“Semper Reformanda! WE are continuing in the true spirit of the reformation! Not YOU bozos who refuse to ditch your man-made confessions and traditions!”
Heretical groups like to utilize the reformation slogan “Semper Reformanda” as some sort of approval to the fact that they have grossly departed from essential, historic, Christian doctrine.
Should it surprise anyone that groups, like the hyper/full preterists, that have distorted essential doctrine will distort slogans as well?
“Semper Reformanda” never carried with it the idea that the church needs to start all over from scratch every 100 years or so and ditch everything. “Always to be reformed” was the acknowledgement that because we are fallible creatures, we always tend to wander. We wander in doctrine. We wander in practice. We constantly have to be called back (reformed) to the essentials.
The Protestant Reformation was not a call to abandon any and all historic doctrines for the latest “new and innovative” speculations of a few german and dutch folk. It called attention to the fact that the church, at that time, had grossly wandered from a faith that had been long established. It was a return; not a ditch.
Ironically, the slogan condemns heretical groups like hyper preterists. Nothing demonstrates our tendency to wander better than the spectacle we see in that movement…a half-baked system that has toppled darn near every single doctrine the historic Christian church has held, including Max King’s (pioneer) recent denial of the Trinity.
Yes…I’m with you. Shout Semper Reformanda from the rooftops! And flee from your foolishness.