Bill Rhetts (@BRhetts)

I’m thankful to be in a safe place today. But I believe a majority of churches in America that claim to be “protestant” are not. I also believe a majority of churches that claim to be “reformed” are not. While working on another article for my “What Is’ series, I pondered (got sidetracked) on the lack of true Protestantism. With so many professing Christians today making a god out of their political party and/or nation, this is providential. . “The Protestant Principle. A phrase popularized by Paul Tillich. It is a commentary on the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me,” a protest against idolatry, or the worship of “false gods.” The human temptation is always to worship as absolute that which is only relative (political party, nation, church), thus rendering it a rival “god” to the true God.” P. Tillich, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (1963); and The Protestant Era (1948). ROBERT MCAFEE BROWN Robert McAfee Brown, “Protestant Principle,” in Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith (Louisville, KY; Edinburgh: Westminster/John Knox Press; Saint Andrew Press, 1992), 305.