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]

[Elsie]

... genuine religious genius'...

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As regards the oft-quoted Mt. 16:18, note the following bishops promise in the profession of faith of Vatican 1:

 • Basil of Seleucia, Oratio 25:

'You are Christ, Son of the living God.'...Now Christ called this confession a rock, and he named the one who confessed it 'Peter,' perceiving the appellation which was suitable to the author of this confession. For this is the solemn rock of religion, this the basis of salvation, this the wall of faith and the foundation of truth: 'For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.' To whom be glory and power forever. — Oratio XXV.4, M.P.G., Vol. 85, Col. 296-297.

• Bede, Matthaei Evangelium Expositio, 3:

You are Peter and on this rock from which you have taken your name, that is, on myself, I will build my Church, upon that perfection of faith which you confessed I will build my Church by whose society of confession should anyone deviate although in himself he seems to do great things he does not belong to the building of my Church...Metaphorically it is said to him on this rock, that is, the Saviour which you confessed, the Church is to be built, who granted participation to the faithful confessor of his name. — 80Homily 23, M.P.L., Vol. 94, Col. 260. Cited by Karlfried Froehlich, Formen, Footnote #204, p. 156 [unable to verify by me].

• Cassiodorus, Psalm 45.5:

'It will not be moved' is said about the Church to which alone that promise has been given: 'You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.' For the Church cannot be moved because it is known to have been founded on that most solid rock, namely, Christ the Lord. — Expositions in the Psalms, Volume 1; Volume 51, Psalm 45.5, p. 455

• Chrysostom (John) [who affirmed Peter was a rock, but here not the rock in Mt. 16:18]:

Therefore He added this, 'And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; that is, on the faith of his confession. — Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Homily LIIl; Philip Schaff, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf110.iii.LII.html)

• Cyril of Alexandria:

When [Peter] wisely and blamelessly confessed his faith to Jesus saying, 'You are Christ, Son of the living God,' Jesus said to divine Peter: 'You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.' Now by the word 'rock', Jesus indicated, I think, the immoveable faith of the disciple.”. — Cyril Commentary on Isaiah 4.2.

• Origen, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Book XII):

“For a rock is every disciple of Christ of whom those drank who drank of the spiritual rock which followed them, 1 Corinthians 10:4 and upon every such rock is built every word of the church, and the polity in accordance with it; for in each of the perfect, who have the combination of words and deeds and thoughts which fill up the blessedness, is the church built by God.'

“For all bear the surname ‘rock’ who are the imitators of Christ, that is, of the spiritual rock which followed those who are being saved, that they may drink from it the spiritual draught. But these bear the surname of rock just as Christ does. But also as members of Christ deriving their surname from Him they are called Christians, and from the rock, Peters.” — Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Book XII), sect. 10,11 ( http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/101612.htm)

• Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II):

Thus our one immovable foundation, our one blissful rock of faith, is the confession from Peter's mouth, Thou art the Son of the living God. On it we can base an answer to every objection with which perverted ingenuity or embittered treachery may assail the truth."-- (Hilary of Potier, On the Trinity (Book II), para 23; Philip Schaff, editor, The Nicene & Post Nicene Fathers Series 2, Vol 9.

[Elsie]

You need to start out by reading the texts of the actual liturgy.

You mean like it is found in the book of ACTS?

Chapter 15??

The book; written by SAINT Luke; that ROME included into their compilation of writings???

[Elsie]

No, I do not hear invisible voices.

Your lack...

[imardmd1]

I guess I need an invisible hearing aid . . .

[redleghunter]

I think your interpretation of the Passion of Christ and His resurrection is off.

Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

—Matthew 27:51

No mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil; but it was not intended merely as a display of power-many lessons were herein taught us. The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out vesture, rent and laid aside. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because all fulfilled in Him, and therefore the place of their presentation was marked with an evident token of decay. That rent also revealed all the hidden things of the old dispensation: the mercy-seat could now be seen, and the glory of God gleamed forth above it. By the death of our Lord Jesus we have a clear revelation of God, for He was "not as Moses, who put a veil over his face." Life and immortality are now brought to light, and things which have been hidden since the foundation of the world are manifest in Him.

The annual ceremony of atonement was thus abolished. The atoning blood which was once every year sprinkled within the veil, was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, and therefore the place of the symbolical rite was broken up. No blood of bullocks or of lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered within the veil with his own blood. Hence access to God is now permitted, and is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. There is no small space laid open through which we may peer at the mercy-seat, but the rent reaches from the top to the bottom. We may come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace. Shall we err if we say that the opening of the Holy of Holies in this marvelous manner by our Lord's expiring cry was the type of the opening of the gates of paradise to all the saints by virtue of the Passion? Our bleeding Lord hath the key of heaven;

He openeth and no man shutteth; let us enter in with Him into the heavenly places, and sit with Him there till our common enemies shall be made His footstool. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon-Morning and Evening Sermons)

[Zionist Conspirator]

I have no idea why you pinged me to your post 565, since I don’t accept the “new testament” to begin with.

[Mark17]

Oil was used by the Catholic Church to 'correct' heretics.

What was the temperature of the oil?

[Gamecock]

Probably too warm for my tastes.

[Mark17]

Probably too warm for my tastes.

Mine too. After they "corrected" a few "heretics" they probably dumped it into the Tiber, thereby making the river quite hot too. That will certainly keep me from swimming in it. 😀😆

[MHGinTN]

HINT: if you cannot yourswelf back up an accusation you make toward a fellow Freeper, don't make it; it makes you look ... confused.

One of your fellow catholics has demanded on this thread, 'What don't you understand about unbloody sacrifice?' Appartently that catholic is clueless as to when that terminology crept into the catholic dogma.

As to what I posted to you earlier, the pre-risen Jesus went to the cross and sacrificed His body and His blood for our redemption. He died. THEN He did what He told the Sanhedrin He would do if they destroy that Temple that was His pre-risen body, He Raised from the dead. JESUS is now in Heaven. Since flesh and blood cannot inherit Heaven, The Jesus in Heaven is not the same body which died on the cross at calavery. THEREFORE, your priest, according to your catechism continues the sacrifice with which body? ... your fellow catholic calls attention to the phrase 'unbloody sacrifice'. Surely you know that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin ... it is clearly stated in The Bible. So which Body of JESUS do you imagine your priest sacrifices for you to eat at the catholic altar?

[ealgeone]

I regard Luther as a genuine religious genius, on a par with Joseph Smith and Muhammad: able to smash through older existing forms and harness religious ideas skillfully to the drives and tendencies of a changing society. Like them, he was a borrower, a fixer -— a brilliant breaker/remaker.

I think the Reformation was going to happen at some point with or without Luther. Once you get the Word into people's hands and let them read it for themselves the Gospel is pretty easy to understand.

I think that was by design. It's not a complicated message.

For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish. John 3:16

It's not that complicated.

How Roman Catholicism has distorted the simple Gospel message into something so complicated is the bigger crime in my view.

I've already shown how the Mass is in contradiction of the NT using the words of a Catholic priest and the Baltimore Catechism.

You cannot square away the RCC Mass with what's in the NT without seriously twisting the Scriptures.

I guess that may be why Roman Catholicism depicts Christ on the Cross and Christianity depicts the Cross as empty.

He has risen and is no longer on the Cross!!!!

[editor-surveyor]

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Where do you find “blessed oil” in scripture?
.

[editor-surveyor]

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Excellent explanation.

Yeshua himself had to be changed in exactly the manner that he told Nicodemus was necessary for the salvation of mortal men.

Simple, but profound.
.

[editor-surveyor]

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As usual, you overly complicate the word to inject a message of man into the word of Yehova.

[MHGinTN]

The standard catholic answer when stumped is ‘God can do anything’, which is so naïve as to laughable.

[editor-surveyor]

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>> “ because we keep his commands and do what pleases him” <<

(Do “we?”)
.

[editor-surveyor]

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(one fix covers all questions)
.

[imardmd1]

As usual, you overly complicate the word to inject a message of man into the word of Yehova.

And the point you are making?

[Mark17]

I think that was by design. It's not a complicated message.

No, it's not a complicated message. I don't quite know why people make it out to be so difficult. Maybe it's human pride, that people want to "help" God out, either thinking He is not capable of accomplishing the plan of salvation by himself, or they want to take some of the credit for their salvation. I don't get it.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Yeah, Acts 15 is good!