This past Sunday was the feastday of Pentecost (see Acts 2). Protestants and Orthodox Christians celebrate Pentecost in quite different manners. Many Protestant churches festoon their sanctuaries with bright red balloons. Once I was visiting a friend’s church and witnessed red balloons cascading from the balcony onto the congregants below. Orthodox churches celebrate Pentecost with a Vespers service where the entire congregation kneel during the three lengthy…
This article is the fourth of a four part series in response to James White’s 13 April 2017 podcast: “Can a Consistent Eastern Orthodox Believer Be the Bible Answer Man?” For my previous responses, please see: “Response to James White” (1 of 4), (2 of 4) and (3 of 4). The purpose of these articles is not to defend Hank Hanegraaff, but to promote good reasoning and courteous interaction between Protestants and Orthodox.…
This article is the third of a four part series in response to James White’s 13 April 2017 podcast: “Can a Consistent Eastern Orthodox Believer Be the Bible Answer Man?” For my previous responses, please see: “Response to James White” (1 of 4) and (2 of 4). The purpose of these articles is not to defend Hank Hanegraaff, but to promote good reasoning and courteous interaction between Protestants and Orthodox. Why…
This article is a continuation of “Response to James White – Part 1 of 4.” Loaded Words At the 2:55 mark, James White refers to sola fide and sola scriptura as “fundamental beliefs.” Here he uses a phrase filled with good feeling words. This can lead the listener to think that these are basic beliefs held by all Christians universally from Day One. This claim needs to be substantiated by historical…
As I listened to James White’s 13 April 2017 podcast “Can a Consistent Eastern Orthodox Christian Be the Bible Answer Man?,” I was struck by the numerous fallacies that so often mar Protestant critiques of Orthodoxy. The quotes below are organized topically, not chronologically. The intent here is to promote good reasoning and courteous interaction in Protestant-Orthodox dialogue. Please see my earlier posting: “How NOT to Do Anti-Orthodox Apologetics” for a…
Towards Better Protestant-Orthodox Dialogue Hank Hanegraaff’s recent conversion to Orthodoxy has stirred up quite a reaction, most notably among Protestants. It is not surprising that Protestants would criticize Orthodoxy. However, what is dismaying is the poor logic employed in their critique of Orthodoxy. Below are some examples of the poor reasoning often found in Protestant critiques of Orthodoxy. The aim here is not to defend Mr. Hanegraaff, but rather to point…
A Reply to Dr. Peter Leithart’s “How the Reformation Failed.” Reverend Leithart writes: The Reformers did not start out with a plan to establish separated churches. Their goal was to reform the entire Latin church. In this they failed…. Some have charged that the Reformers were willing to split the church because they had little interest in visible unity, but that is false. All the Reformers and all Protestant confessions stressed the unity and catholicity…