ÿþ<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Holy Trinity Reformed Evangelical Church</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> <!-- p {text-indent: .25in} --> </style> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="snow" TEXT="saddlebrown" LINK="saddlebrown" VLINK="saddlebrown" ALINK="saddlebrown"> <H1 ALIGN="CENTER"<b>H&nbsp;&nbsp; o&nbsp;&nbsp; l&nbsp;&nbsp; y&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; T&nbsp;&nbsp; r&nbsp;&nbsp; i&nbsp;&nbsp; n&nbsp;&nbsp; i&nbsp;&nbsp; t&nbsp;&nbsp; y</b></H1> <CENTER> <HR SIZE=4 WIDTH="100%" ALIGN=CENTER> <IMG SRC="churchgreen.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="redorange"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <IMG SRC="river.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="river"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <IMG SRC="dtgreenville.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="dtgreenville"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <IMG SRC="eppingforest.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="eppingforest"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <IMG SRC="earth.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="earth"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <IMG SRC="eye.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="eye"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <IMG SRC="churchgreen.jpg" HEIGHT="85" WIDTH="125" ALT="redorange"> </CENTER> <HR SIZE=4 WIDTH="100%" ALIGN=CENTER> <br> <center> <u> <a href="http://holytrinityreformed.com/New Church.html" title="home" >new church</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://holytrinityreformed.com/worship.html" title="worship" >worship</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://holytrinityreformed.com/creeds.html" title="creeds" >creeds</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://holytrinityreformed.com/links.html" title="links" >links</a> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://holytrinityreformed.com/contact.html" title="Contact us" >contact us</a> </u> </center> <br> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="saddlebrown"><CENTER> PROTESTANTS AND BLESSED MARY EVER VIRGIN</FONT> <br> <br> <center><table cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="900"> <tr><td align="right" valign="top" width="200"> <IMG SRC="churchgreen.jpg" HEIGHT="905" WIDTH="150" ALT="churchgreen"> <td align="left" valign="top" width="500"> <FONT SIZE="5">Protestants and BMEV</FONT SIZE><BR> By James Jordan<BR> <p>For years I have read little posts by fresh new Papal converts that assert that Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, etc., believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary. So did Turretin. Setting aside the question of whether these men believed that this notion was important or not  and Calvin, at least, is clear that it is not important one way or another  we might ask just what is the point? Evidently this information is offered to score points, or as a way of beginning to proselytize.  <p>I imagine that some unlearned or unthinking persons might be impressed by this argument, but nobody who knows much about the Reformation would be. Let us consider what else these men believed, and ask our youthful Papists if they go along with them. <p>1. Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Tertullian, etc., all believed that the Man of Sin in 2 Thessalonians 2 is the Pope and that the Whore Babylon in Revelation 17 is the Papal Church. Not only did the Protestants of the first couple of centuries after the Reformation believe these things, but they wrote them into their confessions. BMEV (Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin) did not make it into the Protestant confessions, evidently not considered very important or necessary. But the Pope as Antichrist did make it into the confessions. This was considered very important and necessary.  <p>2. All these men also denied the Lord s Supper, Holy Communion, to children. This error made it into the Westminster Larger Catechism.  <p>So, now we can ask if our young Romanists want to defend these two ideas, especially #1.  <p>In fact, these Reformers were wrong on all three counts. The Man of Sin and the Harlot Babylon are clearly stated in the text to be phenomena of the Apostolic Age. There is no Antichrist in the Bible, only antichrists (plural). The Reformers and their followers were wrong about this, and their confessions are in error. <p>There is absolutely no hint in the Bible that baptized children are to be denied the Lord s Supper. The Reformers were dead wrong on this matter. <p>Finally, the Bible is clear that Joseph and Mary had sexual relations and children. The men listed above were quite wrong about this, though none evidently thought it important enough to put into their confessions.  <p>In conclusion, the answer to young Papal bloggers is simple: So what? The Reformers erred in a number of areas. We have long since moved past these errors. <br> <br>Biblical Horizons <br>P.O. Box 1096 <br>Niceville, FL 32588 <br>850-897-5299 <br> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.biblicalhorizons.com">Biblical Horizons Website</a> <br> <a target="_blank" href="http://biblicalhorizons.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/protestants-and-bmev/">Biblical Horizons Blog</a> </td> <td <td align="left" valign="top" width="200"> <IMG SRC="tableset.jpg" HEIGHT="150" WIDTH="190" ALT="table"> <br> <FONT SIZE="4">Christ came into the world to be the Life of the world. Holy Trinity Church exists to bring that same life to Greenville, South Carolina.</FONT> <br> Location:<br> We meet at Zoar United Methodist Church at 1005 Hwy 357 in Greer, SC. <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Zoar+United+Methodist+Church,+Greer,+SC&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=42.495706,92.724609&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=r1" title="map" >Here is a map</a> of where we meet. <br> <br> <b>Suggested Resources</b> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.holytrinityreformed.com/Mary's Unbelief.htm">Mary's Unbelief</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.holytrinityreformed.com/Blessed Mary Ever Virgin.html">Blessed Mary Ever Virgin</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.holytrinityreformed.com/More Thoughts on BMEV.htm">More Thoughts on BMEV</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.holytrinityreformed.com/The Impending Distress.htm">The Impending Distress and Enforced Celibacy</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.canonpress.org/store/pc/showsearchresults.asp?pageStyle=H&resultCnt=9&keyword=shape+of+sola+scriptura">The Shape of Sola Scriptura</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.cmfnow.com/dvd-areromancatholicsmembersofthenewcovenant.aspx">Are Roman Catholics Members of the New Covenant? (Debate)</a> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Examination-Council-Trent-Part-I/dp/057003213X">Examination of the Council of Trent</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.exodusbooks.com/details.aspx?id=3343">Putting the Reformation Solas in Perspective</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592446787/103-4416146-6354253?v=glance&n=2 83155">The Principle of Protestantism</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.athanasiuspress.org/inventory.html?invid=71">The Liturgy Trap</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.reformed.org/misc/hodge_catholic.html">Is Rome a Part of the Visible Church?</a> <br> <br><a target="_blank" href="http://www.faithtacoma.org/sermons/Romancath/roman.html">Robert Rayburn on Roman Catholicism</a> </table></center> </BODY> </HTML>