I believe that overall one of the best things that has happened to Christianity in the last 20 years is the rise of the internet and social media. Don’t get me wrong, there is a ton of boorish, unChristlike behavior out there that I find embarrassing. However, I also think that Christians need to discuss and work out differences in belief. Tom Wadsworth has been spreading the word that the early church services were much more interactive affairs than what we have today. They were not just a monologue performed by an officially degreed and ordained pastor. Dialog is important.
That brings me to an unfortunate situation. I have been following two YouTube channels for a while: Faith Unaltered and Real Seekers. Faith Unaltered is a channel that is a cooperative effort by about half a dozen people including Tyler Fowler and Dale Glover while Real Seekers is a sole proprietorship ran by Dale Glover alone. It appears that a few years ago everyone at Faith Unaltered were pretty similar in their theological beliefs but as time has gone on there has been a divergence of views. Tyler Fowler was originally a Calvinist but has decided in the last couple of years to convert to Easter Orthodoxy. I want to say that Dale Glover was, and remains, a Calvinist but I am not completely sure of that. At any rate he has remained a Protestant and this has caused serious rifts between the two men.
What has brought Fowler and Glover to loggerheads is Glover’s accusation that Eastern Orthodoxy doesn’t have a strong positive case why they should be considered the orthodox (with a lower case “o”) option. Glover makes the accusation, and I completely agree with him here, that Eastern Orthodox simply claim “Protestant bad!,” “Roman Catholic bad!” so the only option we are left with is Eastern Orthodoxy. To quote the famous theoretical physicist Wolfgang Pauli, that’s not even wrong.
To get more details about what has been going on please check out Dale Glover’s recent YouTube video:
So how should we evaluate Eastern Orthodox claims to being the correct choice? Their claims to being the one true faith hinge on their oral tradition being valid. They literally blow off “Sola Scriptura” (scripture alone) and claim that their oral tradition has equal validity to the Word of God. Wow, that is a bold claim! How should we validate that claim? I have been able to think of a few things:
- Both Deuteronomy 13 and Deuteronomy 18 contain instructions for recognizing false prophets.
- The Apostle Paul in Galatians 1 stated that anyone who taught a different Gospel than the one Paul taught is accursed.
- Then there are passages such as Matthew 7:15-20 and Galatians 5:22-23 that can be easily used to contrast the fruit produced by wolves in sheep’s clothing and the fruits of the spirit.
I encourage anyone who reads this post to carefully read the Deuteronomy passages. What I glean from them is two criteria: if a prophet makes a prediction (prophecy) that doesn’t come true they are a false prophet OR even if the prophet makes a true prophecy but he tries to lead people from the Lord he is a false prophet. Unfortunately I don’t think this will conclusively decide the issue for me. Every religion loves prophecy, all religions I know of have a lot of prophecy. I’m willing to bet that all of the men who developed the oral tradition used by the Eastern Orthodox have miracles credited to them. How do I know if these stories are true? The truth is I can’t, I would have to be a contemporary of the men and have witnessed these prophecies and/or miracles with my own eyes which is clearly impossible now. I do think these traditions lead people away from the Lord but that’s because I hold to the exclusivity of scripture. I can’t assume what I’m trying to prove.
What about Eastern Orthodox teaching a false, works laden Gospel? The Eastern Orthodox are as dependent on works as the Roman Catholic Church they dismiss (check out the article “How Are We Saved?“) but if you accept their oral tradition then you might be able to swallow the works. Sure the Apostle Paul says that salvation is by faith alone but Saint So-and-So has a much more nuanced take on that and who are you to challenge the teaching of a Saint? I think this scores points against the big “O” Orthodox but they will never accept it.
This brings us to the fruit bearing passages. I think thee passages are rather clear cut and they lay out clear rules that ANYONE can understand. First, here’s Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 15-20
I think the passage in Galatians 5 is particularly important because a Christian should show the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
I also want to include a passage from 1 Corinthians 13:
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
This is where I am starting to see a big difference between the two men and how they are approaching this situation. I do see how Tyler Fowler could be angry with how Dale Glover pushed him but it does seem to be a big over-reaction on his part. On the other hand Dale Glover has laid everything out there and actually made himself vulnerable to attack. What I think is going on with Tyler Fowler is that he’s decided Dale Glover is not a believer (if Dale isn’t a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church then of course he isn’t!) so civility is no longer necessary. Tyler Fowler has not shown the hallmarks of Fruits of the Spirit or of love. I do think we owe a higher standard of conduct to fellow believers but Fowler’s conduct is not acceptable for any Christian toward anyone. If Fowler proves to be petty and vindictive, as he is looking now, then I will have my answer about who is right and who, at the least, is an immature believer. If the Eastern Orthodox folks end out choosing clan (the Eastern Orthodox) over truth I will openly declare that they and their tradition stinketh to high heaven. No Fruits of the Spirit indicates empty ritual and a rotten denomination.