Eric Carpneter has an interesting post out this morning: A Pilgrim's Progress: A Different Kind of Protestant. Eric tackles the question of being "Protestant", an important question for those of us who are questioning the traditional church. The world divides the church into Catholic and Protestant (which probably bugs the Orthodox) but while I certainly don't have any affinity with Rome I also don't have much in common, at least in practice, with Protestantism these days. I find myself far more in tune with the Anabaptist stream of the church, the folks who were persecuted by Catholic and Protestant alike back in the day.
I am not sure I can be a Protestant at all. I am not "protesting" against Rome, I utterly reject Roman teaching and practices. I am not looking to "reform" the Roman church because I think it is irredeemable. In fact like Eric I often find myself protesting Protestantism!
Like so many others, I refuse to join the two camps that the world has drawn up for us and seek a third way, one that is less concerned with winning battles in the 16th century and more concerned with being faithful to a 1st century book about a 1st century Man who was God in the flesh and who created a new Kingdom and is forming a new people.
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