Fr. Mark Hodges is an Orthodox missionary priest in Bullhead City, AZ. Fr. Mark is a former American Baptist. In this interview with Share the Faith, Fr. Mark shares his unique insights on how to effectively witness to Baptists and other Evangelicals. Fr. Mark addresses Church history, early Church worship and practices, Sola Scriptura, the Orthodox teaching on salvation and how it differs from Protestantism, “proof texting”, what happens when you excise from the Faith anything not found “in the Bible”, the unity between faith and works in the Bible, intercessory prayer of the Saints, veneration of Mary, and more. This is a must watch video for all Orthodox Christians who want to learn to effectively answer Baptist / Evangelical claims.
To find out more about Fr. Mark and his mission, visit his page here.
In the excerpt below, we cover select topics from Fr. Mark. There is no such thing as personal Biblical interpretation. The Holy Spirit guides the Church in understanding the scriptures, not individuals. Individual interpretation of scriptures leads to chaos. Salvation is a growing relationship with God, not a mental belief system. Protestants misunderstand Faith and Salvation. If you study Church History, you will find the Orthodox Church – infant baptism, liturgy, hierarchy, and people alive with the love of God. You cannot remove all the things not found in the Bible and still have an authentic Christian life. The Fathers of the Church had a high view of scripture, but never tried to replace God with a book. No one ever taught that, or believed that such a thing was possible, until Martin Luther came along. The Bible itself refutes Sola Scriptura. There is no tension between Faith and Works. Paul and James are in agreement. You can’t make idols of individual words and passages of scripture and pretend that is somehow Christian.
