This list represents doctrinal elements believed by most protestant churches and their origin.

1. The Bible (Sola Scriptura)

   • Doctrine: The belief that the Bible is the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice, without the co-equal authority of Sacred Tradition or the Magisterium.

   • Origin: This principle, one of the "Five Solas," was a foundational tenet articulated by Martin Luther in the early 16th century. A defining moment was his declaration at the Diet of Worms in 1521, where he stated he was bound by Scripture and plain reason.

2. The Holy Spirit (Cessationism of certain miraculous gifts)

   • Doctrine: The belief that "Some gifts of the Holy Spirit, however, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of miraculous healing, were given to certain individuals as authenticating signs for the early church... and not as final evidence of God’s presence... nor as confirmations of a “second blessing” or subsequent filling of the Spirit."

   • Origin: This view, known as cessationism, began to be articulated within Reformed theology during the 16th century, notably by John Calvin (e.g., in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, first published 1536), partly in response to claims of ongoing miracles in the Roman Catholic Church.

3. Man (Total Depravity as a formalized doctrine)

   • Doctrine: The emphasis that "Man can do nothing to merit God’s favor" and that "mankind’s sinful nature is rebellious toward God," aligning with the doctrine of Total Depravity. This asserts that sin corrupts every part of human nature, rendering humans incapable of saving themselves or doing spiritual good apart from grace.

   • Origin: While the concept of humanity's fallenness is ancient, the formal doctrine of Total Depravity was a central tenet of the Protestant Reformation, strongly affirmed by Martin Luther and John Calvin in the 16th century. It was later formalized in Reformed confessions like the Canons of Dort (1618-1619), which further clarified the Reformed position against Arminianism.

4. Salvation (Sola Fide - Justification by Faith Alone)

   • Doctrine: The belief that "man is justified by grace through faith apart from works." This is the doctrine of Sola Fide (faith alone).

   • Origin: This is the theological cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation, famously championed by Martin Luther in the early 16th century. His "discovery" of this doctrine is often associated with his theological breakthroughs around 1515-1517, leading to his challenge of indulgences and subsequent theological development.

5. The Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper (as symbolic ordinances, and Believer's Baptism)

   • Doctrine: The understanding of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as "ordinances" (rather than sacraments that convey grace) and as primarily symbolic acts.

   • Origin: This reinterpretation of the rites, emphasizing their symbolic nature, was a defining characteristic of the Protestant Reformation. Huldrych Zwingli, for example, prominently articulated a symbolic view of the Lord's Supper (Eucharist) in his "Sixty-Seven Articles" in 1523 and further in The Eucharist in 1525.

   • Doctrine: The belief that infants "should not be baptized until they can personally articulate their faith and the purpose of baptism" (i.e., Believer's Baptism and the rejection of infant baptism).

   • Origin: This was a core tenet of the Anabaptist movement, which emerged in the early 16th century. The first recorded adult baptisms by Conrad Grebel and George Blaurock in Zurich in 1525 marked the formal beginning of this practice.

6. The Church (Emphasis on spiritual organism, voluntarily joined local churches)

   • Doctrine: The emphasis on the Church as primarily a "spiritual organism, made up of all born-again persons," and the understanding of the local church as an "assembly of professed believers... voluntarily joined together."

   • Origin: While the concept of the Body of Christ is ancient, the Reformation (16th century) shifted emphasis away from the visible, hierarchical, and sacramental institution (as understood by Catholicism) towards a more spiritual and often congregational understanding of the Church's nature and governance. This was a direct consequence of the Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide principles, leading to diverse Protestant church polities.

Doctrines Originating Later (Post-Reformation)

These doctrines represent developments within Protestantism that occurred after the initial 16th-century Reformation period:

1. Salvation (Perseverance of the Saints / Eternal Security)

   • Doctrine: The belief that "all true believers elect of God, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever."

   • Origin: While building on Augustine's concept of perseverance (5th century), the specific Calvinist formulation emphasizing the assurance of salvation for the genuinely regenerate was systematized by John Calvin in the 16th century (e.g., Institutes of the Christian Religion). However, it was formally codified in response to Arminianism at the Synod of Dort (1618-1619). The term "eternal security" itself became more common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within some Evangelical groups (e.g., "security of the believers" in 1873, "eternal security" in 1913).

2. Man (Emphasis on "conscious and personal decision" for salvation)

   • Doctrine: The belief that "no one is saved apart from a conscious and personal decision to trust in Christ as his or her one and only Savior."

   • Origin: While conversion is ancient, the strong emphasis on a single, explicit "decision" or "acceptance" as the moment of salvation became particularly prominent in Evangelical Protestantism during the Great Awakenings (18th-19th centuries), driven by revivalist movements and continues to be central to many evangelical expressions today.

3. Man (Specific articulation on marriage, sex, and gender)

   • Doctrine: The belief that "decisions to change, alter, or modify God’s will in marriage, sex, or gender are part of man’s brokenness and lead to despair."

   • Origin: While based on ancient Christian principles of marriage and sexuality, this specific, direct, and explicit phrasing addressing modern concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation is a prominent articulation within conservative Protestantism that gained widespread inclusion in statements of faith primarily in the late 20th and 21st centuries, in response to contemporary societal changes.

4. The Church (Distinct from Israel - Dispensationalism)

   • Doctrine: The belief that "the Church is distinct from Israel."

   • Origin: This is a core tenet of Dispensationalism, a theological system that was formally developed and popularized by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren in the mid-19th century (around the 1830s-1840s).

5. The End Times (Pre-Tribulation Rapture and Literal Millennium)

   • Doctrine: The belief in "the rapture of the church" (especially pre-tribulation) and a literal millennial kingdom on earth.

   • Origin: These specific eschatological tenets are hallmarks of Dispensationalism, a theological system that was formally developed and popularized in the 19th century (John Nelson Darby, 1830s-1840s). While some earlier figures might have had proto-dispensational ideas, this distinct sequence is a post-Reformation development.