“The fruit of online apologetics is such that those who desire attention can receive it through outlandish claims and outright misrepresentation. This is not limited to Roman Catholics or even Eastern Orthodox online but is observable in Protestant accounts who outright lie about distinctive Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox beliefs. In engaging with these beliefs one must have the utmost care to not bear false witness, not for the sake of being a nice guy or being winsome but because every idle word will be held before you on the day of judgment.”
(Matthew Pearson – TruthScript) In a recent post by an Eastern Orthodox X account, the poster stated, “I’m genuinely curious why Protestants worship the Bible but not God Himself.” When someone responded by stating that in some cases this may be true, the Eastern poster retorted “In every case it’s true.” Something deeper than surface-level polemics is at stake here even if that post was “bait” and made merely for the sake of farming outrage.
Societal Deterioration
Cultural fads are nothing new and have always manifested broadly and among various subcultures. Particular movements, ideas, and even fashion choices will gain traction and ride out their momentum until something inevitably comes to take its place next. Across online Christian communities, this vigor spreads through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X, fueled by ecclesial apologetics centered on Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Oftentimes people raised in Evangelical or Non-Denominational households will readily observe the rapid deterioration of society. This involves seeing the willingness of the mainline churches to capitulate on doctrines essential to the Christian faith and even compromises within their supposedly conservative denomination or parachurch organization on things like women’s ordination or same-sex attraction. These observations of decline, not only within society but among mainline Protestants and conservative Evangelicals, lead to a feeling of incredible instability. Seeking to hold onto Christ in an ever-changing culture, many will look to institutions historically rooted and unmoving, often finding such in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.
CRN has compiled a list of false teachers and several other professing Christians we’ve warned you about over the years. The list also contains those we must keep an eye on plus movements, organizations and “frauds, phonies and money-grubbing religious quacks” to mark and avoid as per Romans 16:17-18