Monday, May 8, 2017

Responding to a deceptive Evangelical Meme

I recently encountered this meme comparing and contrasting the Iglesia Ni Cristo with Evangelicalism vis-รก-vis what one must do/hold to be "saved."



Let me first state that I am not a fan of the Iglesia Ni Cristo and I reject much of its theology (e.g., its Socinian Christology). However, ignoring the eisegesis of Eph 2:8-9 to give the impression that the Bible affirms sola fide, I wish to address the rather deceptive depiction of the Evangelical Protestant "answer" to "what must I do/believe to be saved."

In reality, for an Evangelical like James White and others, one must hold to the alien imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ; Sola Scriptura; inerrancy of the autographs of the Old and New Testaments; the Trinity and related doctrines (e.g., the Hypostatic Union); forensic justification; penal substitution, etc., otherwise one is not a Christian or, at the very least, one is grossly inconsistent in terms of their theology (cf. how Calvinists view many Arminians). It is for that reason that this meme is deceptive at its core.