is to refer to Him by Name because He is trinity.

I have not found that people who are squeemish about the holiness and wrath of God rather attribute those attributes to the Father rather than the Son, but find such things to be beneath God altogether. As such I have found these folks willing to say things like, “God is love” when what they mean is “Love is God” which also a heresy because it does violence to God’s nature by declaring one attribute better than the others… see Anselm for this argument.

As far as my personal life, though I am not Roman Catholic, I do believe in the Holy Catholic Church and that all the Saints are one in Christ as He is one in the Father. To that end I find denominational sniping to be unhelpful at its very best. I do pray to the Father Son and Spirit and I pray in Jesus’ Name specifically because we are so commanded by Jesus in the Gospels. However I have not found orthodox Christians of any denominational stripe who have “over stressed” the name of Jesus, and if your friends focus on Jesus to the exclusion of the Father and Spirit then you should pray for them in earnest desire that they not fall into modalism and away from the Catholic Faith.

God Bless

Ray

 

[MarysGirls]

I think we must draw some lines here.

First off there is a real heresy in certain protestant circles which preach a gospel of ‘Jesus Alone’ who have an understanding of God which is modalist in nature as well as practice. They teach that Jesus is God and that at any time Jesus acts toward us he will take on different roles be that as Father or Spirit but always as Jesus. I have even heard one minister on the radio refer to the Spirit as, “Jesus without His body.” That is heresy plain and simple and is peculiar to certain denominational stripes which also tend to be charismatic in their nature.

As far as being too focused on Jesus I don’t know if that is possible, however our understanding of God must always be trinitarian because because God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit in person but One in essence. As Augustine pointed out to call God Father, Son and Spirit is to refer to Him by Name because He is trinity.

I have not found that people who are squeemish about the holiness and wrath of God rather attribute those attributes to the Father rather than the Son, but find such things to be beneath God altogether. As such I have found these folks willing to say things like, “God is love” when what they mean is “Love is God” which also a heresy because it does violence to God’s nature by declaring one attribute better than the others… see Anselm for this argument.

As far as my personal life, though I am not Roman Catholic, I do believe in the Holy Catholic Church and that all the Saints are one in Christ as He is one in the Father. To that end I find denominational sniping to be unhelpful at its very best. I do pray to the Father Son and Spirit and I pray in Jesus’ Name specifically because we are so commanded by Jesus in the Gospels. However I have not found orthodox Christians of any denominational stripe who have “over stressed” the name of Jesus, and if your friends focus on Jesus to the exclusion of the Father and Spirit then you should pray for them in earnest desire that they not fall into modalism and away from the Catholic Faith.

God Bless

Ray

:clapping: Well said, Ray.

 

[Christalone]

I just saw this on the sideline of the forum and find it quite intriguing and interesting as it pertains to the OP

Our web outreach efforts are very effective, reaching millions of people around the globe with the Good News of Jesus Christ

This speaks volumes for those of you who are annoyed!!

 

[Christalone]

“In order to restore in the world the reign of Jesus Christ, nothing is as necessary as the holiness of the clergy.”
– Pope Pius X, writing on May 5, 1904 (from the article “Ecclesiastical Seminary”)

Wow the use of Jesus just keeps popping up all over the place as catholic quotes.

And again…
“Praised be Jesus Christ.”
– dying words of Johann von Nussbaum, professor of surgery, University of Munich; Consultant Surgeon General to the Bavarian military; life-long Catholic.

And yet again…
I firmly believe and know as certain that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, is in this Sacrament."
– Thomas Aquinas; philosopher, theologian, author, Doctor of the Church, patron of Catholic universities, colleges, and schools; on the Real Presence

This is 3 to 1 in favor of the catholic quotes. Is the Op annoyed that this forum uses Jesus atleast 75% of the time?

 

[TheWhoFreak]

“In order to restore in the world the reign of Jesus Christ, nothing is as necessary as the holiness of the clergy.”
– Pope Pius X, writing on May 5, 1904 (from the article “Ecclesiastical Seminary”)

Wow the use of Jesus just keeps popping up all over the place as catholic quotes.

And again…
“Praised be Jesus Christ.”
– dying words of Johann von Nussbaum, professor of surgery, University of Munich; Consultant Surgeon General to the Bavarian military; life-long Catholic.

And yet again…
I firmly believe and know as certain that Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, is in this Sacrament."
– Thomas Aquinas; philosopher, theologian, author, Doctor of the Church, patron of Catholic universities, colleges, and schools; on the Real Presence

This is 3 to 1 in favor of the catholic quotes. Is the Op annoyed that this forum uses Jesus atleast 75% of the time?

Christalone, in all honesty I think you are missing the point entirely, and you are doing it in a most magnificent display of ignorance/denial. My point was that certain Protestants only talk about Jesus Christ, and tend to leave out God and the Holy Spirit. I am not saying they are wrong for doing so, I’m just saying that it is a habit I disagree with it.

In other words: IT’S MY OWN OPINION!!!

If you disagree that’s fine, but I still have no idea where all your accusations of self-righteousness are coming from. And to your question in your above post, no I am not annoyed that 75% of the time this forum uses Jesus. Why? Because I know that they are also aware of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, and they give them credit where credit is due.

 

[Chris_LaRock]

I haven’t noticed this to the extreme you seem to have, but I get what you mean, kinda. A buddy of mine who was raised Methodist, went “non-denominational”, and is now leaning towards Presbyterian does this a lot. I’ll mention something about God, or say something like “God really knew what he was doing when He did this, eh?” and he’ll generally respond with “I dunno about that, but Jesus sure did!” which I usually just laughed off, but it does confuse me a bit.

Of course, I’ve seen Catholics do this as well. When I was in my Parish youth group, we went to the Franciscan University of Steubenville conference one year and different groups were throwing around the old “We love God, yes we do, we love God, how 'bout you?” chant. It got to one group, and they paused for a moment, all of them laughed, and they said, in unison “No, we love Jesus!” It was very strange.

Anyways, I figure that as long as they don’t deny the Trinity, people can call God by whatever one of His names they like.

Oh, and by the way, “God” and “Jesus” are not the same “person”. God is God, and within God there are three different Persons, one of whom is Jesus. But I get what you mean, I’m just poking fun:thumbsup:

That’s odd. Most Protestants I know recognize the fact that Jesus is both God and man.

 

[jean8]

I hope this doesn’t offend anybody, but something I’ve noticed about Protestants is that they have a slightly warped view of Jesus. I’m not saying that their God is different than the Catholic’s God, but I think that we view them vastly differently. Let me try to clarify that. When I hear Protestants talking about God’s love and mercy and kindness, they never mention God. Instead, they always say it’s Jesus’s kindness or Jesus’s mercy or Jesus’s love. But when they talk about God’s rage and anger and punishment, they never mention Jesus at all! It’s always God that gets angry and pissed off at His people, never Jesus! Now I now that because of the Trinity that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are the same Person. So technically, they are talking about all three. But what maddens me (if you think I’m overreacting, FYI this is a pet peeve of mine for whatever reason) is that they seem to limit God and Jesus to those attributes. I rarely ,if ever, hear a Protestant talk about how in the Gospel of John Jesus knocked over the moneychangers’ table. Sometimes the only time I hear them talk about the love of God is when they quote John 3:16.

NOTE: I always see this in the Evangelical/Pentecostal/Fundamentalist Protestants I hang out with (which is all of them lol). Lutherans/Presbyterians and other traditional Protestants I’ve never seen this with.

Your Thoughts?

The who,
I was really surprised at the onset of your post.
I think your problem is, you do not know much about the Trinity.
Jesus is God. Jn.8:58. Jn.1:1, Mt.1:23
The Holy Spirit is God. Acts 5:3-4 Gen.1:2. 1Cor.2:11
The Father is God. Gal.1:1 Phil. 1:2, Eph.1:3
Yet there is one God. Duet.6:4-5
Charismatic christians do get carried away about Jesus at times, but then, He does deserve the out pouring of praise and adoration, don’r you think?

God bless you,
jean

PS. Some Pentecoastals deny the Trinity. Pray for them.

 

[jean8]

That’s odd. Most Protestants I know recognize the fact that Jesus is both God and man.

I think your right. this is called the Hypostatic Union.

God bless,
jean

 

[Chris_LaRock]

I think your right. this is called the Hypostatic Union.

God bless,
jean

Some people focus on the Divinity, and overlook the humanity. Others focus on the humanity, and overlook the Divinity. Both are equally heretical. Both qualities are important.

“I will give to you living water.” Speaking from Divine nature.

“I thirst.” Speaking from human nature.

 

[O.S.Luke]

** Is anyone else annoyed at how much Protestants stress Jesus?**

This is a strange question coming from a Catholic - how could anyone stress Jesus more than a practicing Catholic who regularly receives the Body and Blood of Christ celebrated at a Mass?

O+