Father Moses
YouTube
A Former Protestant Priest's Case: Why Protestantism Falls Short of Christianity
10:26
What the video says
The speaker, a former Protestant now Orthodox, critiques Protestantism as a religion (not individual Protestants) for five major problems he observed: the business church model with no financial transparency, tolerated sexual sin, absence of any call to repentance, a cross-less Christianity that avoids struggle and self-denial, and teaching that contradicts or reinterprets Christ's clear words about baptism and the Eucharist. He contrasts this with Orthodox practice, such as parish budget votes and requiring repentance before baptism, arguing that Christianity that goes against Christ's words isn't truly Christianity.
Key moments
- If your Christianity goes against Christ, the title 'Christian' may not fit; without bearing the cross and following Christ, it isn't Christianity.
- The business church model: most Protestant churches lack financial transparency, no public budget vote, and members become customers rather than voting members.
- Orthodox churches contrast with annual budgets, review of spending, full transparency, and parish-wide votes; a visitor was amazed by this openness.
- Rampant sexual sin: many coming from Baptist churches live with boyfriends or girlfriends; the speaker cannot make them catechumens until they marry or separate.
- No call to repentance: Protestant pastors knew of cohabitation and drug use but said nothing; there is no repentance before baptism and people live the same afterward.
- Cross-less Christianity: claims that Christians face no temptations are false; if the devil leaves you alone, you pose no threat and are not growing in righteousness.
- Bearing the cross includes struggles like raising children; rejecting new life while claiming to be pro-life contradicts the self-denial Christ commands.
- Antichrist words: Protestants deny baptism for the remission of sins and reinterpret Christ's words on eating His body and drinking His blood, correcting the Lord to fit their theology.
Father Moses, a former Protestant who is now Orthodox, explains why he no longer takes Protestantism seriously as a religious system, while distinguishing his critique of the system from judgment of individual Protestants. He structures his talk around five major problems he observed during his years in Protestant churches. First, the business church model: most congregations lack financial transparency, with no public budgets or member votes, turning members into customers. He contrasts this with Orthodox parish practice, where budgets are reviewed and voted on openly, a transparency that once amazed a visitor. Second, tolerated sexual sin: many people coming from Baptist backgrounds live with boyfriends or girlfriends, and he cannot make them catechumens until they marry or separate. Third, the absence of any call to repentance: pastors knew of cohabitation and drug use but said nothing, there is no repentance before baptism, and people live the same afterward. Fourth, what he calls a cross-less Christianity: claims that Christians face no temptations are false, since if the devil leaves a person alone, that person poses no threat and is not growing in righteousness. Bearing the cross includes everyday struggles such as raising children, and rejecting new life while claiming to be pro-life contradicts Christ's command of self-denial. Fifth, teaching that contradicts or reinterprets Christ's own words: denying baptism for the remission of sins and reworking Christ's words about eating His body and drinking His blood to fit human theology. His central claim is that a Christianity without the cross loses everything else, and that a religion which corrects the Lord rather than obeying Him may not deserve the name Christian. The post also promotes the building of a new Orthodox parish.
Main points
- Five critiques: business church model, tolerated sexual sin, no call to repentance, cross-less Christianity, and reinterpreting Christ's words.
- Protestant churches often lack financial transparency; Orthodox parishes vote on budgets openly.
- Cohabiting converts must marry or separate before becoming catechumens.
- If the devil leaves you alone, you are not growing in righteousness; the cross includes everyday struggles.
- Denying baptismal remission and reworking Christ's Eucharistic words amounts to correcting the Lord.