The Orthodox-faith View of Church History

**The Orthodox-faith View of Church History**(The Orthodox-faith Historiography), also known as the Reformed-faith Historiography(Reformed-faith View of Church History), is a field of historical theology first proposed by Professor Ha Seung-moo. This methodology interprets church history based on the salvific confession of faith that inherited the beliefs of the early church and is grounded in the Bible. It seeks a coherent historical context that spans the past, the present, and the future until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

## Overview

Ha Seung-moo's historiography critically examines and critiques existing methodologies for interpreting church history, including Roman Catholic Historiography, Reformed Church Historiography, and Protestantism Historiography, which are all based on humanism. It operates on the premise that the interpretation of church history must be based on the Bible and the salvific confession of faith of the early church.
It also criticizes historical interpretations that do not align with the absolute divine authority stated in the Bible and rejects interpretations that lack coherence with the broader context of church history. Therefore, traditional church organizations, institutions, and various historical doctrines or legacies that do not align with the Bible and the salvific confession of faith of the early church cannot serve as a standard or basis for interpreting church history.

## Key Features

- Bible-Centric(sola scriptura): It regards the Bible as the most authoritative source of Christian faith and interprets history according to the principles and teachings stated in the Bible.
- Emphasis on the Biblical Purity of Doctrine: It affirms the traditional theology that extends from Augustine and Calvin, who inherited the faith of the early church and the apostolic tradition, while rejecting historical interpretations that run contrary to this view.
- Respect for Biblical Church Tradition: It honors the church traditions that have inherited the faith of the early church and the apostolic tradition, viewing them as a legacy for interpreting history.
- Focus on the Sovereignty of God: It understands history as a process that unfolds under God's sovereign providence and pays attention to how God's purposes are fulfilled within history.
- Soteriological Perspective: It clarifies how God's plan of salvation is revealed in history and interprets history from the perspective of humanity's sin and salvation.
- Emphasis on the Continuity and Importance of Historical Faith: It emphasizes that Christian faith, which has inherited the beliefs of the early church, is not an artificial organization, institution, legacy, or tradition. Instead, it highlights the continuity and importance of the preservation of the truth of salvation, God's providence, and sovereign thought throughout history.
- Christ-Centered View of the Church: The purpose of studying church history is to focus on the saving work of Jesus Christ and the essence of the church.
- Biblical Historiography: It states that the purpose of church history is to use a Christ-centered salvific confession of faith based on the Bible as the standard for interpreting church history, emphasizing interpretation from the perspective of Christ's saving work.

## Research Characteristics

- A Christ-centered 'soteriological confession of faith', based on the Bible's 'self-evidence principle,' must be the standard for interpreting church history.
- Artificial authorities such as church organizations, institutions, positions, or hierarchies should not be the center of church history interpretation.
- The tradition of church organizations and institutions has 'legitimacy' only when it aligns with the confession of faith and the faith tradition verified by the soteriological confession of faith.
- Historical themes of the church must be explored and verified by aligning with the essential principles of historical interpretation, using the historical-grammatical method of the Reformer John Calvin, which inherited the tradition of biblical interpretation.
- The 16th-century Reformation, which inherited the historical Reformation, was achieved and completed by Calvin. (The 16th-century Reformation was not Martin Luther's Reformation.)
- It rejects modern historical interpretations that define the Lutheran-centered Reformation, which sought to reform the internal structure of the then-Catholic Church, as the entire 16th-century Reformation. This interpretation has devolved into Roman Catholicism, as it is not a direct inheritance of the historical Reformation. It also rejects other non-Reformation factions and those who are directly or indirectly unrelated to the 16th-century Reformation, who have separated from the historical Catholic Church.
- It accepts Calvin's Reformed theology as the sole theological heir, inheriting the faith confession of the early church and the apostolic faith tradition, rather than viewing it as merely a theological distinction within the broader concept of.

## Reformed theology(Revised Theological Concept)

Representative Concepts Revised by the Orthodox-faith Historiography
- Roman Catholic: Defined as a Christian denomination that has strayed from or separated from the historical Catholic Church.

- Protestant: It is defined as a fabricated term from the perspective of the 'Roman Catholic Church' and humanistic secular history. This term completely disregards the historical facts and context of the time. It was used to describe the Lutheran faction, formed by Luther, who sought to reform the internal structure of the Catholic Church (the papacy). This is completely unrelated to the faith of the historical Reformers, who called for a return to the orthodox faith (or reformed faith/confession of faith).
- Professor Ha Seung-moo defines denominations that branched off from the Lutheran faction, which are not directly or indirectly related to the Reformed Church(the Orthodox Christian Church completed by Calvin), and other denominations that arose from the influence of these splinter groups. The confusion of language distorts concepts and causes errors in interpretation.
- Therefore, Professor Ha Seung-moo defines the church that inherits the ideology and spirit of the Reformation, "the reformed church is always to be reformed" (ecclesia reformata quia semper reformanda est), as the 'Orthodox Church' or 'Reformed Church'. Thus, the definition of Protestant includes the Lutheran Church and other denominations that formed faith communities not directly or indirectly related to the 16th-century Reformation. Examples include denominations that branched off from the 'Roman Catholic' Church, such as the 'Anglican Church,' which then led to the 'Baptist Church,' the 'Methodist Church,' and the 'Pentecostal Church' (Assemblies of God). This definition also includes newly emerging denominations directly or indirectly related to these groups and those that arose independently.

## Sources

- Korea Presbyterian Theological Seminary. "Church History knowledge and Overcoming Existing Church History"(2012. KPTS Open Seminar Special Lecture Paper, Publisher: KPTS PRESS)

## See also

- John Calvin
- Ha Seung-Moo