Apologetics

What is the gospel really, beyond just believing facts about Jesus?

A lot of people today believe in the gospel like it's a set of theological propositions: Christ is the incarnate God who died on the cross for their sins, resurrected on the third day,...

Why do Protestants seem more at peace than struggling Orthodox?

One of the Greek elders was asked about this. Protestant missionaries had come to Greece, and the Orthodox said, Elder, these missionaries seem very peaceful, whereas we Orthodox are...

Can a Christian lose their salvation?

A perfect example is Revelation 3 verse 5: he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life.

Is baptism just a symbol?

This is a consistent problem in modern Protestantism: differentiating the physical from the spiritual.

Don't Orthodox Christians follow man-made traditions instead of the Bible?

The idea that some Christian groups rely on tradition while yours doesn't is completely false. Number one, St Paul says the church is the pillar and ground of truth.

Why did the Orthodox and Catholic churches really split?

Apostolic succession versus papal authority is part of the equation, but it isn't the totality of it. A big part that gets missed is the Filioque, the modification of the Nicene Creed.

Why do Orthodox Christians kiss and bow to icons?

What conversations like this show is a prejudice against the position the church has historically taken, with no historical understanding that these positions have been in place for...

If Protestants all read the same Bible, why do they disagree so much?

Cliffe says that if any teaching contradicts the Bible, we're parting paths. Which is ironic, because moments earlier another of them was affirming the mystical presence of the body...

Should you argue with people who challenge your faith?

Christ didn't have just one way that he did everything. Sometimes he answered and sometimes he remained silent.

What is the real difference between Catholic and Orthodox?

That question would take an hour. What I will say is this: the Orthodox life of prayer and fasting does not happen anywhere outside the Orthodox Church.

Do Orthodox Christians worship icons?

It's very simple. If you go to an Orthodox church and see people venerating the icons, you understand very quickly that people are not worshipping the wood.

Why pray to saints and the Mother of God instead of going straight to Christ?

This is a nonsense question if you've read the Bible. In the Old Testament, people went to the prophets and asked for their intercession, and the prophets were a conduit for the grace...

Is communion really the body and blood of Christ?

First, look at what the scripture says. When Christ tells his followers they need to eat and drink his body and blood, some people are weirded out and stop following him.

What do Orthodox Christians believe about salvation?

This was a hard concept for me when I came to Orthodoxy. People don't realize the Reformers were presenting answers to Catholicism.

What does it mean to become like Christ?

St Peter says in his epistle that we are by grace what he is by nature. God is God by nature, capital G. We never participate in the Godhead. We never become capital G God.

What does the Orthodox Church think of ecumenism?

We would follow the words of Fr George Calciu, who said ecumenism is a super heresy. A lot of ecumenical dialogue is, "What do we have in common?" Well, that's not really our view.

What is the Filioque and why do Orthodox reject it?

The Orthodox view is that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The Roman Catholic view is that he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

How do I decide between Orthodoxy and Catholicism?

There are two standard answers I give. Number one, I always tell them to read the Orthodox saints.

Why hasn't the Orthodox Church changed in 2,000 years?

People say, oh, you think the Orthodox are better than Catholics. No, it has nothing to do with that.

Do Protestants today repeat ancient heresies without knowing it?

Yes, and usually without knowing it. There's nothing new under the sun: all those heresies about Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity keep repeating themselves over time.

Are Jews still God's chosen people according to Orthodoxy?

The heresy I address the most is this Christian Zionist heresy, which is a gross and disgusting heresy, one of the most damaging things to our country and to Christians in the Holy...

If Protestant denominations all disagree, are they describing the same Christ?

No, and that's the irony. If a Calvinist says Christ only died for some people and rejected everyone else, that is not the Jesus Christ we believe in, but it's not the Christ the...

Is the Holy Spirit still working miracles today?

Yes. I once met a local reformed pastor who told me, we're cessationists, we don't believe the Holy Spirit is working anymore.

Why do Orthodox call priests 'father' when Christ said call no man father?

Any time somebody sees people call me Father Moses, they quote, call no man father. But the context matters.

What convinced you that sola scriptura is wrong?

When I was about 24, in college, I took a class on Eastern Orthodoxy and church history, and the process was deeply unsettling, because I realized what I believed was not in line with...

Do Orthodox Christians know if they're saved?

With the Orthodox view of judgment, you're basically saying: I don't know what's going to happen until I die. People hate that. They say, well, am I saved or not?

Why do Orthodox Christians call priests 'father' when Jesus said call no man father?

I made a satire about exactly this. If we take the King James rendering of 'call no man father' with that kind of literalism, then every year millions of American Christians who cannot...

Why do Orthodox Christians pray to saints instead of just God?

People come to the Orthodox and say, why do you pray to saints? I could not become Orthodox because I have a hang-up about praying to saints.

Can't I just go directly to God without saints?

People presuppose, well, I can go directly to God. Okay, you can go directly to God. But is that what people did in the Old Testament? No.

Are the saints in heaven aware of us and able to pray for us?

Many people make the argument that the saints are no longer with us, unable to intercede for us, no longer able to pray for us or work miracles.

What do the saints in heaven actually do before God?

The whole understanding of the saints is that they minister before the throne of God, which we read in the book of Revelation.

Isn't it enough to just pray for myself?

This is where people begin to say, oh, I can just pray for myself, even if there is a cloud of witnesses. That is not what James teaches in his epistle, chapter 5.

How is the Orthodox view of salvation different from being 'saved' in Protestantism?

The term salvation in the West is very loaded, because it has to do with a juridical decree. The understanding in the West is that our relationship with God is one of judge, jury,...

What is the Orthodox answer to sola scriptura?

When Christ established the church, there was no scripture for 300 years. The New Testament was not codified for 300 years. Not 50 years, not 30 years, 300 years.

If Jesus paid my debt, am I automatically going to heaven?

So many people today see God in a juridical way. They think they had a debt, it was wiped out by Christ on the cross, and now they are good to go no matter what for the rest of...

Can I have all the right theology and still not be saved?

Look at the Gospel. Christ preaches to harlots, thieves, fishermen, and the religious class. The great irony is that it is the religious class, the people who think they have it all...

Is penal substitutionary atonement heretical?

A lot of Protestants believe that the Father bore his wrath out on the Son. The question becomes: is there now a separation in the Trinity?