THE LUTHERAN-MODERNIST EMOTIONALISM: ITS DESTRUCTIVE IMPACT ON FAITH AND CHRISTIAN ORDER

 

INTRODUCTION

Emotionalism, understood as the disordered exaltation of subjective experience in religious life, has deep roots in Luther’s doctrinal rupture and is consolidated through modern philosophies inspiring theological modernism. This phenomenon not only corrupts the faith but also disintegrates the social and political order founded on Christian principles. This article examines the destructive impact of emotionalism on spiritual, doctrinal, and political spheres, and proposes a restoration based on Catholic Tradition.

LUTHERAN EMOTIONALISM AND RELIGIOUS SUBJECTIVISM

Luther’s Protestant rupture marked a radical dissociation between faith and reason. By proclaiming sola fide and sola scriptura, Luther reduced faith to a subjective act of personal trust, detached from good works, sacramental mediation, and the Church’s authority.

The rejection of the objectivity of faith and the replacement of ecclesial authority with private interpretation of Scripture established a religious subjectivism that fragmented the doctrinal and social unity of Christendom. In this model, salvation is based solely on a “feeling of trust” rather than adherence to revealed truths lived within the Church.

In the political sphere, the Lutheran rupture subordinated religion to temporal power, fostering the rise of the modern state and the progressive secularization of society. This process stripped political order of its divine foundation and led to the proliferation of ideologies based on human autonomy.

MODERNISM AS THE HEIR OF LUTHERAN EMOTIONALISM

Modernism, defined as the tendency to reinterpret faith according to modern philosophical principles, is a direct continuation of the religious subjectivism initiated by Luther. Like Protestantism, modernism turns faith into a personal experience detached from objective truth, opening the door to relativism.

The main characteristics of modernism include the exaltation of individual religious experience as the criterion of truth, the denial of the immutability of dogmas, and the subordination of divine Revelation to human consciousness. From this perspective, dogma is no longer the expression of an eternal truth but a symbolic construction evolving with human needs.

These ideas have weakened the Church’s authority and introduced profound doctrinal confusion. Objective and supernatural faith is replaced by an anthropocentric sentimentalism that seeks to please man rather than glorify God.

THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF EMOTIONALISM AND MODERNISM

Emotionalism and modernism affect not only faith but also the social and political order. Religious subjectivism extends into the legal and political spheres, promoting the dissolution of a system based on natural and divine law.

In the legal realm, these currents foster a legislative relativism where laws are governed by the changing will of majorities, rather than seeking the common good according to universal principles. This has contributed to the destruction of natural community bonds such as family, parishes, and nations.

The anthropocentrism inherent in modernism denies God’s sovereignty in the political sphere and favors the establishment of a secular order centered on man. This secularization process has stripped society of its transcendent dimension, leading to the dominance of materialism and utilitarianism.

PROPOSAL FOR RESTORATION BASED ON TRADITION

To counteract the destructive impact of Lutheran-modernist emotionalism, a return to the immutable principles of Catholic Tradition is necessary.

First, it is essential to restore the spiritual and doctrinal unity of the Church, reaffirming the authority of the Magisterium and fidelity to traditional teaching. The Catholic faith cannot be adapted to the trends of the modern world but must be lived and defended in its integrity.

Second, the political and legal order must be re-founded on natural and divine law, recognizing that all legitimate authority comes from God. Laws must be oriented toward the common good and conform to objective truth.

Finally, the reconstruction of Christendom requires a collective effort to restore a social order where Christ is recognized as King. This ideal is not a utopia but the foundation upon which true Christian civilization was built.

CONCLUSION

Lutheran-modernist emotionalism has wreaked havoc both in the Church and in society. Its exaltation of subjectivity destroys objective faith and disintegrates the political order based on Christian principles. The solution to this crisis does not lie in adapting to the spirit of the world but in returning to the sources of Tradition.

Only a return to natural law, perennial doctrine, and the sovereignty of Christ can restore the order destroyed by subjectivism and relativism. True reform is one that, in the words of the saints, seeks to “restore all things in Christ.”

OMO

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907).

2. Commonitorium, St. Vincent of Lérins.

3. Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas.

4. Cornelio Fabro, entry “Modernism” in the Enciclopedia Cattolica.

5. Ernst von Lasaulx, Über die Verfassungsformen der Kirche.

6. Miguel Ayuso, El estado en su laberinto.