Evangelical Apologist Hank Hanegraaff Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy

religiousresearcher.org ^ | 4-10-2017 | Rob Bowman

[fishtank]

Evangelical Apologist Hank Hanegraaff Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy

Posted by: Rob Bowman

On Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017, Hank Hanegraaff formally joined the Orthodox Church. Since 1989 Hanegraaff has been the President of the Christian Research Institute (CRI) and (since ca. 1992) the host of CRI’s Bible Answer Man radio program.[1] Hank, his wife Kathy, and two of their twelve children were inducted by a sacramental rite called chrismation into the Orthodox faith at St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, near where CRI is based. In chrismation, a baptized individual is anointed with oil in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.[2]

[Mark17]

Let me add a hearty amen.

[Mark17]

It appears to me that some people have difficulty figuring out the difference between doing good works to obtain salvation, and doing good works BECAUSE of salvation. Actually, it’s a very simple concept. Even a 5 year old can understand it. I wonder why so many adults don’t get it? Spiritual blindness maybe?

[ealgeone]

Amen, bro.

[boatbums]

It actually is a spiritual blindness - one that is inherent in ALL religions that place the burden upon the person to merit the end result. It doesn't matter if that end is Paradise, Heaven, Nirvana, god-consciousness or Happy Hunting grounds, man made religions all make the reward conditional upon the man/woman working for it and deserving of it. Sad to say, there are many "Christian" groups (Christian in that they claim to follow Jesus Christ) that assert one MUST earn salvation by works of righteousness, obedience, works of "charity", and any number of whatever the powers in place determine is required. This makes ALL religions the total opposite of genuine Christianity. Because it is NOT what we must do for God but what He has done for us. He saves us by His grace THROUGH faith and not by our deeds.

Grace means undeserved, unmerited, not worked for. It is by faith that Abraham was declared righteous and it has always been so. A holy life is what results from the new spiritual birth - not the cause of it.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:4,5)

[Mark17]

Good evening. It is 11:25 AM, Good Friday morning here, though I do not consider one day, any more or less important, than any other day. When I was a Catholic, I thought Sunday was more important. Now, in Christ, everyday is Christmas, and everyday is Easter. Oh yes, I no longer eat fish on Friday. 🐠🐬🐟🐳🐡

[af_vet_1981]

Works, works, works ...

These are the works. Notice the Messiah does not ask who believed in Him. Calvinism is not the criteria.



When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Matthew, Catholic chapter twenty five, Protestant verses thirty one to forty six,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James

[vladimir998]

“It’s nothing to do with libertarianism, but you are correct about it being American.”

I didn’t say it was about “libertarianism”. I said “This appeals to the innate libertarian streak many Americans have...”

[Mark17]

Agree. You know, I figure if Mankind were to create a religion, true Biblical Christianity, would be the last thing on earth that they would create. Mankind would create a works based religion, that would glorify himself, and not God.
In fact, mankind HAS created religions, lots of them. If any of them emphasize something other than good works, to reach Heaven, or Paradise, or whatever they call it, I would like to hear about it.
Christianity, on the other hand, forces one to admit they are totally, 100%, morally bankrupt, and deserve the fires of Hell. A lot of people don't want to admit that.

[Mark17]

Hey bro, I don’t read blue posts. Try again.

[ifinnegan]

And I said it has nothing to do with libertarianism, eg innate libertarianism of Americans.

Zero.

Independent is not the same as libertarian. You’re using the wrong term is what I’m saying.

[vladimir998]

Libertarian streak is not the same thing as libertarianism. And a libertarian streak is exactly what I meant.

Look at the second definition here: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=libertarian

https://www.gotquestions.org/libertarian-free-will.html

[ifinnegan]

I don’t disagree with your statements, I am saying it is wrong.

Independent streak would be appropriate.

Libertarian doesn’t describe it.

[boatbums]

Works, works, works ... These are the works. Notice the Messiah does not ask who believed in Him. Calvinism is not the criteria.

No, no, no. I wonder if you stop to consider a few points about that passage of Jesus' words?

Point 1: Those being judged were ALREADY either sheep or goats. The judgment wasn't to turn them into one or the other but to separate them.

Point 2: This final judgment takes place AFTER the Tribulation. The Judgment seat of Christ has already happened.

Point 3: Those who were the "sheep" didn't knowingly do their good works for those who were hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or imprisoned - they were the natural actions of spirit-led believers who lived holy, obedient lives out of gratitude for God's grace.

Point 4: Those who were the "goats" didn't knowingly NOT minister to the lowly. They treated everyone the same because their hearts were evil and unregenerated by the Holy Spirit. They did not accept the grace of God. They probably were like that other group Jesus spoke about in Matthew 7 who on the day of judgment wailed, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?", and to whom Jesus said, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.". They LACKED saving faith and the works they did were in their own power to establish their own righteousness instead of receiving the righteousness of Christ which is by faith.

The Messiah didn't have to ask who believed in Him, He already knew. I marvel when people quote passages such as this as if it contradicts the multitude of verses that say we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. Scripture doesn't contradict itself - one just needs to read what God says in context and in view of the rest of Divinely-revealed Scripture.

[boatbums]

Yep! Spiritual blindness as well as spiritual pride and all from those who are spiritually dead.

[vladimir998]

“Independent streak would be appropriate.”

No.

“Libertarian doesn’t describe it.”

Yes, it does. What doesn’t is libertarianism - which is what you were erroneously saying. I, on the other hand, not only used the correct word, but used it correctly. What you’re saying is that I used the incorrect word to describe my own thought on a matter and you did so using a different word (”libertarianism”) with a different meaning.

[Mark17]

Preach it sister. Yes, the goats standing before God, are not there to determine whether they are going to Heaven or Hell. I think it is to determine the amount of punishment they will get in Hell. What a terrifying moment for millions, all spiritually dead. Some having created false, works based religions. Others, followers of the same. Again, we are not discussing brain surgery here. It REALLY is simple, but so simple, that only spiritually alive people can figure it out. You can take that to the bank. 💰

[ifinnegan]

Thanks.

I think you’ve proven my point about not understanding old time Americans.

[imardmd1]

I went to the local GO church a couple of different times to have a Greek supper during their yearly festival. But they had a bar serving booze attached to their banquet hall, so that feature really put the whole denomination way past my boundaries for the function of a Christian church.

[imardmd1]

The spiritual poverty of Evangelicalism is in stark contrast to the spiritual wealth of any Eastern Orthodox Church.

You've really got to be kidding. If that's what you think, I doubt if you know what "spiritual" means, to tell you the truth.

[imardmd1]

Vlad: Martin Luther also cut books from the New Testament canon and changed scripture at will to serve his purposes.

BB: (Luther) translated from Greek to common German for his German Bible.

Just remarking here that as far as the NT is concerned, Luther translated from the Byzantine/Majority Greek Textform collated by the Catholic priest Desiderius Erasmus, who found Jerome's Vulgate in such error that it was not satisfactory for re-translating from it into other Gentile languages. Yet the Erasmian Textus Receptus did include the final verses of Mark, the John 8 story of the woman taken in adultery, and even the 1 John 5:7 comma (Erasmus translated it back from the Vulgate, though it was not in his Greek manuscripts, and reluctantly included it for the sake of getting the text published in a timely fashion). If by occasion Luther chose not to include the uninspired apocryphal books found in the Catholic Bible, so much the better.

Erasmus, not Luther, is counted as the father of the Reformation through his supply of a well-researched Greek text. The Spanish Reina-Valera Bible also came from his work, as did the English Crown-authorized Bible and its Tyndale-sourced predecessors.