Adolph von Harnack on Picture Worship Being "The Distinctive Character of the Greek Church"

Adolph von Harnack was one of if not the most important Higher Critic scholars of the Bible during the nineteenth century. He wrote an eight volume series of books titled The History of Dogma. 

Eight volumes in four books Dover paperback edition

Read what he says makes the Greek, that is the Eastern Orthodox Church, distinctive. 

The distinctive character of the Greek Church was most clearly expressed in the worship of pictures, in the form in which it was dogmatically settled after the controversy on the subject. There had been pictures from early times, originally for decorative purposes, and afterwards for instruction, in the grave-yards, churches, memorial chapels, and houses, and fixed to all sorts of furniture. Opposition had existed, but it came to an end in the Constantinian age. The people were to learn from the pictures the histories they depicted ; they were looked on as the books of the unlearned.

At the same time the picture was to adorn holy places. But still another interest gradually made itself felt, one that had formerly been most strenuously resisted by early Christianity. It is natural for men to desire relics and images of venerated beings, to withdraw them from profane use, and to treat them with deep devotion. Christianity had originally resisted this impulse, so far as any thing connected with the deity was concerned, in order not to fall into idolatry. There was less repugnance, however, to it, when it dealt with Christ, and almost none from the first in the case of martyrs and heroic characters. From this point the veneration of relics and pictures slowly crept in again. But from the fifth century it was greatly strengthened, and received a support unheard of in antiquity, through the dogma of the incarnation and the corresponding treatment of the Eucharist. Christ was the image of God, and yet a living being, nay, a life-giving spirit, Christ had by the incarnation made it possible to apprehend the divine in a material form, and had raised sensuous human nature to the divine: the consecrated elements were εἰκόνες of Christ and yet were his very body. These ideas introduced thought to a new world. It was not only the Areopagite and the mystics who saw in all consecrated finite things the active symbol of an eternal power, or perceived the superiority of the Christian religion to all others in the very fact that it brought the divine everywhere into contact with the senses. They merely raised to the level of a philosophic view what the common man and the monk had long perceived, namely, that everything secular which has been adopted by the Church became, not only a symbol, but also a vehicle of the sacred. But amid secular things the image, which bore as it were its consecration in itself, appeared to be least secular. 

Pictures of Christ, Mary, and the saints, had been already worshipped from the fifth (fourth) century with greetings, kisses, prostration, a renewal of ancient pagan practices. In the naive and confident conviction that Christians no longer ran any risk of idolatry, the Church not only tolerated, but promoted, the entrance of paganism. It was certainly the intention to worship the divine in the material ; for the incarnation of deity had deified nature. A brisk trade was carried on in the seventh and beginning of the eighth century in images, especially by monks ; churches, and chapels were crowded with pictures and relics; the practice of heathen times was revived, only the sense of beauty was inverted. It was not fresh life that seemed fair, but, though a trace of the majestic might not be lacking, it was the life consecrated to asceticism and death. We do not know how far artistic incapacity, how far the dogmatic intention, contributed to the Byzantine ideal of the saints. " Authentic " pictures were in existence, and numberless copies were made from them. By their means, monkish piety, engaged in a stupid staring at sacred things, ruled the people, and dragged Christianity down to deeper and deeper depths. 

History of Dogma, vol IV, pgs. 317-319

If you think that is only the easily discarded opinion of one German Higher Critic scholar think again. The Sunday of Orthodoxy which commemorates the day icons were restored after the Seventh Ecumenical Council is celebrated every year. Here is a sample sermon from Fr. Josiah Trenham extolling icons. 

https://app.patristicnectar.org/discover/item/no-iconography-no-christianity-sunday-of-orthodoxy-2018

18:08 Today, especially, we commemorate the faithfulness of the church to maintain her belief in the greatest miracle that the human race has ever witnessed, which is that God, in time, the uncreated one, became a creature.

That God, who has always been, became what he was not always a man without ceasing to be what he always was God.

This is why we confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is both, at the same time, truly God and truly man.

One Jesus, in two natures, divine and human, and that that fundamental Christian conviction, that heaven and earth have been joined, that angels of men have met, what was prophesied in the gospel reading today, that he would become a ladder upon which the angels of God would go up and down.

He would be the connector between heaven and earth, consubstantial with his father from all eternity and having a hand on his father, and consubstantial with us by his humanity, which he took in time, but maintains forever in a deified condition.

His hand on man, the ultimate savior, the reconciler, the peace between God and man, our Lord Jesus Christ, this is the gospel, the power of God under the salvation of everyone who believes.

We will never alter it, we will never give it up, and we confess it by depicting him everywhere.

Iconography is the expression of the greatest miracle that mankind has ever witnessed.

The depiction of Jesus as a human being isn't just a nice thing, it is a necessary thing, the church says.

There is no way to propagate the gospel without the words of Holy Scripture and the images of Jesus's faith, faith, period.

The iconoclast heretics who troubled the church for 150 years in the seventh and eighth century told us that this was improper, that this was a violation of the second commandment to make a graven image as though depicting the son of God in the flesh was making an idol.

Anathema to them we say today, their liars and heretics and deniers of the gospel, we will never accept the idea that Jesus must not be depicted in a holy icon.

Just like St. Victoria said, it's a foolish question why we celebrate the Eucharist as though there could be any Christian without the Eucharist, so it's a foolish question to ask why we would have a holy icon as though there could be Christianity without the depiction of Christ in image.

No iconography, no Christianity, mark my words because they're the words of the church.

Nathaniel in today's gospel who met Christ and made that beautiful confession, he held these two things together brothers and sisters.

He was a man, Jesus said, who had no guile. He was a man of virtue. What you saw was what you got. There wasn't a church Nathaniel or a Sunday Nathaniel and then a Monday through Saturday Nathaniel.

There was one Nathaniel and a guileless man, but he was also a man of the true faith. He said, rabbi, you are the son of God, you are the king of Israel. Yes, I see your body that you're a man, but you're also God's son.

This fundamental conviction, brothers and sisters, is the true faith and this is ours. And the witness of this day, climaxing the first week of Great Lent, if to hold these two things together and this is what we must do.

We must hold the faith, keep the creed, believe the gospel and seek to become guileless people like Nathaniel. This combination of faith that's working through love is what saves us and this is why we'll never give it up.

No iconography, no Christianity.

Just think about that inane statement. Without pictures of Jesus Christ there can be no Christianity. How ridiculous! As if being able to depict Christ in an icon is essential to the Christian faith when icons did not even appear until long after Christ inaugurated His Church on a good confession in Him. 

Matthew 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Scriptures give us the key to what is essential to Christiantiy and its not icons. It is the resurrection. 

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Take it not only from the scholar Adolph von Harnack but from a modern day Orthodox priest. Picture worship, iconography, is the distinctive character of the Greek, that is Eastern Orthodox, Church. 

David Patrick Harry Says: First Century Christians Did not Have a Bible

I have written several articles about David Patrick Harry who goes by the name Church of the Eternal Logos and, as long as he continues to say dumb things, I will continue to do so. In a recent livestream comparing The Church of Christ with The Orthodox Church David got into a discussion about Sola Scriptura. David actually says Christians in the first century did not have a Bible. 

Early Christians Were Protestants? Deconstructing the Church of Christ (Sponsored Stream)

1:49:20 Was Sola Scriptura present in the Old Testament? Was Sola Scripture present in the first century? So, right, like that's a fundamental problem for them. So, they're first century Christians basing their faith on scripture. Did first century Christians have a Bible to use? No. No. Absolutely not. So, so what, what role did scripture in the Bible have for first century Christians? Well, it was tradition. The Apostles, they knew what the teachings were, they knew which Epistles, they knew which Gospels, you know, out of all the Gnostic Gospels that began to emerge in the second century. First, the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Peter. You know, it's the tradition, it's the church, it's the hierarchy that which protected it from all this fallible nonsense.

That David could say something so dumb is mind boggling. Does he not know what the Septuagint is?  It's the Bible of the first century Christians! Jesus stood up in the Synagogue and read from it Himself. Jesus is always referring to the Septuagint when he speaks of Himself and His mission. The Apostle Paul also cites copiously from the Septuagint in his letters. 

Perhaps David means first century Christians did not have a full Bible including both Old and New Testaments. His own statement undercuts that interpretation. 

So, so what what role did scripture in the Bible have for first century Christians? Well, it was tradition. The Apostles, they knew what the teachings were, they knew which Epistles, they knew which Gospels

According to David first century Christians knew which were the inspired and authoritative epistles and Gospels. That means they had a written collection of documents from which they drew their teaching. 

The fact that there was no official, that is canonically defined, list of books until well after Marcion forced the Church's hand by drawing up his own list is no barrier to Sola Scriptura. The Church has always had a Bible.

In Lee McDonald's book "The Biblical Canon" there are various canonical lists which do not all agree. David would have us think that this proves there was no fixed canon and because there was no fixed canon sola scriptura is invalid. This is actually wrong and McDonald on pages 216 and 217 writes the following:

There is little doubt that the core of the biblical collection of authoritative books is essentially the same collection that we no have in the Protestant OT collection. What is in question in canonical studies are book on the fringe. These fringe books included both canonical and apocryphal books, were disputed among Jews and Christians for centuries, even though many leaders in the church and synagogue freely quoted these writings in an authoritative manner, sometimes even using the designations Scripture or as it is written to refer to them. Remarkably, these disputes took place for centuries after decisions were supposedly made about its canonicity. Yet in neither group - those who accepted and those who rejected the authority of this literature - was there any noticeable change in theology.

“The decision whether to accept or reject the deuterocanonical literature is not at the core of what Christianity is all about. As the Law of Moses formed the core of the OT, so also the Gospels and Paul have been at the heart of the NT biblical canon since the second century, even though there was a great deal of dispute over the deutero-Pauline epistles (especially the Pastorals), Hebrews, the Catholic (or General) Epistles, and Revelation. The Jews and later the Christians fully accepted the Law of Moses as the core of their sacred Scriptures. Soon thereafter, most if not all of the traditional Prophets and many of the Writings were accepted as canonical, but at a secondary level of scriptural authority among the Jews. Not everyone agreed on the contents of the Writings, especially not before the time of Jesus, but the division of opinion was not over the core, but over the fringe.”

The issue, writes McDonald, is fringe books and not the core. There has always been a core of canonical scripture for both Christians and Jews. At first the Christians adopted the Septuagint. Later they held the Gospels and the letters of Paul to be central to their doctrines. The very fact that there are lists at all indicates that Scripture was being appealed to as an authoritative source of doctrine. Not merely appealed to but actually built upon. Irenaus says this very thing:

We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.  

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 

The Scriptures are the ground and pillar of our faith. That is the very essence of sola scriptura. 

The reason David is wrong is because as a member of the Orthodox Church he places his faith in the hierarchy and unwritten nebulous traditions, not in the Scriptures. David Patrick Harry does not have the same faith as St. Irenaeus who said the Scriptures are the ground and pillar of our faith. 

"The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity" on The Confession of Dositheus

It should not be a controversial thing to say the Confession of Dositheus absolutely forbids the reading of Scripture by all laymen. The words of the confession are quite plain on the matter. The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity mentions the Confession of Dositheus on this matter in two places.

Dositheos also expanded the biblical canon, and imitating the Council of Trent, he called the Septuagint additions canonical books (Pentiuc 2014, 128). He also responded to the Loukarean thesis regarding the private reading of the Scripture by claiming that Divine Scriptures:

should not be read by all, but only by those who with fitting research have inquired into the deep things of the Spirit, and who know in what manner the Divine Scriptures ought to be searched, and taught, and in fine read. (Karmires 1953, 768; translation: Leith 1963, 506)

Recently, Belezos (2020, 68) has stressed that the Dosithean confession does not introduce a general prohibition of the private reading of the Scripture in the vernacular. Instead, Dositheos promotes three criteria for a properly Orthodox interpretation and transmission of the Bible: (1) the respect to the patristic interpretation, (2) the ecclesial experience, and (3) the illumination of the Spirit. Accordingly, the exclusive priority belongs neither to Scripture (sola scriptura) nor the ecclesial authorities (magisterium) but to the Holy Spirit that inspired the biblical authors and holds the Church together. Belezos’s claims demonstrate that Dositheos not only imitated Tridentine Catholicism but also tried to consider the traditional Byzantine theology (Russell 2013, 82). However, Loukaris also stressed the role of the Spirit. Therefore, the emphasis on the role of the Spirit in Dositheos’s strange position does not solve its problematic character. This prohibition can be explained only from the perspective of Dositheus’s passion for defending Orthodoxy. This passion led him to a decision with no parallel in the history of eastern Christianity (Georgi 1941, 56).

pg. 283

The author of this essay, Athanathios Despotis, calls this prohibition "problematic" and "with no parallel in the history of eastern Christianity."

The second place where the Confession of Dositheus' prohibition of the Christian laity reading Scripture is discussed says the following. 

In the wake of the Protestant Reformation and an emphasis on individual reading and study of Scripture, the Orthodox Church issued several official pronouncements against private biblical study. In 1672, the Synod of Jerusalem issued what is commonly known as the Confession of Dositheus as a rebuttal to various Calvinist positions. One particular issue that was raised in the Confession of Dositheus is directly relevant to the discussion of critical study of Scripture among Orthodox. The following appears in the form of a question and answer in the Confession of Dositheus:

Question #1: Should the Divine Scriptures be read commonly by all Christians? 

Response: No. We know that all Scripture is divinely inspired and beneficial, and in this way has in it what is necessary, so that without it, it is impossible to be pious at all. Nevertheless, it should not be read by all, but only by those who with the proper investigation have inquired into the depths of the Spirit, and who know which ways the divine Scripture should to be investigated and taught, and generally read. But to those who are not trained and indifferent, or who understand only literally, or in any other way what is contained in the Scriptures that is foreign to piety, the catholic Church, knowing by experience the damage caused, does not permit its legitimate reading. It is permitted to every pious person to hear the Scripture so that that person may believe with the heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation. But to read certain parts of Scripture, and especially the Old Testament, is prohibited for the aforementioned reasons and others similar to them. To order untrained persons not to read all of sacred Scripture is the same thing as restricting infants from touching solid food.

This statement on the reading and interpretation of Scripture was repeated almost verbatim in 1723 in An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith by prominent bishops, among whom were Patriarch Jeremiah III of Constantinople, Patriarch Athanasius IV of Antioch, and Patriarch Chrysanthos of Jerusalem.These Church pronouncements prohibited the reading of Scripture generally by all Orthodox Christians, except “by those who with the proper investigation have inquired into the depths of the Spirit, and who know which ways the divine Scripture should to be investigated and taught, and generally read.” The Confession of Dositheus and the Exposition of 1723 also give special emphasis to Orthodox Christians being prohibited from reading “certain parts of Scripture, but especially the Old Testament.” These Church pronouncements assert that Orthodox Christians in general are permitted to hear the Scriptures in church where they are to “believe with the heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation.” In their approach to Scripture, these Church pronouncements emphasize that it is essential for Orthodox Christians to hear, believe, and confess, but not to read Scripture. Moreover, nothing is said about the necessity of Orthodox Christians understanding the Scriptures. Indeed, in the response to Question #2 in the Confession of Dositheus as well as in the Exposition of 1723, it is asserted that only those “trained in wisdom and holiness” can understand the content of Scripture.

Despite these restrictions, the desire for general reading of Scripture by Orthodox and the influence of historical criticism began to be felt slowly in Greece in the 1830s.

pg. 323-324

This author, John Fotopoulos, notes that Dositheus' approach to scripture was an emphasis on the laity hearing and believing without reading or understanding the Scriptures being of any necessity. The prohibition of reading the Scripture "was repeated almost verbatim" in An Orthodox Exposition of the Faith published in 1723. Here is a translation from 1865. The citation is on pages 87 and 88.  

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=lI0QAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP15&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Fotopoulos then goes on to note that "these restrictions" have basically been ignored. A long dissertation follows unpacking that observation. 

Is it any wonder Dositheus' prohibition of reading Scripture by the laity has been ignored? It is not only utterly absurd to deny the laity the right to read the Word of God but, as previously noted, it is without precedent in the history of Eastern Christianity. One only needs to read Chrysostom, the great preacher of Constantinople, to see he constantly berated his parishioners for being ignorant of the Scriptures and implored them to read them.

And yet, not only was this prohibition repeated at least twice in official and confessional Orthodox documents, it has never been overturned. The Confession of Dositheus, along with its prohibition of the laity from reading Scripture, remains in force to this day.

The Stupidest Q & A Ever From Church of the Eternal Logos

David Patrick Harry, who goes by the handle Church of The Eternal Logos, is an intelligent guy who is also pretty dumb. His intelligence shines when he talks about subjects in which he is well versed such as psychedelics. His dumbness comes through when he talks about subjects in which he is not well versed such as Protestantism and the Gospel.  

During a recent livestream someone asked a rather interesting question about how the Protestants interpret the Bible.

Satan's Kingdom: History of Christian Persecution From Rome to Today (1st Half)

17:06 We also had a super chat over on Streamlabs by Storm The Cat who throws in $10 and says "Do you think modern society and Technology affects the way Evangelical Protestants interpret the Bible and theology. It is hard to explain but the way they interpret the Bible seems mechanistic and soulless whereas Orthodoxy is more in harmony with nature?" 

What the heck does this question even mean? What does it mean to interpret the Bible mechanistically and soullessly? What does it mean to interpret the Bible "more in harmony with nature?" The questioner admits "it is hard to explain" and does not even attempt an explanation. The proper immediate reaction should be to ask, "What do you mean?"

David does not do that. Listen to his answer. 

Well, my immediate response, Storm The Cat, is yeah.

Let's stop here. What is he saying yeah to? The questioner has not explained his terms which are quite vague and meaningless. How can David agree or disagree if he does not know what the question means? Already David is off to a bad start. 

I think that Evangelical or Protestantism generally speaking is uh informed by Enlightenment values and in fact when we look at the French Revolution today unfortunately many Protestants were an advocate, were advocates for the killing of various Catholics. Uh, they saw this as sort of Revenge potentially for the 30 Years War but also their belief that the pope was the Antichrist and that Catholic Church of Authority was something that needed to be undermined and destroyed in France.

What is this nonsense? Protestants advocated for the slaughter of Catholics during the French Revolution as revenge for the Thirty Years War? Citation please. How exactly is Protestantism "informed by Enlightenment values?" The Enlightenment was a rejection of all things Christian and came about two hundreds after the Protestant Reformation. One of its chief proponents was Voltaire who wished to stamp out Christianity. 

David is talking out of his butt here. He does this all the time. Because Protestants separated from the Catholic Church David thinks that means they are revolutionaries who sought to not only undermine the authority of the Catholic Church but also divorce themselves from the Church so completely as to start something brand new. That is an incorrect interpretation of the Protestant Reformation. 

And so you can't help but notice that Protestantism, especially in the western world, one, it's failed. There is no Protestant nation that is still majority Christian. I mean historically it was Northern Europe and Northern Europe is the most secular atheist places in the world and then when you look in America, America was generally considered the most Christian of the Protestant Nations but it's kind of hard to say that we're still still a Christian Nation especially given the things that people celebrate coming out of Hollywood. 

And, uh for example there's a, I just found out, that there was a Methodist minister or Pastor in the US who does his services in drag and so that's going to definitely connect with our, our website conversation on the Paris Olympics opening ceremony and the sort of Carnival and bacchanalia mixture of opposites the, again we've talked about Baphomet and I'm going to be bringing Baphomet up over on the website, this blending of opposites, this henosis the neoplatonic, uh, understanding of pure Unity, the bringing of opposites to create a sort of unified structure that we can see that this is the way in which Satan is operating. 

And so are there good Christians that are evangelicals and Protestants? Absolutely. Um, and, and they're limited in maybe their understanding of church history, their historical context whatever it may be their geography and so they you know they're, they're a Protestant to some degree and obviously we're not endorsing Protestantism it's a failed experiment as we see that it, it constantly concedes morality and concedes aspects of culture. 

And yeah it is more mechanistic it is more rationalistic. I would argue that protestantism is an ideology more so than a sacramental theology because sacraments are just symbolic within the Protestant Faith. Now, you you have high Church aspects Lutheranism and stuff like that within Anglicanism but look at the Anglican Church. Look at the high Lutheran Churches they have lesbian pastors now and so they can't really conserve anything because they don't have a true tradition. 

And so when you're talking about Orthodoxy seems to be more in harmonious alignment with nature and creation I would say that's because it's the tradition of the Apostles. It's the tradition of saints and Witnesses and Protestantism just doesn't have that and Protestantism from its get-go was a was part of the sort of revolutionary spirit I would argue. Now, did they did they have, uh, accurate criticisms of the Catholic churches and the selling of indulgences and all this stuff? Absolutely. But then that revolutionary Spirit of divorcing itself from Apostolic succession and and creating new interpretations and hermeneutics and Theological understandings of scripture I mean this is a revolutionary spirit and so you can't help but notice that communism, socialism, Nazism, whatever ISM that you want to apply to it, um, I think these are in a way sort of outgrowth of the collapsing of protestant Faith. So that's my general take maybe you guys have a different opinion that's fine but I want to thank Storm The Cat for the $10 Super Chat. Really appreciate that my man.

The question was about the interpretation of the Bible and David does not even touch on that subject. Instead he links Protestantism to communism, socialism, Nazism, the French Revolution, the acceptance of homosexuality, and the Spirit of Revolution. What a load of malarkey. At no time did Protestants seek to subvert either the authority of the Roman Catholic Church or the Crown. They did seek to separate themselves from both to worship in peace. For instance when English Protestants were persecuted by Mary Queen of Scots they fled to the Netherlands and Switzerland. French and English Protestants both fled to the New World to avoid persecution. 

To say Protestantism is informed by Enlightenment values and the Spirit of Revolution is completely a-historic and without foundation. This argument has been making the rounds by people like David Patrick Harry, Jay Dyer, and Rebecca Wilson who claims feminism, Satanism, and basically doing one's own thing is an outgrowth of Protestantism. As if the men who claimed we are saved by faith alone through the grace of Jesus Christ alone would condone Satanism, feminism, or the French Revolution. Such a claim is quite a stretch. A much firmer connection would be between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. 

David also claims that Protestants don't even have a sacramental theology because the sacraments for them are merely symbolic. That couldn't be further from the truth. 

The Westminster Confession says the following about the sacraments. 

1. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ and his benefits, and to confirm our interest in him:  as also to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.

2. There is in every sacrament a spiritual relation or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified; whence it comes to pass that the names and the effects of the one are attributed to the other.

3. The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments, rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither doth the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that doth administer it, but upon the work of the Spirit, and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers.

https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/chapter-27/

The Heidelberg Catechism says the following about the sacraments. 

Q & A 65

Q. It is through faith alone that we share in Christ and all his benefits: where then does that faith come from?

A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it by the use of the holy sacraments.

Q & A 66

Q. What are sacraments?

A. Sacraments are visible, holy signs and seals.They were instituted by God so that by our use of them he might make us understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and seal that promise. And this is God’s gospel promise: to grant us forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace because of Christ’s one sacrifice accomplished on the cross.

https://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/25.html

Does that sounds like Protestants teach the sacraments are empty symbols? Of course not. It is mind boggling that anti-Protestants such as David Patrick Harry never look at the confessions when discussing what Protestants allegedly believe. Instead they make it up as they go. 

David should never have answered the question. Instead he should have tried to figure what the question meant. Is he aware that Protestants practically invented Patristsics? This notion that Protestants rejected "the tradition of the Apostles" and divorced themselves "from Apostolic succession" and created "new interpretations and hermeneutics and Theological understandings of scripture" is pure, unadulterated horse manure and betrays a total ignorance of Protestant Biblical exegesis. Read the writings of Protestants and you will see a litany of citations from the Church Fathers. Protestants have never conceived of themselves in the caricature of "me and my Bible alone."

The question should have been rejected from the start. Not only is it loaded but the terms given are undefined. If you cannot explain your own question because its to hard to explain then you are not asking a question, you are expressing a feeling. 

God Saved Donald Trump and Killed Corey Comperatore

Apparently it is odd and freakish to believe God saved Donald Trump's life from an assassin's bullet. It does not help that some who believe that idea are odd and freakish themselves. 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/29515265/donald-trump-chosen-by-god-pastor-sean-moon-usa/

Last Wednesday, as Trump took to the stage at the gigantic Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North ­Carolina, Hyung Jin “Sean” Moon would not have been ­anywhere else.

The pastor runs the Rod Of Iron Ministries — also known as the MAGA, or Make America Great Again, church — and his sect worships with AR-15 rifles by their sides.

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday as the excitement was building among the large crowd, moments before the 78-year-old took to the stage, he told us: “We believe that God has chosen Donald Trump and he preserved his life during that terrible assassination attempt that the whole world saw.

“He dodged that bullet by God’s grace, that 15-degree turn to the right saved his life and was God’s hand.

Moon — who has followed Trump around the country and has condemned the Biden government as “a satanic cult of power” — is the son of Korean businessman Sun Myung Moon, who founded the Unification Church, whose followers are dubbed Moonies.

Moon Junior has set up his own offshoot and carved a name for himself among gun rights advocates.

He doesn’t wear the MAGA red cap, while his usual uniform is military-style cargo pants, matching shirt and crown of polished bullets — often with a gold AR-15 rifle, which he says is his firearm of choice, because “it’s a fine weapon”.

Rod of Iron Ministries is an offshoot of the Unification Church which was founded by Sun Myung Moon who proclaimed himself to be the Messiah! Clearly this is not a Christian group and should be avoided by anyone with a lick of sense. That does not negate the truth of the statement, "He dodged that bullet by God's grace."

Other religious and political leaders have said the same thing only to be mocked by leftist publications like Rolling Stone. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-god-spared-maga-leaders-believe-1235060168/

The notion of divine intervention itself raises uncomfortable questions — including why a just deity would allow a local former fire department leader to perish in the same attack, while shielding his wife and daughter. Or why such a God, for example, didn’t spare the school children of Uvalde from a similar deadly shooter with an AR-15.

But such qualms did not appear to trouble MAGA stalwarts, whose blind faith in the righteousness of far-right American politics continues to rival, if not trump, any genuine faith in Jesus. 

That is how the Rolling Stone article ends. 

The issue is not divine intervention per se but God's Absolute Sovereignty. God does not divinely intervene in history, he actively guides it to its final end which is the second coming of Christ and the manifestation of the Sons of God.

Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The fact is God saved Donald Trump and killed Corey Comperatore. After all, God kills and makes alive. 

Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

All that comes to pass is a result of God's will.

Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will

Head 1 of the Sum of Saving Knowledge sums up the Bible's teaching about God's covering direction of history. 

I. The almighty and eternal God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three distinct persons in the one and the same undivided Godhead, equally infinite in all perfections, did, before time, most wisely decree, for his own glory, whatsoever cometh to pass in time: and doth most holily and infallibly execute all his decrees, without being partaker of the sin of any creature.

https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/the-sum-of-saving-knowledge/

It's as simple as that. Believe it or not. It's not up to you anyway as God opens the eyes of those he will and blinds the rest. 

The Orthodox Study Bible Contradicts the Confession of Dositheus

The Confession of Dositheus, which is an authoritative document of Orthodoxy, defines faith as "a right notion of God and divine things." The Catechism of Philaret defines faith as trust, distinguishing it from knowledge. How does the Orthodox Study Bible define faith?

The OSB's definition of faith can be found in the note on Romans 5:1.

Faith in Christ makes us justified, an ongoing state of communion with Him. Because of this ongoing communion we have peace with God which is also ongoing. The Greek word pistis, here translated as faith, can also be rendered "faithfulness." Faith is more than the conviction that something is true. Genuine faithfulness is continuous loyalty and obedience to God. Such faithfulness justifies a person through God's grace. 

Look at the sleight of hand in this note.

1. Faith can be also be translated faithfulness.

2. Faith is more than conviction something is true.

Now here is the switch up.

3. Genuine faithfulness is continuous loyalty and obedience to God. 

4. Such faithfulness justifies a person before God.

The author went from discussing faith to discussing faithfulness in the blink of an eye. The problem is the author has not defined faith. Faithfulness presupposes faith. But what is faith? The author has merely changed terms rather than define it. This note is horrendously misleading. 

The Orthodox Study Bible contains a whole article about the doctrine of Justification which confirms this defintion of faith as faithfulness. 

 

For most of church history, salvation was seen as comprehending all of life: Christians believed in Christ, were baptized, and were nurtured in their salvation in the Church. Key doctrines of the faith centered around the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of the Son of God, the atonement.

In Western Europe during the sixteenth century and before, however, justifiable concern arose among the Reformers over a prevailing understanding that salvation depended on human works of merit, and not on the grace and mercy of God. Their rediscovery of Romans 5 lead to the slogan sola fides: justification by faith alone.

This Reformation debate in the West raised the question for the Orthodox East: Why this new polarization of faith and works? It had been settled since the apostolic era that salvation was granted by the mercy of God to righteous men and women. Those baptized into Christ were called to believe in Him and do good works. An opposition of faith versus works was unprecedented in Orthodox thought.

The Orthodox understanding of justification differs from the Protestant in several ways.

1Justification and the new covenant. When Orthodox Christians approach the doctrine of salvation, the discussion centers around the new covenant. Justification—being or becoming righteous—by faith in God is part of being brought into a covenant relationship with Him. Whereas Israel was under the old covenant, in which salvation came through faith as revealed in the law, the Church is under the new covenant. Salvation comes through faith in Christ, who fulfills the law. We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, leading us to the knowledge of God the Father. Rather than justification as a legal acquittal before God, Orthodox believers see justification by faith as a covenant relationship with Him, centered in union with Christ (Rom 6:1–6).

2 Justification and God’s mercy. Orthodoxy emphasizes it is first God’s mercy—not our faith—that saves us. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1, 2). It is God who initiates or makes the new covenant with us.

3 Justification by faith is dynamic, not static. For Orthodox Christians, faith is living, dynamic, continuous—never static or merely point-in-time. Faith is not something a Christian exercises only at one critical moment, expecting it to cover all the rest of his life. True faith is not just a decision, it’s a way of life. Thus, the Orthodox Christian sees salvation in at least three aspects: (a) I have been saved, being joined to Christ in Holy Baptism; (b) I am being saved, growing in Christ through the sacramental life of the Church; and (c) I will be saved, by the mercy of God at the Last Judgment.

Justification by faith, though not the major New Testament doctrine for Orthodox as it is for Protestants, poses no problem. But justification by faith alone brings up an objection. It contradicts Scripture, which says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (Jam 2:24). We are “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28), but nowhere does the Bible say we are justified by faith “alone.” On the contrary, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (Jam 2:17).

As Christians we are no longer under the demands of the Old Testament law (Rom 3:20), for Christ has fulfilled the law (Gal 2:21; 3:5, 24). By God’s mercy, we are brought into a new covenant relationship with Him. We who believe are granted entrance into His Kingdom by His grace. Through His mercy, we are justified by faith and empowered by God for good works or deeds of righteousness that bring glory to Him.

Faith here is defined as a way of life, i.e. faithfulness.

While the notes on the various usage of faith in the Orthodox Study Bible would make for a necessary inquiry I will only look at two passages from James cited in the article on justification. 

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

The note is as follows:

The faith that saves is a complete faith, not just the mind and the tongue but the whole man trusting in the living God. This means our faith and our relationship with God—our justification—are dynamic and living, Our faith grows and affects our actions, or it dies. “Faith alone” (by itself, v. 17), static faith, does not save. We must nurture our faith in God and love for Him through our works. “Do not say you are the temple of the Lord, writes Jeremiah [see Jer 7:3]; nor should you say that faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ can save you, for this is impossible unless you acquire love for Him through your works. As for faith by itself, ‘the devils also believe, and tremble’” (MaxCon).

First of all the citation from St. Maximos the Confessor is of no use because it is not clear what he means by faith. Is it trust? Is it faithfulness? Is it a correct notion of God and divine things as the Confession of Dositheus says? 

Secondly there is now an element of trust added to the definition of faith. No longer is it loyalty and obedience or a way of life but "trusting in the living God."

The article also cites James 2:24.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

The note on this verse and the preceding section which is about Abraham is as follows:

The faith of Abraham is living and active.

(1) In Gn12:1-3, when Abraham is 75 years old, he receives a call to forsake all and follow God

(2) In Gn 15:6, when Abraham is almost 85, after he has proven his faith through years of renouncing his land, family, property, and privileges, God promises him that he will ultimately regain everything he has given up. Abraham's faith in God's promise is “accounted to him for righteousness." God fulfills Abrahams faith by making a covenant with him, an OT liturgical and sacramental act.

(3) In Gn 22:1-19, Abraham is at least 110. He has been tested for years concerning God's promise of a son, Now, after the covenant sacrament of initiation (circumcision) has been given in Gn 17, comes Abraham's supreme test: the sacrifice of Isaac, his son of promise (Gn 15:6).

James reveals that Gn 15:6 is fulfilled in Gn 22. This is a crucial lesson for us in our understanding of justification by faith. Neither Abraham’s faith nor his justification is merely momentary, static, or once-and-for-all. It is dynamic, a growth process that finds its natural and normal realization in good works. Far from being just point-in-time, Abraham's justification covered at least 25 years after God first declared him just. It is living and active faith that saves!

According to this note Genesis 15:6, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" finds fulfillment in Genesis 22 where Abraham was tempted to offer up Isaac. James 2:21 says:

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

What exactly is being fulfilled? Genesis 15:6 is not a promise but a declaration of righteousness based on Abraham's faith. The offering up of Isaac did not make Abraham righteous but it did prove he was a man of faith. As Hebrews 11:17-19 says:

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

There is no note on this passage but there is a note on verses 8 - 12 which describes the nature of Abraham and Sarah's faith.

Faith is simple, but it becomes many-splendored in our lives. For Abraham and Sarah it became a venturesome action (v. 8); obedience (v.8); patience (vv.9,10); trust (v.11); and confidence (v.11). Faith moves from the impermanence and discomfort of living in tents made by man (v.9) to the permanence and solace of the city built by God (v, 10).

Clearly the Orthodox Study Bible utilizes the word faith in many senses. Let's end with the glossary definition. 

FAITH Belief and trust in Christ as one’s Savior, or a reference to Orthodox Christianity as “The Faith.” The effects of this faith are freedom from the power of the DEVIL, the growth and maturity in VIRTUE, and progress toward perfection and union with God. One is saved by faith through GRACE—a living faith manifested by a righteous life. (See article,, “Justification by Faith,” at Rom 5; see also Rom 3:28; Gal 2:1; who have sinned against them (Mt 6:14, 15; Eph2:8; Jam 2:14—17.)

Here faith is defined as "trust in Christ as one's Savior." But this definition also says "one is saved by faith through GRACE—a living faith manifested by a righteous life." That makes faith not trust in Christ only but faithfulness as in loyalty and obedience as the notes on Romans 5 said. There are two contradicting definitions in this definition. 

The notes of the OSB warrant closer scrutiny but the point is it does not define faith as knowledge like the Confession of Dositheus.

"When God Became White" is a Neo-Gnostic Book About Worshipping the Divine Feminine

"When God Became White: Dismantling Whiteness For A More Just Christianity" by Grace Ji-Sun Kim is an awful book. It is unabashedly racist, lacks historical nuance, is unscholarly, and is heretical in all of its notions of who God is. Grace's thesis is God is not a white man and we should worship the divine feminine. 

I am not going to dwell on the historical aspects of this book. That would take way too long because it is chock full of bad history. Instead I want to focus on its spiritual aspects. The page numbers used are from a PDF and might not reflect the actual book's numbering.

Here are just a few examples of the bad history contained within the pages of this book.

It was Augustine who developed the just-war theory in the fifteenth century based on the understanding that there are worse evils than physical destruction. This just-war theory has been a dominant Christian empire-building position used repeatedly since Augustine’s time to wage wars and crusades.

pg. 48

During the European Renaissance (1350–1600 CE), Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s Last Judgment were painted on the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

pg. 102

This is completely wrong because Augustine did not live in the 15th century and da Vinci's The Last Supper is in Milan which is far from the Roman Sistine Chapel. Are these typos? How could an editor overlook these obvious errors? If Grace cannot get something so small correct then how can she be trusted with her overarching thesis which embraces world history and the development of Christianity? She cannot be trusted.

During the COVID pandemic there were many attacks on people of Asian descent in the USA. Grace claims those attacks were a by-product of whiteness.

And again, we saw a surge of hate crimes during the Covid-19 pandemic where elderly and young Asian women were beaten, kicked, yelled at, and even murdered. The Atlanta spa shooting in 2021 resulted in the murder of eight people in a rampage at three spas. Six out of the eight murdered were Asian, and this violent act has become an ongoing pattern.

pgs. 80-81

It would be tedious to point out the fact that the majority of those incidents were not hate crimes but the acts of mentally disturbed black homeless men. The spa rampage in Atlanta was also not a hate crime but 

the result of a sex addiction that conflicted with (the killer's) religious beliefs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Atlanta_spa_shootings#Motive

Those facts are inconvenient to the leftist racist screed that is this book so they are excised.

Finally, no anti-white book is complete without mentioning Trayvon Martin.

On February 26, 2012, a seventeen-year-old African American boy, Trayvon Martin, was shot dead by George Zimmerman while walking home to his father’s fiancée’s townhouse in Sanford, Florida. The life of this young, innocent Black boy was taken because he was perceived as being in the wrong neighborhood.

pg. 120

Wrong. Plain wrong. Here are the facts of the case and as laid out before a jury. A gated community had been suffering a rash of break-ins. Community watchman George Zimmerman, a Hispanic man, saw a person he did not recognize and considered suspicious. After calling 911 he decided, against advice, to confront Martin. Martin violently assaulted Zimmerman causing Zimmerman to fire his gun in self-defense. Trayvon Martin was by no means the innocent cherub which the media and leftists portray him as.

Photo of George Zimmerman taken after the shooting

After the initial investigation Zimmerman was cleared of any wrong doing. It was not until a nationwide outcry arose that he was finally charged with murder. A jury trial acquitted him of all charges. The fact that this lady is continuing to push such a blatantly false narrative 12 years after the fact says all we need to know about her and this book. She is not serious and she is a liar. The review could end here but we shall press on to the spiritual aspects.

Grace Ji-Sun Kim spills a lot of ink disparaging missionaries who spread "The White Good News" and ignored native cultures and religions believing theirs was superior.

European Christianity was transported to Africa without any respect for African religions, spirituality, culture, and their rich religious history.

pgs. 55-56

Christians need to honor and respect indigenous traditions and carefully listen to their prayers, regalia, songs, sacred drumming, and dance. The white church must come to welcome and recognize indigenous peoples as a vital part of God’s community and kingdom on earth.

pgs. 60

These two sentences tell us that Grace does not see any difference between Christianity and non-Christian religions. Praying to Jesus Christ is just the same as sacred drumming to the Great Spirit. What would she say to Paul and the other Apostles who travelled the world to preach Jesus Christ? What would she say to Jesus Christ who commanded them to do so? What exactly is her view of The Great Commission?

Grace thinks white missionaries are not really preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified but "whiteness" which is really just racism.

As white Christianity spread, it impacted and molded the identities of people of color around the globe in an attempt to Anglicize these other cultures. Part of the “good news” that was shared was intended to separate people of color from their own cultural heritages and customs and adopt a white Christian identity, practice, and religion.

White Christianity, which was disseminated by European missionaries and adopted through white enslavers, is not the true Christianity that it has routinely positioned itself to be. True Christianity cannot and should not endorse racism, xenophobia, subjugation, discrimination, domination, colonialism, or enslavement. Christianity through the lens of the powerful, the mighty, or the colonialist cannot be the real Christianity of love, liberation, and hope that Jesus shared as he walked the earth. This is not good news. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the colonizer aspect of white Christianity, unpack and dismiss its defining components, and move toward a Christianity that is truly liberating and empowering for all people of color.

pgs. 71-72

This whiteness shows up in Christian theology.

Throughout the history of Christian theology, all the major theologians have portrayed God as male and white. For example, Anselm of Canterbury presents a theory of atonement that portrays God as a European feudal lord. Martin Luther uses male pronouns to speak about God and talks about God as ruler of the two kingdoms. These are masculine attributes and ideals. The problem with this representation is that it stratifies and systematizes a faith that is supposed to embrace the idea that all people are equal. This social understanding has damaged all other ethnic groups and led to the attempted destruction of other cultures.

pg., 87

Grace never explains her comments on Anselm. She never takes the time to explore and unpack his theology and prove why it is white and thus wrong. As for Luther, is Grace totally unaware that the Bible represents God as a king and refers to Him as He? Of course she is. Regal and male pronouns are problematic.

It is not just the whiteness of God that is problematic but also the gendering of God as a man. These two identities of whiteness and maleness that were cast on the Christian God have influenced church doctrines, liturgy, prayer, hermeneutics, and the life of the church. This gendered God is emphasized in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. Male pronouns and nouns have been used throughout the Scriptures to describe and refer to God. It is strange that throughout church history, strong patriarchal words such as King, Master, Lord, Sovereign, and Almighty are used to talk about a loving and graceful God. In light of sexism, gendered violence, and other atrocities committed against women in society and in Christianity, this white gendered understanding of God is clearly problematic.

A gendered God legitimizes and promotes patriarchy and discrimination, and it subordinates and problematizes women in church and society. When racism and sexism intersect, women of color—especially Black women—endure the greatest hardships and atrocities.

Women live in a world where men push them to assume the status of the other, and they have become subjugated in society, family, and under religion. This dynamic is demonstrated in various spheres of society and in relationships such as in traditional marriages, family relationships, and the church where men have power over women.

To make women into an other benefits men greatly. Simone de Beauvoir believes that men view woman as a sexual partner, a reproducer, an erotic object—an other through whom he seeks himself. Women have been objectified by men throughout centuries in many cultures and societies. As objects, women can be violated, abused, and sexually assaulted without any fear of repercussion. In our world where so much of our existence is cast in dualistic terms, the division this creates prevents us from being able to embrace hybridity, ambiguity, and trans identity. 

pg. 131

According to Grace "strong patriarchal words such as King, Master, Lord, Sovereign, and Almighty" are antithetical to love and grace. Proof? None. She asserts it and moves on to stating that these patriarchal terms lead to the subjugation of women "in relationships such as in traditional marriages." Yeah, Grace is against traditional marriages but is gung-ho for trans identity. What is a woman, Grace?

How did Jesus become white anyway? It has to do with power.

So how did an olive-brown-skinned Jesus become white, and what is the purpose of having a white Jesus and a white God? It has to do with power. A white Jesus and a white God are created and reinforced by the desires of those who held power and authority. During the Roman Empire, an olive-brown-skinned Jesus was not useful for the expansion of their empire and kingdom. They needed a white Jesus who resembled them to validate their dominance, dominion, and authority. An olive-skinned Jewish Jesus would have opened the door to there being a different authority, so he became white with blue eyes and blond hair to resemble those who were already in power—the Roman Empire.

pg. 100

What follows are several paragraphs of unproven assertions with very little footnotes. Grace is making it up as she goes. 

According to Grace not only is a white Jesus harmful but so is the Biblical imagery of whiteness as purity from sin because it alienates people of color.

The white European early churches found it easy to make Jesus white as there are biblical references to white being good, pure, and beautiful and tradition of white Europeans inventing a white Jesus. It was so widely believed that this was the “true” image and likeness of Jesus, that Brown, Black, and Asian people around the globe hung this image in their churches, homes, and offices as a way to exhibit their Christian faith and belief in Jesus.

Black being associated with night and evil. The equating of whiteness with purity and goodness in the Bible created the perfect vehicle for whitewashing Jesus. The notion of the color white as good has been transferred to Jesus, who is seen as pure, perfect and holy. John 1:29 states, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Lambs are depicted as white and pure even though they come in different colors. Think of the nursery rhyme: “Mary had a little lamb; its fleece was white as snow.” This imagery of Jesus as the pure sacrificial Lamb of God reinforces and sustains the idea of Jesus being white.

Scripture also states, “If your sins are like scarlet, will they become like snow? If they are red like crimson, will they become like wool?” (Isaiah 1:18). Sin is bad and we are stained/tainted by it, but once we are forgiven, we will be made white as snow. The perpetual focus on white imagery in the Bible as an indicator of goodness and purity alienates people of color.

pg. 102-103

Proof? What is the proof that the Biblical imagery of whiteness "alienates people of color?" There is none offered. Since she offers no proof her claim must be dismissed as frivolous. 

Furthermore calling Jesus Light and contrasting him with darkness is harmful dualism. Calling Jesus Logos is also harmful because it is masculine. Sophia, the divine feminine, is a better choice.

In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” which means he is pure and good. Jesus came into the world to bring light into darkness. Jesus is the light, and light is goodness and stands in contrast to the darkness, which is evil and bad. The writer of John lived in a dualistic world, and he incorporates that dualism into the imagery of Jesus as the light in a dark and evil world. Darkness and light are separate and cannot be brought together.

Dualism is very problematic as it divides the world into two categories in which there can be no harmony. In this dualistic world, Jesus can only be viewed as white and male as both categories are lauded as good and desirable. The feminine is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the male.

Within dualism, we also see the contrast of knowledge, or the masculine logos, as better than wisdom, or the feminine Sophia. The preference for logos over Sophia also leads to a male Jesus. Jesus is understood as the word of God; as Scripture states, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

pg. 104

That's right Grace thinks the word Logos should be replaced by Sophia because such a change would "save women." 

In Scripture, the feminine Wisdom is clearly associated with God and assigned to Jesus. “In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Jesus is Wisdom and therefore embodies a feminine dimension of God. This is provocative news that got sidelined by male leaders.

John’s prologue reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). But scholars “detect an association with Jewish wisdom (Sophia)” underneath the language of Word/logos. If this is the case the text would be better understood as "In the beginning was the Wisdom and the Wisdom was with God, and the Wisdom was God” (John 1:1). This is in line with Proverbs 8:22-31, where Wisdom is co-creating with God: “Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth . . . then I was beside him, like a master worker” (Proverbs 8:23, 30). “Wisdom is depicted as a person accompanying God in the act of creation. The Word’s personification and creative activity in John’s prologue suggests a link with Jewish Sophia. . . . John’s personification of the Word draws on the personification of Sophia.” This emphatically shows that Sophia is God, which then reinforces the feminine divine.

pgs. 143-144

Christianity today would be different if we focused on Sophia rather than logos. This feminine understanding of God turns our understanding of God upside down. It goes against all the one-sided masculine, authoritative, fearful images of God and presents a God who takes care, loves, and rejoices in us. Sophia presents a hopeful reimagining of God in a patriarchal world. It saves women.

pg. 145

Save them how? Let's explore that thought. No? Ok. Moving on. 

She wants to abandon the maleness of Jesus Christ the Logos for the divine feminine of Sophia. That is neo-gnostic heresy. Again, her problem is not with a so-called white Jesus or white Christianity or patriarchy but with the Bible. Surely she is aware that Jesus is a man, right? Interestingly the fact that Jesus is a man is never brought up except in a negative way with the purpose of rejecting it.

How can we unpack whiteness and move towards a nonwhite Christianity?

Remembering their white privilege and how it gets translated into Christianity and Christian practice is a major step toward healing choices to eliminate whiteness from Christianity. Songs, hymns, prayers, and liturgical choices that reflect a global contextual understanding of faith and Christianity would be a major step toward justice.

pg. 88

Grace wants "to eliminate whiteness from Christianity" through syncretism. According to Grace syncretism is part and parcel of Christianity. 

Embracing a both/and approach to Christianity and faith will help the church move toward a more holistic view of faith and spirituality. Syncretism and mixing of religions and culture have always been part of the Christian church history, and we need to allow this syncretism to exist for every culture.

pg. 66

According to Grace when white people syncretize that's good. When colored people do it that's bad.

Christianity has always been a mixing of various cultures and religious practices. For example, if we look at Anselm’s theory of atonement, he used European cultural concepts and ideas such as lord and serf from his own period in the Middle Ages. Additionally, when we come together to celebrate Easter, we must not ignore its pagan roots and practices. The inclusion of Easter eggs is a pagan practice that has become a staple image during Easter. Easter started out as a celebration of the spring equinox, a time when all of nature awakens from winter and the cycle of renewal begins anew. Anglo-Saxon pagans celebrated this rebirth by invoking Eostre or Ostara, the goddess of spring and fertility. Pagans decorated eggs to celebrate rebirth and gift them to family and friends. This does not have anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb. But it all eventually became part of white Christian Easter celebrations, which is an example of syncretism. When white Christians engage in syncretism it is never understood to be syncretism. Rather it is simply accepted as Christianity and Christian tradition. It is only when people of color engage in syncretism that people get alarmed and nervous about it.

pg. 152

Again where is her proof for anything in that paragraph? It's mere assertion with no weight. Easter, also known as Passover, has been with Christianity from the beginning. It has NOTHING to do with the Spring equinox or Estore. Here is her second chance to break down Anselm but she once more refuses to do so. Has she even read Cur Deus Homo? What is her view of the atonement exactly?

Forget about the Bible saying there is ONE FAITH. White folks must pull from every faith tradition around the globe and eliminate themselves from Christianity altogether. Good-bye Aquinas, Anselm, Luther, Calvin, St. Francis, and every other white theologian who has uniquely enriched the faith of billions of BOTH sexes and all colors over the past few hundred years. Say hello to...Grace does not say who exactly.   

What needs to be done is to build new Christian traditions based on non-European contexts?

We need to engage with one another and learn from one another, especially those who are so different from us. This will deepen our own Christian faith and build new Christian traditions going forward.

pg. 93

What will these new Christian traditions be? How does Grace Ji-Sun Kim envision this new Christianity shorn of the influence of white men like Anselm? 

We need to move away from a raced and gendered God. A masculine white God has perpetuated sexism and racism deep within church and society. To achieve any form of justice and peace, we need to seek ways of reimagining and talking about a nonwhite and nongendered God. One way is to talk about the Shekinah and Sophia and emphasize the feminine dimension of God. This will do wonders to half the world’s population who feel suppressed, subordinated, and subjugated by the church’s teachings of patriarchy which was reinforced by a white male God. Another way is to use Spirit language.

pg. 159

Yes, let us move away from male-centric, Biblical language like Father and Son and emphasize the FEMININE DIMENSION OF GOD. Now Grace has moved the goalposts and God is gendered as a woman. Nice Job. Why is it better God is gendered as a woman and not a man? She does not say. Inclusion and justice, I suppose.

My goal is to work toward reimagining a nonwhite and a nongendered God—a God who can help us build a more just society, faith community, and loving church. Spirit God will teach us that everyone is equal and everyone, regardless of gender, race, and ethnicity, is welcomed into the body of Christ. But how do we incorporate these new practices into our lives so we can move toward a nonwhite and nongendered God who embraces all people? We reimagine God by rethinking and rewriting worship and liturgy, reconsidering discipleship, and reshaping our community of faith. Reconceptualizing our understanding of God will inform and impact our behavior in church and society.

pgs., 161-162

One of the best places to start is thinking of God as Breath.

We can also think of God as vibration. 

pg. 164

What is this nonsense? This certainly is not Biblical. God is not breath or vibration. Did she forget Jesus, who incarnated as a man and who is the ONLY mediator between God and man, is God? Does she confess Jesus is God? Does she understand Jesus had everything that pertains to being a male? 

Rather than focus on a male Jesus Christ, who just so happens to be the center of the Christian faith and the subject of the entire Bible, Grace wants us to reflect upon God as genderless Spirit.

A liberative way of understanding God is to view God as Spirit. Spirit is genderless and raceless.

pg. 157

Yes, we should always have the Holy Spirit in mind when thinking of God because He is part of the Trinity. No, Spirit is not genderless. Jesus says when the comforter, that is the Holy Spirit, comes HE will lead us into all truth. I refer Grace and every other reader to this article where the maleness of the Holy Spirit is made abundantly clear from scriptures and also the entire issue of feminine and masculine traits as applied to God is discussed. Her thesis that this language has been ignored and suppressed by the Church is flat out wrong. Again, Grace's problem is ultimately with the scriptures and not the bugbear of White Christianity.

Oddly enough Grace undermines her project of "reimagining God" by acknowledging God is beyond our imagination.

God is beyond our own words and imaginations. Our finite human minds cannot conceive an infinite God. God is that which we cannot fully comprehend and understand. God cannot be bound by the limitations and imaginations of human beings. Exodus 3:14 states, “I AM WHO I AM.” We cannot limit God’s eternity and how “God will be who God will be.” We cannot confine God to our little minds, as God is beyond ourselves. Augustine said, “If we think that is God, that is not God.”

pg. 152-153

If this is true then why not stick to the revelation given in Scripture that God is King and Father? Because, as I previously noted, Grace's problem is with the Scriptures. Knowing her doctrine of the Scriptures  regarding infallibility, inerrancy, and inspiration is a necessary key to unlocking this book which she does not provide.

It is too bad Grace does not explore apophaticism but that is par for the course as she was content with maligning Anselm's theology of the atonement in a passing comment rather than exegete his texts and prove her point. 

There is so much nonsense in this book that I cannot continue. I have left plenty of material on the cutting room floor. A true examination of "When God Became White" would require an even bigger book. This article is a cursory glance in comparison. I will mention one last tidbit from Grace.

Chi is an Asian term for spirit and is a helpful concept for us living in the West as it assists us to overcome the dualistic tendencies of white Christianity. White Christianity views the body as evil as well as matter, but in Eastern philosophy, the body is important. Chi seeks bodies, for it is within our bodies that we experience the dynamic flow of Chi, and it is Chi that heals us physically and spiritually. We must allow the free movement of Chi to strengthen us, heal us, motivate us to do the work of God.

pg. 156

This is too stupid to comment on so I won't. Suffice to say she is making another unproven and wrong assertion. Now, White Christianity has become Manichaeism. Also Chi is best translated force not spirit.  The Force in Star Wars is modeled after Chi. Take that into account, you must. Grace wants us all to be Jedis rather than worship the personal Holy Spirit who the scriptures present as male. 

Believe it or not Darth Vader makes an appearance in this book. 

The perception of Black people as evil is even embedded in our pop culture and literature. In the Star Wars movie franchise, the good people are white and Darth Vader, who is the prominent evil character, is dressed in black from head to toe. This pervading imagery of black being bad and white being good perpetuates racism, prejudice, and stereotyping of Black people and other people of color, both implicitly and explicitly. The list of examples of the stereotyping and racist acts that are happening in our society against people of color goes on and on.

pg. 120

Forget about his redemption. Darth Vader perpetuates racism because his costume is black. Her note on this section is interesting.

Darth Vader is the most prominent evil character in the Star Wars movie franchise. Original trilogy villains such as Grand Moff Tarkin and Emperor Palpatine are white, but the one who stands out most prominently in the franchise is Darth Vader, who is dressed in black.

pg. 184

Some Star Wars villains are white but Vader is dressed in black. Is she aware Anakin Skywalker, who became Darth Vader, is a white man too? Can everyone please stop abusing Star Wars for their ridiculous racist and sexist agendas? I'm looking at you Disney.

Who is this book written for? White people? No! It is written for nonwhite people, especially women, who have embraced the traditional God of the Bible who identifies as the Lord God Almighty and who Jesus tells us to call Father. She wants those readers to keep a journal to mark their spiritual progress as they decolonize their faith from all expressions of anything that could be considered white and male. Grace even includes a section of Questions for Reflection and Discussion to assist them in that endeavor.

This book is garbage. It is filled with irrelevant autobiographical details, it is filled with bad history, it is filled with assertions and generalizations, and it is ultimately a call to abandon the Christian faith for the neo-gnostic heresy of worshipping the divine feminine, Sophia. If you come across this book don't buy it. Just leave it alone to collect dust. You're better off reading the Pistis Sophia than this race-baiting claptrap.