Friday, March 27, 2020

19th-century Protestants Rejecting pre-millennial eschatology as "Heresy" and "Dangerous"


In Protestantism, notwithstanding the common claim that Protestants agree on the “central” doctrines of the gospel and only have disagreements on non-essentials, there is no consistency therein. For example, most Lutherans, historically and in modern times, explicitly teach baptismal regeneration, but Reformed Baptists and others who believe such a teaching to be in error will not, when push comes to shove, argue that, from their perspective, Lutherans fall under the anathema of Gal 1:6-9, and Lutherans will follow suit, believing the Reformed Baptists and others to be in error, but not grave error, for rejecting this doctrine, notwithstanding this deals with justification, regeneration, and other central issues relating to salvation itself(!) I discuss this, in part, in Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura.

A historical example of Protestants condemning fellow Protestants over what modern Protestants claim to be a “non-essential” doctrine (as opposed to ignoring disagreement over a central doctrine) would be the Presbyterians and other major denominations believing pre-millennial eschatology to be dangerous and heretical. As Joseph Boot, himself a proponent of a-millennial eschatology, wrote the following about various condemnations of this doctrine in his native Canada in the 19th-century:

This doctrine horrified the leading evangelicals and Protestant churches in Ontario. Christian missionaries, like the Presbyterian Rev. James S. Douglas, sought to combat this millennial threat advancing the critical point that our view of the future impacts our activity in the present. For him, we must be, ‘up and doing,’ because Christ will only return when the gospel has been victorious and the nations disciplined. To sit still, purporting to interpret prophecy and waiting for the second advent, was unacceptable to such men. Neither could they accept a view that foresaw Christ returning twice—first to a ‘secret rapture’ of the church, and then a second time to a satanically-ruined history for the slaughter of his enemies with supernatural military power, forcibly setting up a literal world-state from Jerusalem. Such a view seemed to undermine the very essence of the gospel and the power of God manifest at the cross and in the giving of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task of teaching the nations. Douglas’ view was summarised by the Protestant periodical, Christian Guardian: “We therefore conclude that the Kingdom of Christ is a spiritual kingdom on earth, which is to be carried on through the instrumentality of God’s Holy Spirit . . . This is the plan laid down by Christ, and to be duly attended to by His church to enlarge and spread our messiah’s kingdom through the world” (William Westfall, Two Worlds: The Protestant Culture of Nineteenth Century Ontario [Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1989], 183). As Westfall demonstrates, these pre-millennial and dispensational movements were roundly condemned as heretical sects by the evangelical Protestant community in Ontario in all five of the main denominations (Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational), which he states all suffered under the millennial crusades. Because of this, Westfall notes that “their archives are filled with material on the outbreaks of what they regarded as a persistent and threatening heresy” (Ibid., 169). Of course the millennialists shared much in common with traditional Protestantism. Both believed in Christ’s reign (at some point), both held to his second coming and judgment. But as a key doctrine of cultural analysis reveals, “heresy gains power and authority because it is so close to what it tries to oppose” (Ibid., 170). (Joseph Boot, The Mission of God: A Manifesto of Hope for Society [London: Wilberforce Publications, 2016], 86)

Asking the question of why was “pre-millennialism seen as so dangerous, even heretical?” (ibid.), Boot writes:

It was not simply that Protestant theologians did not find adequate ground for it when interpreting Scripture (which they claimed they could no); they were looking at the fruit of these doctrines in the lives of people, and were often horrified by what they saw. Until this point, for much of Canada, hopes of a great Christian dominion developing across the North through the spread of the gospel were nurtured, as revealed by the founding text of the Canadian Dominion (Psalm 72:8). On Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the Parliament buildings remain testament to this Christian vision, most notably, the Peace Tower and the memorial Chamber, where Scripture is engraved everywhere, inside and out. But according to Westfall, the impact of these sects was very significant in undermining this vision . . . Of the broad effects of millennialism Westfall writes:

Millennialism had a devastating effect on the institutional structure of the Protestant churches, which bore the brunt of the onslaught . . . According to contemporary accounts the prospect of the end of the world caused many people to abandon the routines of their daily existence and adopt a watchful inactivity in secular and sacred affairs. The two problems were closely related—the millennial groups were able to disrupt religious institutions because they presented an interpretation of time that appealed to many people. By the same token the Protestant churches had to provide their own interpretation of time in order to stop the destruction caused by millennialism. (Ibid., 177) (Ibid., 86-87)

 So much for unity in essentials and liberty in non-essentials . . .