Bible Answer Man Converts To Greek Orthodox

[BCSpace]

Strange have been the anti-Mormon wanderings within CRI; from Walter Martin to Hank Hanegraff:

Quote

Last Sunday, 67-year-old Hank Hanegraaff and his wife entered into Orthodox Christianity at St. Niktarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The former Protestant is well known among evangelicals as the Bible Answer Man. Since 1989, Hanegraaff has been answering questions on Christianity, denominations, and the Bible on a nationally syndicated radio broadcast.

A champion of evangelical Christianity, he’s best known for arguing against cults, heresies, and non-Christian religions. His 20 books include titles like Christianity in Crisis, Counterfeit Revival, and The Kingdom of Cults.

Part of being the Bible Answer Man also includes running the Christian Research Institute (CRI), an apologetics ministry that Hanegraaff has been president of since 1989.

This week, Hanegraaff spent some of his airtime answering questions about his decision to leave Protestantism for Orthodoxy.

“People are posting this notion that somehow or other I’ve walked away from the faith and am no longer a Christian,” Hanegraaff said on his Tuesday broadcast. “Look, my views have been codified in 20 books, and my views have not changed.”

Hanegraaff and his wife Kathy have been attending the Orthodox church for more than two years, he said on his Monday broadcast.

His journey to Orthodoxy began with a trip to China, when “I saw Chinese Christians who were deeply in love with the Lord, and I learned that while they may not have had as much intellectual acumen or knowledge as I did, they had life,” he said.

On the flight back, Hanegraaff wondered if he was even a Christian. “I was comparing my ability to communicate truth with their deep and abiding love for the Lord Jesus Christ.”

He began to study the work of Watchman Nee and the idea of theosis (the Eastern Orthodox teaching on seeking union with God), which led him back to the early Christian church.

“I’ve been impacted by the whole idea of knowing Jesus Christ, experiencing Jesus Christ, and partaking of the graces of Jesus Christ through the Eucharist or the Lord’s table,” he said. “Nothing has changed in my faith.”

http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2017/april/bible-answer-man-hank-hanegraaff-orthodoxy-cri-watchman-nee.html

Interesting that he went back to early Christianity.  Also worthy of notation are his new-found critics' emphasis on the authority of scripture when the Bible itself refers instead to the authority of the prophets and their ability to interpret scripture over the the lack of the general public's ability and authority to do so.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, BCSpace said:

Strange have been the anti-Mormon wanderings within CRI; from Walter Martin to Hank Hanegraff:

Interesting that he went back to early Christianity.  Also worthy of notation are his new-found critics' emphasis on the authority of scripture when the Bible itself refers instead to the authority of the prophets and their ability to interpret scripture over the the lack of the general public's ability and authority to do so.

I saw this, and one of his students who quoted him and his book "Christianity in Crisis", over the years...moved in quickly for the kill. He who runs the largest website that attacks other Faiths, and makes all of his money by keeping all different types of Faiths attacking one another, is making sure he becomes the new Bible answer-man. He has been doing it piecemeal for some time, not it is an all out assault. It is an odd thing however, since Hank did the same thing after the death of Walter Martin, all of whom have made Mormons a target for decades. 

[Calm]

"People are posting this notion that somehow or other I’ve walked away from the faith and am no longer a Christian,” Hanegraaff said on his Tuesday broadcast. “Look, my views have been codified in 20 books, and my views have not changed.”

I was under the impression he had attacked the Catholic faith for not being Christian, perhaps I am mixing him up with someone else.

[juliann]

He attacked everything. The go to attack from evangelicals was always deification. It isn't an accident that their apologists who do know the Bible are attracted to it. Paul Owen went Orthodox, too.  I still think the ones that criticize Mormons are the most likely to accept it because we kind of push their noses in it when they go after us.  We still reject the creature/creator divide, of course. 

[Robert F. Smith]

Yes, there have been some noteworthy conversions of Protestants to Catholicism as well:  Malcolm Muggeridge, and John Henry Newman (who had been an Anglican priest, and became a Catholic Cardinal), one of whose hymns is in the LDS Hymnbook.

[boblloyd91]

So I was going to post this too but I was beaten to it! In a way it's kind of nice to see this, as I have a great deal of respect for Eastern Orthodoxy, and people who adhere to it seem to be kinder and less arrogant than those in his former faith. 

On 4/15/2017 at 0:10 AM, Robert F. Smith said:

Yes, there have been some noteworthy conversions of Protestants to Catholicism as well:  Malcolm Muggeridge, and John Henry Newman (who had been an Anglican priest, and became a Catholic Cardinal), one of whose hymns is in the LDS Hymnbook.

Another major one is Francis Beckwith, who as an Evangelical was one of our more sophisticated critics. I remember reading about his conversion and seeing similar responses from Evangelical critics. 

 

[Robert F. Smith]

23 minutes ago, boblloyd91 said:

.......................................................... 

Another major one is Francis Beckwith, who as an Evangelical was one of our more sophisticated critics. I remember reading about his conversion and seeing similar responses from Evangelical critics. 

Interesting that both Beckwith and Owen made that conversion, since they worked together.  I wonder whether they had a mutual influence upon one another.

[boblloyd91]

3 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Interesting that both Beckwith and Owen made that conversion, since they worked together.  I wonder whether they had a mutual influence upon one another.

Maybe, but I also think that though Catholicism and Orthodoxy fulfill a role to the convert of finding historical roots, they are certainly different in some ways too. I didn't know Paul Owen converted to Orthodoxy. I'm looking online to find out more about this, but can only find articles of James White trash talking him.

[Storm Rider]

Hanegraaff converting to Greek Orthodoxy and trying to soft peddle it to members of his old church is a bit of a strain....and I suspect his old Evangelical buddies are not very accepting. It seems like I used to listen to him years ago because he so often spoke about Mormons on his shows.  Never read any of his books.  Though I thought he had some things right he did get out there on some of beliefs.  

The idea of Evangelicals or Protestants, in general, converting to Orthodoxy is not surprising.  When they begin to focus on priesthood, which Hanegraaff does not mention as playing a role in his conversion, I don't think they have many options except to admit their respective church has no authority.

[boblloyd91]

6 hours ago, Storm Rider said:

Hanegraaff converting to Greek Orthodoxy and trying to soft peddle it to members of his old church is a bit of a strain....and I suspect his old Evangelical buddies are not very accepting. It seems like I used to listen to him years ago because he so often spoke about Mormons on his shows.  Never read any of his books.  Though I thought he had some things right he did get out there on some of beliefs.  

The idea of Evangelicals or Protestants, in general, converting to Orthodoxy is not surprising.  When they begin to focus on priesthood, which Hanegraaff does not mention as playing a role in his conversion, I don't think they have many options except to admit their respective church has no authority.

This seems to be a pattern I notice as well

[Robert F. Smith]

“Diocese of Orange baptizes more than 1,000 in annual Easter vigil,” Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2017, online at https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/c27495ac-092e-332a-8837-ba23834bc219/ss_diocese-of-orange-baptizes.html .

More than 1,000 people in Orange County were welcomed into the Catholic Church at this year’s Easter Vigil on April 15 at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange, and nearly 700 baptized candidates were received into full communion during the sacred rites. The Most Rev. Kevin Vann, bishop of Orange, baptized the elect, marking it the Diocese of Orange’s largest group accepted into the Roman Catholic Church during the faith’s most momentous liturgy. The ceremony consisted of four main parts: The Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word, Christian Initiation and Renewal Baptismal Vows, and the Holy Eucharist.