Apostasy in Christianity

Formal disaffiliation from the Christian religion From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Apostasy in Christianity refers to the deliberate abandonment or renunciation of the Christian faith. The term derives from a Greek word denoting rebellion or defection, and in Christian usage, denotes a conscious rejection of Christ and his teachings, as distinct from a private lapse or passing doubt. The concept appears throughout the New Testament in various forms, especially in the warnings of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and became a major concern of the post-apostolic church as it confronted temptation, heresy, and persecution. Most Christian traditions have historically regarded apostasy as a real possibility for believers. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anabaptist, Lutheran, Arminian, and related Protestant traditions have generally affirmed that a genuinely regenerate believer can finally fall away, while Calvinism has notably rejected this possibility. Apostasy has sometimes resulted in ecclesiastical sanctions, and in contemporary usages the term may also refer to formal disaffiliation.

Definition and contributing factors

Apostasy in Christianity is the abandonment or renunciation of Christianity by someone who was formerly a Christian.^[1] The term apostasy comes from the Greek noun apostasia ("ἀποστασία"), formed from apo- ("away from") and stasis ("standing" or "position"), literally denoting a "standing away", "stepping away from", "rebellion", "state of apostasy", "abandonment", or "defection".^[2] It has been described as a willful falling away from, or rebellion against, Christianity, and the rejection of Christ by one who was once a Christian.^[3]^[4] It is a theological category describing those who have voluntarily and consciously abandoned their faith in the God of the covenant, who manifests himself most completely in Jesus Christ.^[5] It is also defined as the antonym of conversion, representing deconversion.^[6]

B. J. Oropeza, who has written one of the most exhaustive studies on the phenomenon of apostasy in the New Testament (3 Volumes, 793 pages),^[7]^[8]^[9] uncovered several factors that can lead to apostasy.^[1] Some of these factors overlap, and some Christian communities were susceptible to more than one of them.^[1] The first major factor in a believer committing apostasy (that is, becoming an unbeliever) is unbelief.^[1] Other factors potentially leading to apostasy include persecution, general suffering and hardship, false teachings and factions,^[10] malaise,^[11] indifference and negligence towards the things of God,^[12] and engaging in sinful acts ("vice-doing") or assimilating to the ungodly attitudes and actions reflected in a non-Christian culture.^[13]

Biblical perspectives

The Greek noun apostasia (rebellion, abandonment, state of apostasy, defection) is found only twice in the New Testament (Acts 21:21 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3), though the broader concept spans across Scripture.^[2]^[14]^[15] The related verb aphistēmi carries major theological weight in passages such as Luke 8:11–13, where Jesus compares seed on rocky ground to those who receive the word with joy but fall away in times of testing, and 1 Timothy 4:1, which warns that in later times some will fall away from the faith by following deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons.^[16]^[17] Similarly, Hebrews 3:12–14 cautions believers against an evil, unbelieving heart that leads one to fall away from the living God, emphasizing mutual daily exhortation to prevent hardening through sin's deceitfulness.^[18] In the Old Testament tradition reflected in Deuteronomy (13:6, 17:2–7), turning away from God to serve other deities was regarded as a covenant-breaking transgression subject to strict judicial purging, a principle recalled in Hebrews 10:28 regarding those who broke the law of Moses without mercy.^[19]

In The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Wolfgang Bauder notes that the First Epistle to Timothy describes falling away from the faith in terms of heretical beliefs, while the Gospel of Luke refers to apostasy resulting from eschatological temptation under persecution. The Epistle to the Hebrews defines apostasy as an unbelieving movement away from God that must be prevented. Thus, the verb aphistēmi connotes the serious situation of becoming separated from the living God after a previous turning towards him.^[20]^[21] Bauder adds that terms meaning "to fall" or "fall off" are used figuratively in the New Testament to refer to the loss of salvation rather than a mere failure from which recovery can be made, representing a catastrophic fall and eternal ruin.^[22]

The concept is further developed through the verb skandalizō (falling away from faith) and the noun skandalon (enticement to unbelief or cause of salvation's loss).^[23]^[24]^[25] Jesus uses these terms in Gospel warnings against personal sin (Matthew 5:27–30), in describing seed sown on rocky ground that falls away during persecution (Matthew 13:20–21; Mark 4:16–17), and in proclaiming eschatological judgments against those who cause believers to stumble or practice lawlessness (Matthew 13:40–42, 18:6–9, 24:4–13; Mark 9:42–48; Luke 17:1–2).^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29] Jesus also uses the term in Johannine farewell discourses to prepare disciples against falling away under world hatred (John 15:18–27, 16:1). In Paul's epistles, skandalon and skandalizō describe obstacles that destroy a weak brother's conscience or lead church members away from sound doctrine (Romans 14:13–20, 16:17–18; 1 Corinthians 8:9–13), while Johannine and apocalyptic writings use the terms to portray hatred, false prophetism, and idolatrous seduction leading to spiritual fall (1 John 2:9–11; Revelation 2:14).^[30]

Heinz Giesen analyzes these Greek terms, observing that in the passive voice the verb often means falling away from faith under persecution or eschatological pressure, leading to ruin and the loss of salvation. In the active voice, it implies causing someone to reject faith, prompting solemn apostolic exhortations to eliminate any obstacle to persevering conviction and to avoid becoming a stumbling block to fellow believers.^[31]

Paul Barnett notes that James warns his readers of the possibility of temptation leading to apostasy. While a person is not tempted by God to sin, they can be lured and enticed by their own desires to sin (James 1:13–15).^[32] He adds that the letter refers to a path of belief and behavior from which one may be led astray or stray by personal decision, jeopardizing their personal salvation (James 5:19–20).^[32] Barnett also mentions that the Second Epistle of Peter addresses apostasy expressed by immorality under the influence of false teachers who denied the master who bought them (2 Peter 2:1–3, 14–22).^[32] Furthermore, regarding the Book of Revelation, Barnett observes that the churches of Asia faced persecution and pressure to apostatize from various quarters, alongside false teachings and satanic deceptions, requiring believers to conquer these spiritual obstacles.^[33]

Apostasy in the Letter to the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews serves as the foundational New Testament document addressing the mechanics of religious defection.^[6] Scholar Scot McKnight proposes that its five major warning sections (2:1–4; 3:7–4:13; 5:11–6:12; 10:19–39; 12:1–29) function as an integrated rhetorical structure containing four recurring elements: the community at risk, the specific transgression, the pastoral call to perseverance, and the ultimate divine judgment.^[34]^[35] His analysis concludes that the author addresses authentically converted Christians who face the peril of willfully renouncing Christ and grieving the Holy Spirit, urging them to remain steadfast in the new covenant to avoid eternal perdition.^[36] Complementing this structural view, B. J. Oropeza notes that the community in Hebrews was simultaneously endangered by external societal abuse and internal spiritual fatigue, which manifested as an unwillingness to receive pastoral exhortation.^[37]

Imagery of apostasy in the Bible

Scriptural literature employs a variety of vivid metaphors to depict the intentional abandonment of faith, primarily grouping them around concepts of revolt, directional deviation, collapse, and marital infidelity.^[38] In classical Greek usage and throughout the Septuagint, the term apostasia evokes the political sphere of a military coup or an insurrection against divine authority (Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19).^[39] This rebellious posture is frequently portrayed in the Old Testament as a directional reorientation, where the human heart deviates from righteousness to pursue illicit deities, a concept captured by the Hebrew root swr, which illustrates stepping off the rightful path established by the covenant (Jeremiah 2:19; Ezekiel 3:20).^[40] Within the New Testament, emphasis shifts toward the imagery of stumbling and catastrophic downward collapse, exemplified by Christ's parable of the house constructed on sand that shatters amidst tempestuous trials (Matthew 7:24–27), highlighting the spiritual peril of moral failure or causing fellow believers to stumble (Mark 9:42–49).^[41]^[42] To underscore the emotional and covenantal gravity of such defection, prophetic writings heavily rely on the metaphor of adultery, framing idolatry as a spouse's heartbreaking betrayal of Yahweh for foreign gods (Jeremiah 2:1–3, 5:7; Ezekiel 16).^[43] This marital betrayal is reinforced by further agrarian and animalistic illustrations across both testaments, ranging from stubborn oxen, wild vines, and indelible stains in the prophetic books (Jeremiah 2:19–28), to Gospel and epistolary depictions of crops withering in shallow soil, severed branches burned in the fire (John 15:6), and animals reverting to mire and vomit (2 Peter 2:20–22).^[44]

Early Church views

Historical evaluations indicate that Christians in the post-apostolic era endured severe external coercion from both imperial authorities and hostile religious opponents, prompting early theologians to issue urgent exhortations for perseverance.^[45]^[46]^[47] Scholarly categorization of patristic warnings reveals three primary threats to Christian endurance: the allure of former pagan vices, doctrinal deception from heretical teachers, and state-sponsored persecution under threat of death.^[48] These intersecting dangers shaped early pastoral letters, which consistently demanded unwavering fidelity to Christian ethics and apostolic dogma.^[49] The following accounts and teachings from various early Christian writers illustrate how the post-apostolic church addressed these threats.

Temptations: avoid vices and practice virtues

In his correspondence with the Corinthian church, Clement of Rome (c. 96) attributed internal schisms to envy and unchecked desires, warning that abandoning godly reverence for worldly lusts leads directly to spiritual death (1 Clement 1–3).^[50] To avert divine condemnation, he exhorted the community to embrace humility, abandon wicked deeds, and earnestly strive to remain among the persevering elect (1 Clement 4–14, 21, 28, 35; cf. 47).^[51]^[52] He condemned factionalism for subverting faith and causing widespread doubt, reminding agitators of Christ's warnings against scandalizing the faithful and urging them to submit to church unity (1 Clement 46, 57).^[53]^[54]

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 107) echoed these concerns, cautioning that individuals who instigate division or follow schismatic leaders forfeit their inheritance in the kingdom of God, whereas those who repent and return to communion are restored to divine favor (Epistle to the Philadelphians 3, 8).^[55]^[56]

The author of the Epistle of Barnabas (c. 100) instructed readers to actively guard their salvation by fleeing moral iniquity, warning that spiritual negligence allows the adversary to hurl believers out of true life into eternal death (Barnabas 2:1–2, 10; 4:1–2, 9–13).^[57]^[58]^[59] Structuring his ethics around the "Two Ways," he contrasted the path of light, characterized by love and obedience, with the way of darkness, which entails idolatry, hypocrisy, and soul-destroying vices (Barnabas 18–21).^[60]^[61]^[62] Similarly, the Didache (c. 100) outlines the way of life through adherence to divine commandments and love of neighbor, while condemning the way of death as a catalogue of heinous immoralities from which disciples must be delivered (Didache 1–6).^[63]^[64]^[65]^[60]

Writing to the Philippians, Polycarp (2nd century) identified covetousness as a destructive vice that defiles believers with idolatry and subjects them to pagan judgment (Philippians 6, 11).^[66] To secure eternal life and reign with Christ, he taught that Christians must actively bridle carnal lusts and walk worthy of their calling (Philippians 5).^[67]^[68] An anonymous homily from the same period (c. 150) stressed that verbal confession alone is insufficient for salvation; believers must validate their faith through righteous conduct, warning that indulgence in worldly desires causes a fall from righteousness into everlasting punishment (2 Clement 4–8).^[69]^[70]

Scholarly analysis notes that while patristic literature rigorously condemns vices, The Shepherd of Hermas provides a pastoral framework for restoration. Unlike the apparent finality found in Hebrews, Hermas affirms that lapsed believers may experience forgiveness if they repent prior to the eschaton, using the allegory of tower stones to illustrate how individuals can be rejected or restored based on their willingness to abandon sin.^[71]

Irenaeus (c. 180) argued that Old Testament historical failures were recorded as perpetual warnings for the New Testament church. He cautioned that believers who despise Christ's authority to serve fleshly desires risk eternal exclusion from the kingdom, emphasizing that knowledge of God does not grant immunity from judgment if one reverts to wickedness (Against Heresies 4:27.2–4).^[72]^[73]

Deceptions: watch out for false teachers and heresies

Early theologians viewed doctrinal corruption as a satanic instrument designed to seduce believers into apostasy.^[74] Ignatius repeatedly alerted congregations to heretical teachers who used Christ's name to mask toxic doctrines, warning that those who corrupt the faith by wicked teaching defile themselves and incur everlasting fire (Epistle to the Ephesians 6–9, 16–17; Magnesians 8, 11; Trallians 6–7, 9).^[75]^[76]^[77] Reflecting Synoptic eschatology, the conclusion of the Didache predicts an end-time proliferation of false prophets who will transform love into hate and cause many to stumble into perdition, promising salvation only to those who endure (Didache 16).^[78]^[74]^[79]

Tertullian contended that the emergence of heresies should neither surprise nor terrify Christians, as apostolic prophecies foretold their rise to test and filter the church (Prescription Against Heretics 1, 4).^[80]^[81] He maintained that while doctrinal error weakens superficial believers, it fails against robust faith grounded in apostolic tradition (Prescription Against Heretics 2, 13, 37).^[82] Comparing heretics to wolves who pervert Scripture, he observed that whereas physical persecution creates martyrs, doctrinal heresy produces only apostates, necessitating continual vigilance (Prescription Against Heretics 3, 4, 17, 38).^[83]

In his Dialogue with Trypho (c. 160), Justin Martyr pointed to sectarian groups who consumed idol sacrifices as living proof of Christ's warnings regarding false prophets. He argued that the existence of movements like the Marcionites and Valentinians should reinforce orthodox steadfastness rather than cause doubt (Dialogue with Trypho 35).^[84] Clement of Alexandria (c. 195) likewise urged believers not to revert to sensual living or heretical opinions, asserting that anyone who abandons ecclesiastical tradition for false doctrine ceases to be a man of God (The Stromata 7:16).^[85]

Cyprian (c. 251) warned that when overt paganism fails, the adversary devises deceptive heresies under the Christian label to fracture church unity. He emphasized that preserving spiritual security requires strict adherence to Christ's commandments and a continual return to the gospel source (The Treatises of Cyprian 1:1–3).^[86]^[87] Historical analyses indicate that early genealogies of heresy, such as those by Eusebius tracing errors from Simon Magus to Gnosticism, framed these movements as satanic traps designed to plunge souls into perdition, which justified the institutional use of excommunication to protect the orthodox community.^[88]^[89]

Persecutions: perseverance and martyrdom

Patristic records of imperial persecution reveal a spectrum of responses: while figures like Polycarp endured martyrdom without reviling Christ, others collapsed under torture, offered pagan sacrifices, or renounced their faith entirely.^[90]^[91] To strengthen sufferers, Clement reminded congregations that brief temporal afflictions endured for righteousness yield the eternal fruit of resurrection (2 Clement 19).^[92] Cyprian similarly exhorted imprisoned confessors to maintain humility and faithful endurance, warning that the crown of life is secured only by persevering to the end (The Epistles of Cyprian 5:2).^[93]^[94]

Ignatius articulated a profound readiness for martyrdom, writing to the Romans that he preferred to be ground by wild beasts as pure wheat for Christ rather than attain worldly prestige (Epistle to the Romans 1–6).^[95] Tertullian defended martyrdom as vital spiritual warfare against idolatry, asserting that choosing death over apostasy preserves the soul for immortality, whereas cowardly denial results in damnation (Scorpiace 4–5, 9–12).^[96] Based on these extensive writings, historical theologians conclude that the early church universally recognized the necessity of ongoing obedience, affirming that even a baptized believer could fall away and perish through defection.^[97]^[98]^[99]

View of Augustine of Hippo

The perspective of Augustine of Hippo (354–430) stands out among early church fathers,^[100] as his theological determinism shaped his understanding of salvation.^[101] Augustine agreed that those who had received baptismal regeneration could apostatize, but argued that this occurs because final salvation depends on the gift of perseverance, which is granted only to some of the elect among the regenerated.^[102] He further maintained that believers cannot know with certainty whether they have received this gift.^[103]^[104] Later theologians influenced by Augustinian soteriology, such as Aquinas and Luther, adopted the same view, maintaining that those without the gift of perseverance could lose the grace of baptismal regeneration and justification.^[105]

Perspectives across Christian traditions

Orthodoxy

The Eastern Orthodox Church supports conditional security and the potential for defection through its traditional liturgical and theological resources.^[106]

Catholicism

In Catholicism, apostasy constitutes the total repudiation of the Christian faith, incurring a latae sententiae excommunication.^[107] Theologians like Thomas Aquinas concurred that justified believers require ongoing divine grace, without which they can fall into mortal sin and lose their salvation.^[105]^[108]

Anabaptism

Within the Anabaptist tradition, bodies such as the Mennonite Church and the Missionary Church maintain that believers retain free moral agency and can consequently turn away from salvation.^[109]^[110]^[111]^[112]

Lutheranism

Martin Luther affirmed that baptismal grace can be lost, warning that falling from grace subjects backsliders to divine wrath.^[113]^[114]^[115] The Smalcald Articles of Lutheranism establish that justifying faith and the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot coexist with unrepented mortal sin, affirming that a genuinely regenerate believer can finally fall away, teaching that even regenerate saints who fall into manifest wickedness forfeit their state of grace.^[116] In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Philip Melanchthon rejects the notion that faith is mere historical knowledge coexist with deliberate sin.^[117] Melanchthon articulated that willingly indulging mortal sin without repentance inevitably drives out the Holy Spirit and destroys justifying faith.^[118]^[119]^[120] Confessional Lutheranism affirms through the Formula of Concord that justifying faith is forfeited whenever individuals willfully turn away from God's commandments.^[121]^[122]^[123]

Anglicanism

Anglicanism recognizes sin after baptism and the genuine possibility of departing from divine grace.^[124]^[125]

Calvinism

Within Calvinist soteriology, spiritual regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit is permanent and necessarily culminates in final salvation.^[126] In Calvin's theology, divine predestination unconditionally elects some to eternal life while bypassing others, ensuring the truly elect cannot experience final perdition (Calvin's Institutes 3.21:5; cf. 3.2:15–40, 14.6–9, 18–20, 24.6f.).^[127] Consequently, apostasy is not possible for true believers.^[128] Although true believers may experience temporary moral lapses, divine grace ensures their eventual restoration.^[127] Calvin posited that scriptural warnings against apostasy serve as providential means to cultivate vigilance in the elect, whereas those who ultimately fall away possess only a superficial faith.^[127] Consequently, he interpreted the severe warnings in Hebrews (6:4–6; 10:26–29) as applying exclusively to reprobate church members who lacked genuine regeneration.^[127] To address this phenomenon of apparent apostasy, he postulated that common grace might include effects that cannot be distinguished from effectual calling and subsequent irresistible grace. Thus, Calvin formulated the concept of a temporary grace (sometimes called "evanescent grace") that appears and works for only a while in the reprobate before fading away.^[129]^[130]^[131]^[132]^[133] According to this concept, the Holy Spirit can create in some people effects which are indistinguishable from those of the irresistible grace of God,^[134] also producing a visible "fruit" in their life.^[135] The doctrine of temporary grace, accounting for only an apparent apostasy, was also upheld by later Calvinist theologians such as Theodore Beza, William Perkins,^[136] John Owen,^[137] A. W. Pink^[138] and Loraine Boettner.^[139] A common corollary is that within this perseverance of the saints framework, one's status as a true Christian is demonstrated only by perseverance to the end.^[140] The Calvinist doctrine of unconditional perseverance was articulated in various Reformed confessions of faith such as the Canons of the Synod of Dort (1619) and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646).^[141]

Arminian traditions

teaches that while believers are empowered by the Holy Spirit, ongoing faith is necessary, and regenerate individuals can fall back into sin and perish.^[142] This perspective was developed by Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609).^[143] After the death of Arminius, his followers wrote a Remonstrance (1610) closely based on his Declaration of Sentiments (1608), which expressed caution regarding the possibility of apostasy.^[144] In particular, its fifth article expressed the necessity of further study on the possibility of apostasy.^[145] Sometime between 1610 and the official proceeding of the Synod of Dort (1618), the Remonstrants became convinced that the Scriptures taught that a true believer was capable of falling away from faith and perishing eternally as an unbeliever.^[146] Simon Episcopius (1583-1643) formalized their views in "The Opinion of the Remonstrants" (1618),^[147]^[148] which was their official stand during the Synod of Dort.^[149] They later expressed this same view in the Remonstrant Confession (1621).^[150]^[151] Puritan John Goodwin (1594–1665) also presented the Arminian position in Redemption Redeemed (1651), defending conditional security.^[152]^[153] Arminian theology heavily influenced subsequent Protestant traditions, leading to several distinct denominational families that affirm conditional security.

General Baptists

Early General Baptists, through figures like Thomas Helwys (1575–1616) and Thomas Grantham (1634–1692), explicitly taught conditional security.^[154]^[155]^[156]^[157]^[158]^[159] Groups like the General Association of General Baptists and the National Association of Free Will Baptists continue to emphasize that regenerate individuals must watch and pray lest they make shipwreck of their faith.^[160]^[161]

Methodism

John Wesley firmly rejected the doctrine of unconditional final perseverance.^[162]^[163] This Arminian understanding of conditional preservation was later defended by Methodist thinkers such as Thomas O. Summers,^[164] and William Burt Pope.^[165]^[166] It continued to influence Wesleyan and Holiness traditions,^[167] such as the United Methodist Church,^[168]^[169] the Salvation Army,^[170] the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana),^[171] and the Church of the Nazarene^[172].

Pentecostalism

Pentecostal denominations like the Assemblies of God maintain that believers remain free to depart from grace and lose their status in Christ.^[173]

Quakerism

In the Quaker tradition, some churches affirm conditional security and the threat of apostasy, such as the Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region.^[174]

Restorationist traditions

Within Restorationist traditions, including the Churches of Christ, recognized scholars affirm conditional security and the possibility of apostasy.^[175]^[176]^[177]

Free grace theology

Originating in the 1980s, Free grace theology promotes an absolute form of eternal security, positing that an individual who has genuinely experienced regeneration can never forfeit eternal salvation, regardless of subsequent conduct or beliefs.^[178]^[179]^[180]

Theological and historical consequences

Pastoral and hermeneutical implications

Theological commentators note that while apostasy is a clearly articulated biblical concept, confessional traditions interpret its practical implications through vastly different hermeneutical frameworks regarding divine sovereignty and human freedom.^[181]^[182] Rather than utilizing warning passages as constant pastoral threats, scholars suggest they function best as moral imperatives that stimulate spiritual examination and deeper reliance on the Holy Spirit.^[183] Furthermore, pastoral theologians emphasize that an individual's ongoing anxiety regarding their salvation is itself subjective evidence that they have not hardened their heart into apostasy.^[184]

Canonical and temporal penalties in Catholicism

In ancient canon law, apostasy a fide, defined as the total repudiation of Christian faith, was distinguished theologically from heresy, but subjected to the same capital penalty of death by fire by decretist jurists.^[185] The influential 13th-century theologian Hostiensis recognized three types of apostasy: conversion to another faith (punishable by property confiscation or death), breaking major commandments, and breaking religious vows (punishable by imprisonment and expulsion).^[186]

A decretal by Boniface VIII classified apostates together with heretics regarding incurred penalties; though explicitly mentioning only apostate Jews, it was applied broadly by the Spanish Inquisition to persecute Marano Jews and Moriscos suspected of reverting to their former faiths after forced conversions.^[187] Temporal penalties for Christian apostates have fallen into disuse in the modern era.^[187]

Contemporary practice and demographics

Poland

In Poland there is no formal state-sanctioned legal way to withdraw from any religious organization with which a person is affiliated. Those who wish to undergo apostasy must rely on the internal procedures set by their particular religious organization.^[188] As of 2020^[update], the procedure for apostasy in the Catholic Church in Poland is governed by rules defined on 19 February 2016, replacing earlier 2008 rules by eliminating the necessity of committing apostasy in the presence of two witnesses.^[189] Apostasy gained popularity during the October 2020 Polish protests, though the total numbers remained marginal compared to the percentage of believers acknowledged by the church.^[190] There is no official nationwide statistic of apostasy maintained by the Catholic Church, though earlier church figures indicated about 1,050 committed apostasies between 2006 and 2009.^[190] The procedure is criticized for not withdrawing the apostate from the church registry as a member; after completion, a notation is simply added to the baptismal book, carrying no civil legal effects and leaving the individual recognized as Catholic by the church canon.^[191]^[192]

United States

Out of all Americans who identify as religiously unaffiliated, including atheists and agnostics, 41% were raised Protestant and 28% were raised Catholic according to the 2014 Pew Religious Landscape survey.^[193]

Notes and references

Citations

[1]
Oropeza 2012a, p. 236.
[2]
Bauder 1975, p. 606.
[3]
Muller 1985, p. 41. "Apostasy is generally defined as the determined, willful rejection of Christ and His teachings by a Christian believer (Heb. 10:26–29; …) (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary […] [Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995], 91). The Tyndale Bible Dictionary defines apostasy as a 'Turning against God, as evidenced by abandonment and repudiation of former beliefs. […]' Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 'People who commit apostasy abandon their faith and repudiate their former beliefs. […] Apostasy is a complete and final rejection of God' ('Apostasy,' Eugene E. Carpenter & Philip W. Comfort, 227)."
[4]
Muller 1985, p. 41, ‌. "The Dictionary of Christian Theology (edited by Alan Richardson) says apostasy 'means the deliberate disavowal of belief in Christ made by a formerly believing Christian' ('Apostasy,' R.P.C. Hanson; The Westminster Press, 1969, 12). Baker's Dictionary of Theology (editor in chief Everett F. Harrison) 'Cremer states that apostasia is used in the absolute sense of passing over to unbelief, thus a dissolution of the union with God subsisting through faith in Christ' ('Apostasy,' Robert Winston Ross [Baker Book House, 1976], 57)."
[5]
McKnight 2005, p. 58. "[Apostasy] is the deliberate denial, expressed by outward acts, of the Christian faith (E. Friedberg [contributor] The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia […] 1:239)."
[6]
Barnett 1997, p. 73.
[7]
Oropeza 2012a.
[8]
Oropeza 2012b.
[9]
Oropeza 2011.
[10]
Oropeza 2012a, pp. 237–239.
[11]
Oropeza 2012a, p. 239. "Malaise in this context refers to a loss of 'zeal' for the things of God. The Christian community in the book of Hebrews is a good example of spiritual malaise manifesting itself in 'discouragement' (likely due to persecution); 'reluctance in hearing the spoken messages by [its] leaders;' failure to accept 'exhortations from fellow believers'; and a refusal 'to fellowship with God's people anymore'."
[12]
Oropeza 2012a, pp. 239–240.
[13]
Oropeza 2012a, pp. 240–241. "[…] engaging in sinful acts ('vice-doing') or assimilating to the ungodly attitudes and actions reflected in a non-Christian culture. Paul W. Barnett notes four reasons for apostasy in the book of Acts, Hebrews, the General Epistles […], and in the book of Revelation, as: (1) Moral or Spiritual Failure; (2) Persecution; (3) False Teaching; (4) Self-Choice (Dictionary of the Later New Testament and its Developments, 'Apostasy,' 75)."
[14]
Fink 2003, p. 87. "In Acts 21:21, 'Paul was falsely accused of teaching the Jews apostasy from Moses […] [and] he predicted the great apostasy from Christianity, foretold by Jesus (Matthew 24:10–12), which would precede the Day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2f.)' (D. M. Pratt, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 'Apostasy,' 1:192)."
[15]
Pratt 1979, p. 192. "Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 'Many New Testament passages, using different words, convey warnings against apostasy' ('Apostasy,' Carpenter & Comfort, 227)."
[16]
Gilbrant 1986, p. 394. "In the LXX it ['aphistēmi'] is frequently a technical term for apostasy (from God), e.g., Deut 32:15; Jer 3:14; cf. also 1QS 7:18, 23 (Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 1:183)."
[17]
Bratcher 1983, p. 132. "The Greek verb ['aphistēmi'] is related to the noun that means 'apostasy'; it means to abandon, to defect, to forsake. Here it is to lose faith in the Christian message, to quit believing."
[18]
Mounce 2006, p. 1103. "'to make defection, fall away, apostatize, Luke 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:12' (William D. Mounce, Gen. Ed., Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 'aphistēmi', 1103)."
[19]
Pratt 1979, p. 192, ‌.
[20]
Bauder 1975, pp. 607–608. "1 Timothy 4:1 describes 'falling away from the faith' in the last days in terms of falling into false, heretical beliefs. Lk. 8:13 probably refers to apostasy as a result of eschatological temptation. Here are people who have come to believe […] But under the pressure of persecution and tribulation […] they break off the relationship with God […] According to Hebrews 3:12, apostasy consists in an unbelieving and self-willed movement away from God […] aphistēmi thus connotes […] the serious situation of becoming separated from the living God after a previous turning towards him, by falling away from the faith."
[21]
Bauder 1975, pp. 607–608, ‌. "It is a movement of unbelief and sin, which can also be expressed by other words […] Expressions equivalent in meaning to the warning in 1 Timothy 4:1 include nauageō, suffer shipwreck, 1:19; astocheō miss the mark, 1:6; 6:21; 2 Timothy 2:18; cf. also aperchomai, go away, John 6:66; apostrephō, turn away; arneomai, deny; metatithēmi, change, alter; mē menein, do not abide, John 15:6 […] I. Howard Marshall says piptō, to fall […] parapiptō, to fall away, transgress […] pararrheō, to drift away […] and skandalizō/skandalon, to stumble, offend […] are also expressions connected to the concept of apostasy."
[22]
Bauder 1975, pp. 610–611. "[…] used figuratively in the New Testament to refer to 'the consequent loss of salvation, rather than of a mere failure from which recovery can be made. It is a catastrophic fall, which means eternal ruin. If it were not so, all the warnings against falling would lose their threatening urgency. To fall into sin and guilt, as an expression of a total attitude, is to plunge into irrevocable misfortune."
[23]
Giesen 1993, p. 248. "Nigel Turner says, 'A look at the New Testament and patristic phenomena reveals that the meaning is two-fold, either to put someone off from becoming a believer or to cause a believer to fall away. The scandal of the Cross is an instance of the first meaning, to cause to apostatize an instance of the second [...]' (Christian Words, 294 and 304, fn. 5)."
[24]
Giesen 1993, p. 249.
[25]
Marshall 1969, p. 217.
[26]
Stählin 1971, pp. 346–347. "In Matt. 13:41 […] ['skandalon'] here, and only here in the New Testament, is patently used of persons. […] In the New Testament interpretation they are those who lead into sin and apostasy."
[27]
Stählin 1971, p. 347. "Both woes [in Matt. 18:7] show how terribly dangerous ['skandalon'] are. At issue are the loss of eternal salvation and eternal perdition."
[28]
Stählin 1971, p. 351. "In Mark 9:42 […] the point is the avoidance of ['skandalon']. This is again an eschatological saying, for the one thing more terrible than being drowned with a mill-stone about one's neck is damnation at the Last Judgment."
[29]
Bromiley 1985, pp. 1037–1038. "The meaning of skandalízō here is 'to entice into sin' and therefore to plunge into unbelief and perdition. No price is too high to avoid this; hence the relentless demand of Jesus."
[30]
Bromiley 1985, p. 1038. "Tensions in the churches are the occasion of skándalon […] The freedom of those who have fully cast off the past causes offense to those who have not, but it also creates the danger that these will act against their consciences or with wavering faith. [...] False teachers [in Rom. 16:17 f.] cause both divisions and skándala, which are probably temptations to abandon sound doctrine. A similar use of skándalon occurs in Rev. 2:14 [...]."
[31]
Giesen 1993, pp. 248–250. "In the passive voice σκανδαλίζω ['skandalizō'] more often means […] 'fall away from faith.' In the interpretation of the parable of the sower […] the inconstant ones, go astray to their own ruin when persecuted on account of the word, i.e., they fall away from faith (Mark 4:17 par. Matt 13:21). [...] In the Johannine farewell address (John 16:1) σκανδαλίζω ['skandalizō'] does not only imply an 'endangering of faith' […] but rather 'falling away from faith' entirely […] In the active voice σκανδαλίζω ['skandalizō'] means 'cause someone to fall away from (or reject) faith' […] Paul emphasizes that he will never again eat meat if by doing so he causes his brother to fall and thus to lose salvation […] Whoever sins against his brothers sins also against Christ […]"
[32]
Barnett 1997, p. 74.
[33]
Barnett 1997, p. 75. "It is clear that the churches of Asia are subject to persecution and its accompanying pressure to apostatize […] At the same time various false teachings are touching the churches of Ephesus […] The language of 'deception,' that is, of being 'led astray,' is applied to the false prophetess, Jezebel […] Satan, the source of all these persecution and false teachings, is also 'the deceiver of the whole world' […] The metaphor, 'deception' (planaō), implies a path of truth from which one might be 'turned aside.'"
[34]
McKnight 1992, p. 23. "[…] as an organic whole, each of which expresses four components of the author's message."
[35]
McKnight 1992, p. 25. "[…] (1) the subjects or audience in danger of committing the sin, (2) the sin that leads to (3) the exhortation, which if not followed, leads to (4) the consequences of that sin."
[36]
McKnight 1992, p. 54. "[…] (1) the subjects of this letter were genuine 'believers, persons who […] had converted to Jesus Christ,' (2) The sin 'is apostasy, a deliberate and public act of deconfessing Jesus Christ, a rejection of God's Spirit, and a refusal to submit to God and His will,' (3) the exhortation is 'to a persevering faithfulness to God and his revelation of the new covenant in Jesus Christ,' (4) the consequences involve 'eternal damnation if a person does not persevere in the faith.'"
[37]
Oropeza 2012a, pp. 67–70.
[38]
Ryken, Wilhoit & Longman 1998, p. 39. "There are at least four distinct images in Scripture of the concept of apostasy. All connote an intentional defection from the faith."
[39]
Ryken, Wilhoit & Longman 1998, p. 39, ‌. "In classical literature apostasia was used to denote a coup or defection. By extension, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) always uses this word to portray a rebellion against God (Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19)."
[40]
Ryken, Wilhoit & Longman 1998, p. 39, ‌‌. "Apostasy is also pictured as the heart turning away from God (Jeremiah 17:5–6) and righteousness (Ezekiel 3:20). In the OT it centers on Israel's breaking covenant relationship with God through disobedience to the law (Jeremiah 2:19), especially following other gods […] The …Hebrew root (swr) is used to picture those who have turned away and ceased to follow God […] The image of turning away from the Lord, who is the rightful leader, and following behind false gods is the dominant image for apostasy in the Old Testament."
[41]
Ryken, Wilhoit & Longman 1998, p. 39, ‌‌‌. "The image of falling, with the sense of going to eternal destruction, is particularly evident in the New Testament. […] In his [Christ's] parable of the wise and foolish builder, in which the house built on sand falls with a crash in the midst of a storm (Matthew 7:24–27) […] he painted a highly memorable image of the dangers of falling spiritually."
[42]
Barnett 1997, p. 73, ‌. "Jesus foresaw the fact of apostasy and warned both those who would fall into sin as well as those who would cause others to fall (see, e.g., Mark 9:42–49)."
[43]
Ryken, Wilhoit & Longman 1998, p. 39, ‌‌‌‌. "Apostasy is symbolized as Israel the faithless spouse turning away from Yahweh her marriage partner to pursue the advances of other gods (Jeremiah 2:19–28). […] 'Your children have forsaken me […] they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes' (Jeremiah 5:7, NIV). Adultery is used most often to graphically name the horror of the betrayal and covenant breaking involved in idolatry. Like literal adultery it does include the idea of someone blinded by infatuation, in this case for an idol […]"
[44]
Ryken, Wilhoit & Longman 1998, p. 40. "[…] a rebellious ox, a prostitute, a wild vine, a stain that will not wash off, a camel in heat and a thief caught in thievery (Jeremiah 2:19–28). [...] The New Testament contains a host of images of apostasy, including a plant taking root among the rocks but withering under the hot sun of testing (Mark 4:5–6, 17 par.), or those who fall prey to the wiles of false teachers (Matthew 24:11), heretical beliefs (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3–4), worldliness and its defilement (2 Peter 2:20–22), and persecution […] The Christian apostate is pictured as a branch that does not abide in the vine of Christ and thus withers and is cast into the fire (John 15:6). Animal behavior is evoked in a dog returning to its vomit or a clean pig returning to the mire (2 Peter 2:22)."
[45]
Barnett 1997, p. 73, ‌‌. "Believers in the era following that of the apostles probably suffered a greater intensity to turn aside from Christ than did their predecessors. They [...] were vulnerable to Jewish reprisals as well as action from the state. Details of the pressure applied to Christians to apostatize is given from both Christian and non-Christian sources [...] It is understandable, therefore, that the post-apostolic literature should contain many warnings not to apostatize."
[46]
Oropeza 2000, pp. 3–12.
[47]
Bercot 1998, pp. 586–591.
[48]
Oropeza 2000, p. 2. "Temptations: Christians were tempted to engage in various vices that were a part of their lives before they became Christians (idolatry, sexual immorality, covetousness, etc.). Deceptions: Christians encountered various heresies and false teachings spread by false teachers and prophets that threatened to seduce them away from their pure devotion to Christ. Persecutions: Christians were persecuted by the governing powers of the day for their allegiance to Christ. Many Christians were threatened with certain death if they would not deny Christ."
[49]
Oropeza 2000, pp. 2–3.
[50]
Roberts 1994, 1 Clement 1–3. "Every one abandons the fear of God, and is become blind in His faith, neither walks in the ordinances of His appointment, nor acts a part becoming a Christian, but walks after his own wicked lusts, resuming the practice of an unrighteous and ungodly envy, by which death itself entered into the world."
[51]
Roberts 1994, 1 Clement 21, 28, 35. "Take heed, beloved, lest His many kindnesses lead to the condemnation of us all. […] Since then all things are seen and heard [by God], let us fear Him, and forsake those wicked works which proceed from evil desires; so that, through His mercy, we may be protected from the judgments to come. […] Let us therefore earnestly strive to be found in the number of those who wait for Him […]"
[52]
Roberts 1994, 1 Clement 35:2. "[Three sentences earlier these] gifts of God' (1 Clement 35:1) [are mentioned as:] Life in immortality, splendor in righteousness, truth in perfect confidence, faith in assurance, self-control in holiness!"
[53]
Roberts 1994, 1 Clement 46, 57. "Why are there strifes, and tumults, and divisions, and schisms, and wars among you? Have we not [all] one God and one Christ? […] Your schism has subverted [the faith of] many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all. And still your sedition continues."
[54]
Roberts 1994, 1 Clement 32. "And we, too, [like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob] […] are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men."
[55]
Roberts 1994, Philadelphians 3, 8. "Keep yourselves from those evil plants which Jesus Christ does not tend, because they are not the planting of the Father. […] If any man follows him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. […] For where there is division and wrath, God does not dwell. To all them that repent, the Lord grants forgiveness, if they turn in penitence to the unity of God […]"
[56]
Roberts 1994, Philadelphians 8:1). "For where there is division and wrath, God does not dwell. To all them that repent, the Lord grants forgiveness, if they turn in penitence to the unity of God, and to communion with the bishop"
[57]
Oropeza 2000, p. 203. "[B. J. Oropeza comments that this passage refers to] careless Christians [who forfeit their] salvific life."
[58]
Roberts 1994, Barnabas 2, 4. "We ought therefore, brethren, carefully to inquire concerning our salvation, lest the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, should hurl us forth from our [true] life. […] Let us then utterly flee from all the works of iniquity, lest these should take hold of us […] Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall asleep in our sins […]"
[59]
Roberts 1994, Barnabas 20:1. "For believers to become wicked sinners is, in the author's mind, to share in their same fate: 'eternal death with punishments'."
[60]
Oropeza 2000, p. 3.
[61]
Roberts 1994, Barnabas 19:2–12. "The following is a summary of the way of light: to love and glorify God; to not join yourself with those who walk in the way of death; to not forsake the Lord's commandments; to not exalt or take glory to yourself; to not take evil counsel against your neighbor; to not allow over-boldness to enter into your soul; to not commit fornication or adultery […] to be meek and peaceable; to love your neighbor; and to confess your sins."
[62]
Roberts 1994, Barnabas 20:1–2. "The vices which lead to death and 'destroy the soul' (Barnabas 20:1) are the following: idolatry, over-confidence, the arrogance of power, hypocrisy, double-heartedness, adultery, murder, rapine [i.e., plundering], haughtiness, transgression, deceit, malice, self-sufficiency, poisoning, magic, avarice, want of the fear of God. […]."
[63]
Roberts 1994, Didache 1–6. "The way of life is associated with loving God and one's neighbor. It involves abstaining from vices mentioned in the Ten Commandments […] The vices that the author associates with the way of death are: murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rapines […] Be delivered, children, from all these."
[64]
Roberts 1994, Didache 1–4. "Other vices to be abstained from are: murder, adultery, pederasty, fornication, stealing, practicing magic or witchcraft, killing a child by abortion; coveting; bearing false witness; speaking evil; lying; filthy talking; hypocrisy; hating others, money-loving, lustful, being hot-tempered, jealous, or quarrelsome."
[65]
Roberts 1994, Didache 5. "The vices that the author associates with the way of death are: murders, adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rapines […] false witnessings, hypocrisies, double-heartedness, deceit, haughtiness, depravity, self-will, greediness, filthy talking, jealousy, over-confidence, loftiness, boastfulness; persecutors of the good, hating truth, loving a lie […] Be delivered, children, from all these."
[66]
Oropeza 2000, p. 4.
[67]
Roberts 1994, Philippians 5, 6, 11. "If a man does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen. […] If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world […] provided only we believe. […] For it is well that they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world […] wherefore, it is needful to abstain from all these things […]"
[68]
Roberts 1994, Philippians 6. "[Polycarp goes on to counsel presbyters to] be compassionate and merciful to all, bringing back those that wander,' and to 'be zealous in the pursuit of that which is good, keeping ourselves from causes of offense, from false brethren, and from those who in hypocrisy bear the name of the Lord, and draw away vain men into error"
[69]
Roberts 1994, 2 Clement 4–8. "Let us, then, not only call Him Lord, for that will not save us. […] Wherefore, brethren, let us confess Him by our works […] For if we desire to possess them [worldly things], we fall away from the path of righteousness. […] For if we do the will of Christ, we shall find rest; otherwise, nothing shall deliver us from eternal punishment, if we disobey His commandments."
[70]
Roberts 1994, 2 Clement 15–17. "I think not that I counted trivial counsel concerning continence […] For it is no small reward to turn back a wandering and perishing soul for its salvation. [James 5:19–20] […] Let us, therefore, continue in that course in which we, righteous and holy, believed. […] So, then, brethren, having received no small occasion to repent, while we have opportunity, let us turn to God who called us […] Let us, then, repent with our whole heart, that no one of us may perish amiss. […] Let us remember the commandments of the Lord, and not be allured back by worldly lusts […]."
[71]
Oropeza 2000, pp. 4–5. "Contrary to the book of Hebrews, which seems to teach that baptized Christians are not given a second chance once they fall away […] the Shepherd of Hermas affirms that apostates may be forgiven while a gap of time remains before the final eschaton. A refusal to respond to this offer will result in final condemnation. […] In the Parables, rods of various shapes and sizes represent different kinds of believers […] These are allowed to repent – if they do not, they will lose eternal life."
[72]
Roberts 1994, Against Heresies 4:27. "[…] that we should keep from wickedness. For if these men of old time […] when they committed any sin and served fleshly lusts, were rendered objects of such disgrace, what shall the men of the present day suffer, who have despised the Lord's coming, and become the slaves of their own lusts? […] we ought ourselves to fear, lest perchance, after [we have come to] the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but be shut out from His kingdom."
[73]
Roberts 1994, Against Heresies, Book 4:27.3. "Thou wilt notice, too, that the transgressions of the common people have been described in like manner, not for the sake of those who did then transgress, but as a means of instruction unto us […] But this also, [as the presbyter states,] has Paul declared most plainly in the Epistle to the Corinthians, when he says, 'Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud […] But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. These things were for our example […] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."
[74]
Oropeza 2000, p. 6.
[75]
Roberts 1994, Ephesians 6–9, 16–17. "Do not err, my brethren. […] If, then, those who do this as respects the flesh have suffered death, how much more shall this be the case with any one who corrupts by wicked doctrine the faith of God, for which Jesus Christ was crucified! Such a one becoming defiled [in this way], shall go away into everlasting fire, and so shall every one that hearkens unto him. […] let him not lead you away captive from the life which is set before you."
[76]
Roberts 1994, Magnesians 8, 11; Trallians 6–9. "Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. […] I desire to guard you beforehand, that you fall not upon the hooks of vain doctrine […] use Christian nourishment only, and abstain from herbage of a different kind; I mean heresy. For those [that are given to this] mix up Jesus Christ with their own poison […] leading to his own death."
[77]
Roberts 1994, Epistle to the Philadelphians 2. "Wherefore, as children of light and truth, flee from division and wicked doctrines. […] For there are many wolves […] who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place."
[78]
Roberts 1994, Didache 16. "Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched […] for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate […] then shall appear the world-deceiver as the Son of God […] and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved […]"
[79]
Wilhite 2019, p. 229. "Verheyden ('Eschatology in the Didache,' 209) writes: 'To describe the period that precedes the end Did. does not refer to earthquakes or political and military disasters. Instead it has selected a tribulation that forms a constant threat for the community: the dangers of betrayal and of apostasy'."
[80]
Roberts 1994, Prescription Against Heretics 1, 4, 6. "In almost every epistle, when enjoining on us (the duty) of avoiding false doctrines, he [Paul] sharply condemns heresies. […] If, therefore, even an angel from heaven should preach any other gospel (than theirs), he would be called accursed by us. […] While heresies are produced for the weakening and the extinction of faith, they have no strength whenever they encounter a really powerful faith. […] While persecution makes martyrs, heresy only apostates."
[81]
Roberts 1994, Prescription Against Heretics 6. "[Tertullian mentions that it is the same apostle Paul, who in his letter to the Galatians:] counts 'heresies' among 'the sins of the flesh,' [Galatians 5:20] who also intimates to Titus, that 'a man who is a heretic' must be 'rejected after the first admonition,' […] Indeed, in almost every epistle, when enjoining on us (the duty) of avoiding false doctrines, he sharply condemns heresies. […] In the Lord's apostles we possess our authority; for even they did not of themselves choose to introduce anything, but faithfully delivered to the nations (of mankind) the doctrine which they had received from Christ. […]"
[82]
Roberts 1994, Prescription Against Heretics 40. Tertullian believes that all heresies 'have been introduced by the devil.
[83]
Roberts 1994, Prescription against Heretics 43. "[Tertullian notes that heretics frequently hang out with loose company, and that ungodliness is the natural effect of their teaching, since] they say that God is not to be feared; therefore all things are in their view free and unchecked".
[84]
Roberts 1994, Dialogue with Trypho 35. "There are such men confessing themselves to be Christians, and admitting the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines, but those of the spirits of error […] causing us who are disciples of the true and pure doctrine of Jesus Christ, to be more faithful and steadfast in the hope announced by Him. […] There are, therefore, and there were many, my friends, who, coming forward in the name of Jesus, taught both to speak and act impious and blasphemous things […]"
[85]
Roberts 1994, The Stromata 7:16. "Let him who has once received the Gospel […] not turn back, like Lot's wife […] and let him not go back either to his former life, which adheres to the things of sense, or to heresies. […] He, who has spurned the ecclesiastical tradition, and darted off to the opinions of heretical men, has ceased to be a man of God and to remain faithful to the Lord. […] We must never, as do those who follow the heresies, adulterate the truth, or steal the canon of the Church […]"
[86]
Roberts 1994, The Treatises of Cyprian 1:1–3. "We have an enemy who is to be more feared and guarded against because he secretly creeps in to deceive us under the appearance of peace. […] He has invented heresies and schisms, whereby he might subvert the faith, might corrupt the truth, might divide the unity. […] So that, although they do not stand firm with the Gospel of Christ, and with the observation and law of Christ, they still call themselves Christians, and, walking in darkness, they think that they have the light […]"
[87]
Roberts 1994, The Treatises of Cyprian 1:2. "unless we keep those commands of Christ whereby death is driven out and overcome, when He Himself warns us, and says, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments? [Matthew 19:17] And again: If ye do the things that I command you, henceforth I call you not servants, but friends. [John 16:15]."
[88]
Oropeza 2000, pp. 6–7. "In view of Eusebius (c. 260–340), Simon Magus was the author of heresy (cf. Acts 8:9–24), and the devil is to be blamed for bringing the Samaritan magician to Rome and empowering him with deceitful arts which led many astray (Eus. Hist. Eccl. 2.13). […] Simon's successor, Menander of Samaria, was considered to be another instrument of the devil […] It is stated that those who claim such people as their saviors have fallen away from the true hope (Eus. Hist. Eccl. 3.26). […] Eusebius asserts that the devil's intention was to entrap many believers and bring them to the abyss of destruction by following these deceivers (Hist. Eccl. 4.7)."
[89]
Oropeza 2000, p. 7. "The use of anathemas and excommunications became the normative means of handling heresy. Hippolytus (c. 170–236) affirmed that there was no place for the heretic in the church; expulsion from the earthly Eden was their lot. Cyprian (c. 258) viewed the heretics as those who lose their salvation because they put themselves outside the unity of the church. […] The condemnation of heretics gave way to abuse as church and state distinctions were blurred after the time of Constantine."
[90]
Oropeza 2000, p. 8. "The Martyrdom of Polycarp is sometimes considered to be the first of the 'Acts of the Martyrs.' In this document Polycarp is killed for refusing to confess Caesar as Lord and offer incense; he refuses to revile Christ (Mar. Pol. 8ff; similarly, Ign. Rom. 7). […] Stirred by his own experience under the Diocletian (c. 284–305) persecution, Eusebius wrote Collection of Martyrs […] Polycarp and Germanicus were found to be faithful in the persecution at Smyrna (c. 160), but Quintus threw away his salvation in the sight of the wild beasts (Eus. Hist. Eccl. 4.15). […] During the reign of Decius (c. 249–251), the Christians of Alexandria are said to have endured martyrdom […] But some readily made unholy sacrifices, pretending that they had never been Christians […]"
[91]
Roberts 1994, Scorpiace 6. "[Terrullian asks,] Does God covet man's blood [i.e., via martyrdom]? And yet I might venture to affirm that He does, if man also covets the kingdom of heaven, if man covets a sure salvation. […]."
[92]
Roberts 1994, 2 Clement 19. "Let us, therefore, work righteousness, that we may be saved to the end. Blessed are they who obey these commandments, even if for a brief space they suffer in this world, and they will gather the imperishable fruit of the resurrection."
[93]
Roberts 1994, The Epistles of Cyprian 5:2. "They ought to be humble and modest and peaceable […] For there remains more than what is yet seen to be accomplished, since it is written 'Praise not any man before his death;' and again, 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' [Revelation 2:10] And the Lord also says, 'He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.' [Matthew 10:22]."
[94]
Roberts 1994, The Epistles of Cyprian 6:1. "In another letter, Cyprian rejoices over the presbyter and other confessors of Christ 'whom the devil has not been able to overcome,' but shares how he is grieved 'over those whom a hostile persecution has cast down'."
[95]
Roberts 1994, Epistle to the Romans 4–6. "I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless you hinder me. […] Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. […] All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die in behalf of Jesus Christ […]"
[96]
Roberts 1994, Scorpiace 4–5, 9–12. "Serving as a soldier under this oath, I am challenged by the enemy. If I surrender to them, I am as they are. In maintaining this oath, I fight furiously in battle, am wounded, hewn in pieces, slain. […] For martyrdom contends with idolatry, not from some malice which they share, but from its own kindness; for it delivers from idolatry. […] For among all the castaways, nay, taking precedence of them all, are the fearful. 'But the fearful,' says John, and then come the others, 'will have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone.'"
[97]
Bercot 1989, p. 65. "Since the early Christians believed that our continued faith and obedience are necessary for salvation, it naturally follows that they believed that a 'saved' person could still end up being lost [through apostasy]."
[98]
Oropeza 2000, p. 13. "The church fathers would affirm the reality of the phenomenon of apostasy."
[99]
Schreiner 2001, p. 10, note 2. "A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001), recommend that readers see Oropeza's 'excellent history of interpretation on the matter of perseverance and apostasy"
[100]
Schaff 1997, § 173. "In anthropology and soteriology [Lactantius] follows the synergism which, until Augustine, was almost universal."
[101]
Crisp 2014, ch. "Traditional Augustinianism". "I take it that most traditional Augustinians [...] align themselves with the doctrines of election and theological determinism of a compatibilist variety."
[102]
Davis 1991, p. 213.
[103]
Davis 1991, pp. 213–214.
[104]
Oropeza 2000, p. 10. "Oropeza: [According to Augustine] 'The graces of justification and salvation could still be lost'."
[105]
Davis 1991, p. 216. "Martin Luther shared with the Roman Catholic Church of his day the belief that the grace of baptismal regeneration and justification could be lost. On these points he was in agreement with Augustine and Aquinas".
[106]
Witzki 2010a. "While the Orthodox Church has no statement of faith or position paper on the possibility of apostasy, two Orthodox resources support the conditional security of the believer and the possibility of apostasy."
[107]
John Paul II 1993, Part 1, section 1, ch. 3, art. 1, §3 The Characteristics of Faith, items 161-162; Part 3, section 1, ch. 1, art. 8, §4 The Gravity of Sin: Mortal and Venial Sin, items 1854–1864.
[108]
Davis 1991, p. 214. "Aquinas believes that one who has been justified by grace stands continually in need of the grace of God, since the justified can turn away and be finally lost."
[109]
Wenger 1954, pp. 306–309.
[110]
Mennonite Church 1921.
[111]
Stauffer 1933.
[112]
Missionary Church 2011, p. 2.
[113]
Davis 1991, pp. 215–216. "Luther believed regeneration occurred through the waters of baptism. 'But,' noted the Reformer, 'all of us do not remain with our baptism. Many fall away from Christ and become false Christians.' In his commentary on 2 Peter 2:22 he writes as follows on apostates in the Church: 'Through baptism these people threw out unbelief, had their unclean way of life washed away, and entered into a pure life of faith and love. Now they fall away into unbelief and their own works, and they soil themselves again in filth.'"
[114]
Luther 1949, Galatians 5:1. "Our liberty is founded on Christ Himself […] Therefore, our liberty is sure and valid as long as we believe in Christ. As long as we cling to Him with a steadfast faith we possess His priceless gifts […] But if we are careless and indifferent we shall lose them. It is not without good reason that Paul urges us to watch and to stand fast. He knew that the devil delights in taking this liberty away from us."
[115]
Pfürtner 1964, p. 142. "[Stephen Pfurtner cites Luther's commentary on Hebrews 3:16, where Luther warns,] We must therefore fear lest through apostasy we should lose again the beginning of a new creation."
[116]
Curtis 2015. "It is, accordingly, necessary to know and to teach that when holy men, still having and feeling original sin, also daily repenting of and striving with it, happen to fall into manifest sins, as David into adultery, murder, and blasphemy, that then faith and the Holy Ghost has departed from them [they cast out faith and the Holy Ghost]. For the Holy Ghost does not permit sin to have dominion […] But if it does what it wishes, the Holy Ghost and faith are [certainly] not present. For St. John says, 1 John 3:9: Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, […] and he cannot sin. And yet it is also the truth when the same St. John says, 1:8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
[117]
Tappert 1959, pp. 116–123. "Our opponents imagine that faith is only historical knowledge and teach that it can exist with mortal sin. And so they say nothing about faith by which, as Paul says so often, men are justified, because those who are accounted righteous before God do not live in mortal sin. […] Therefore this cannot exist with mortal sin, but whenever it appears it brings forth good fruits […] Where does this end but with the abolition of the promise and a return to the law?…This faith is no idle knowledge, nor can it exist with mortal sin; but it is a work of the Holy Spirit that frees us from death, comforting and quickening terrified minds. […]"
[118]
Melanchthon 2010, p. 173. "[…] when those who had been sanctified indulge in and obey such desires, do not fight against them, and are without repentance. Such persons lose faith and the Holy Spirit and are condemned to eternal death unless they return to repentance. Thus when David had become an adulterer, he was without faith and the Holy Spirit, and would have been lost if he had not afterward been restored through repentance."
[119]
Melanchthon 1995, p. 109. "In his Annotations on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Melanchthon comments on 1 Corinthians 10:1 […] appear to support apostasy. He says Paul 'urges them to persevere in the justification which is taking place. His argument is by example. […] The fathers were rejected because of their sins, idolatry, laziness, lust, unbelief, etc. We must therefore be on guard lest the same sins cheat us of salvation'."
[120]
Goodwin 1840, pp. 503–504.
[121]
Horton 2011, ch. 9.2. "Confessional Lutheranism simultaneously affirms unconditional election and God’s universal grace, monergism and the possibility of losing one’s salvation. [...] Lutheranism is its own system with its own integrity and, from a Reformed perspective, peculiar inconsistencies."
[122]
Jacobs 1911, p. 586, Formula of Concord : Solid declaration, ch. 4, par. 31-32. "Above all, therefore, the false Epicurean delusion is to be earnestly censured and rejected, namely, that some imagine that faith and the righteousness and salvation which they have received can be lost through no sins or wicked deeds […]."
[123]
Jacobs 1911, p. 657, Formula of Concord : Solid declaration, ch. 11, par. 42. "Thus many receive the Word with joy, but afterwards fall away again, Luke 8:13. But the cause is not as though God were unwilling to grant grace for perseverance […] but the cause is that they wilfully turn away again from the holy commandment [of God] […]."
[124]
Church of England 1571a.
[125]
Church of England 1571b.
[126]
Davis 1991, p. 217. "This view is apparent in Calvin's comment on 1 John 3:9 ('No one born of God commits sin, for God's nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God'). Calvin argues that the apostle John 'plainly declares that the Spirit continues his grace in us to the last, so that inflexible perseverance is added to newness of life.' Can the fear and love of God be extinguished in the truly regenerate? No, because 'the seed, communicated when God regenerates his elect, as it is incorruptible, retains its virtue perpetually.' The 'seed' is the presence of God's new life in the believer."
[127]
Oropeza 2000, p. 15.
[128]
Pink 2001, pp. 39, 47, 58.
[129]
Calvin 1961, p. 66. "[T]hose who appear to live piously may be called sons of God; but since they will eventually live impiously and die in that impiety, God does not call them sons in His foreknowledge. There are sons of God who do not yet appear so to us, but now do so to God; and there are those who, on account of some arrogated or temporal grace, are called so by us, but are not so to God."
[130]
Calvin 1961, pp. 151–152.
[131]
Calvin 1845, 3:24:8. "Sometimes, however, he communicates it also to those whom he enlightens only for a time, and whom afterwards, in just punishment for their ingratitude, he abandons and smites with greater blindness."
[132]
Calvin 1963, p. 76. "[...] I do not see that this is any reason why He should not touch the reprobate with a taste of His grace, or illumine their minds with some glimmerings of His light, or affect them with some sense of His goodness, or to some extent engrave His Word in their hearts. Otherwise where would be that passing faith which Marks mentions (4.17)? Therefore there is some knowledge in the reprobate, which later vanishes away either because it drives its roots less deep than it ought to, or because it is choked and withers away."
[133]
Davis 1991, pp. 217–218.
[134]
Calvin 1845, 3:2:11. "Experience shows that the reprobate are sometimes affected in a way so similar to the elect that even in their own judgment there is no difference between them. [...] [T]he Lord, the better to convict them, and leave them without excuse, instills into their minds such a sense of goodness as can be felt without the Spirit of adoption [...] Therefore, as God regenerates the elect only for ever by incorruptible seed, [...] there is nothing to prevent an inferior operation of the Spirit from taking its course in the reprobate. [...] Thus we dispose of the objection, that if God truly displays his grace, it must endure for ever. There is nothing inconsistent in this with the fact of his enlightening some with a present sense of grace, which afterwards proves evanescent."
[135]
Calvin 1845, pp. 478–479, 3:2:11-12. "[Some reprobates are] just as a tree not planted deep enough may take root, but in the process of time wither away, though it may for several years not only put forth leaves and flowers, but produce fruit."
[136]
Keathley 2010, p. 170. "The doctrine of temporary faith, a notion first formulated by Calvin but later developed by Beza and William Perkins, further intensified the problem of assurance in Calvinist and Puritan theology. According to them, God gives to the reprobate, whom He never intended to save in the first place, a “taste” of his grace. Based on passages such as Matt 7:21–23; Heb 6:4–6, and the parable of the Sower, Beza and Perkins attribute this false, temporary faith to an ineffectual work of the Holy Spirit."
[137]
Gribben & Tweeddale 2022, p. 402. "[...] Owen readily admits that the Spirit occasionally induces a partial illumination of the gospel truth, which might produce some conviction of sin and reformation of behavior. [...] For whatever its superficial resemblance to genuine conversion, it nevertheless falls short of that reality and explains the phenomenon of an apparently temporary illumination famously described in Heb. 6.4."
[138]
Pink 2009, pp. 18–19. "Scripture also teaches that people may possess a faith which is one of the Holy Spirit, and yet which is a non-saving one. This faith which we now allude to has two ingredients which neither education nor self-effort can produce: spiritual light and a Divine power moving the mind to assent. Now a man may have both illumination and inclination from heaven, and yet not be regenerated. We have a solemn proof of this in Hebrews 6:4-6."
[139]
Boettner 1932, ch. 14. "In addition to what has been said it is to be admitted that often times the common operations of the Spirit on the enlightened conscience lead to reformation and to an externally religious life. Those so influenced are often very strict in their conduct and diligent in their religious duties. To the awakened sinner the promises of the Gospel and the exhibition of the plan of salvation contained in the Scriptures appear not only as true but as suited to his condition. [...] This faith continues as long as the state of mind by which it is produced continues. When that changes, he relapses into his usual state of insensibility, and his faith disappears."
[140]
Grudem 1994, p. 860. "[T]his doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, if rightly understood, should cause genuine worry, and even fear, in the hearts of any who are “backsliding” or straying away from Christ. Such persons must clearly be warned that only those who persevere to the end have been truly born again."
[141]
Davis 1991, pp. 222–223.
[142]
Oropeza 2000, pp. 1–34. "One can find each of these views being represented in the book Four Views on Eternal Security (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), which deals with the topic of apostasy. The fourth view in this book, 'Wesleyan Arminianism,' shares so much in common with 'Reformed Arminianism' regarding apostasy that it does not seem to warrant a separate treatment. See also the Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2007)."
[143]
Oropeza 2000, p. 16. "Although Arminius denied having taught final apostasy in his Declaration of Sentiments, in the Examination of the Treatise of Perkins on the Order and Mode of Predestination he writes that a person who is being built into the church of Christ may resist the continuation of this process. […] A believing member of Christ may become slothful, give place to sin, and gradually die altogether, ceasing to be a member. […] If there is any consistency in Arminius' position, he did not seem to deny the possibility of falling away."
[144]
Stanglin & McCall 2012, p. 190.
[145]
Schaff 2007.
[146]
Picirilli 2002, p. 198. "Ever since that early period, then, when the issue was being examined again, Arminians have taught that those who are truly saved need to be warned against apostasy as a real and possible danger."
[147]
Ellis 2005a, p. ix. "[The Remonstrants] selected Episcopius and two others to write it [the Confession] but in the end, he did the work alone"
[148]
Stanglin 2009, p. 17. "that the Opinions of the Remonstrants, [was] drawn up by Episcopius in 1618."
[149]
De Jong 1968, pp. 220-, art. 5, points 3–4. "True believers can fall from true faith and can fall into such sins as cannot be consistent with true and justifying faith; not only is it possible for this to happen, but it even happens frequently. True believers are able to fall through their own fault into shameful and atrocious deeds, to persevere and to die in them; and therefore finally to fall and to perish."
[150]
Witzki 2010b.
[151]
Episcopius 2005, p. 30. "[…] persuaded that none is to be easily condemned, or blotted out of the register of Christians who holds fast to faith in Christ, and in hope of the good things promised by him, [and who] seek from the heart to obey his commands […]."
[152]
Oropeza 2000, p. 17.
[153]
Goodwin 1840, pp. 226–527.
[154]
Bracey 2022.
[155]
Early 2009, p. 64.
[156]
Early 2009, pp. 69–70. "Men may fall away from the grace of GOD (Hebrews 12:15) and from the truth, which they have received and acknowledged (Hebrews 10:26) after they have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the HOLY SPIRIT […] And after they have escaped from the filthiness of the World, may be tangled again therein and overcome (2 Peter 2:20). A righteous man may forsake his righteousness and perish (Ezekiel 18:24, 26). Therefore, let no man presume to think that because he has, or once had grace, therefore he shall always have grace. But let all men have assurance, that if they continue to the end, they will be saved. […]."
[157]
Owens 2014.
[158]
Grantham 1678, p. 70. "That such who are true believers, even branches of Christ the vine, and that in the account of Christ whom he exhorts to abide in him, or such who have Charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, 1 Timothy 1:5, may nevertheless for want of watchfulness, swerve and turn aside from the same, and become dead branches, cast into the fire, and burned [John 15:6]. But such who add unto their Faith Virtue […] such shall never fall [2 Peter 1:5–10], for they are kept by the power of God though Faith unto Salvation [1 Peter 1:5]."
[159]
Grantham 1691, pp. 19–20. "Presbyterian: […] I perceive you hold that a Child of God may possibly fall away and perish. This is a dangerous Error. Baptist: That Some may depart from the Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, is clear in the Word of God [1 Timothy 4:1]. […] For my part, though I doubt not but there is a state attainable, even in this Life, from which by the Grace of God Christians shall not fall, yet I hold it a vanity for any Man to affirm of himself […] that it is impossible for him to fall. […]."
[160]
GAGB 1970, p. 2. "We believe that those who abide in Christ have the assurance of salvation. However, we believe that the Christian retains his freedom of choice; therefore, it is possible for him to turn away from God and be finally lost. […]."
[161]
NAFWB 2013, pp. 12, 17–18, Chapter XII: Perseverance of the Saints. "There are strong grounds to hope that the truly regenerate will persevere unto the end […] but their future obedience and final salvation are neither determined nor certain, since through infirmity and manifold temptations they are in danger of falling; and they ought, therefore, to watch and pray lest they make shipwreck of their faith and be lost."
[162]
Davis 1991, p. 224. "In the treatise 'Predestination Calmly Considered' Wesley observed that believers might infer from their own experience of grace that it is impossible to finally fall away. Nevertheless, whatever assurance God might give to particular souls 'I find no general promise in holy writ, that none who once believes shall finally fall.' Scripture, and not personal experience or inferences drawn from it, states Wesley, must be decisive in the matter. In his treatise 'Serious Thoughts on the Perseverance of the Saints' Wesley allows that the apostle Paul, and many believers today, were fully persuaded of their final perseverance. […] Based on his reading of Hebrews 6:4, 6; 10:26–29; 2 Peter 2:20–21 and other NT texts, Wesley is persuaded that a true believer can make shipwreck of his faith and perish everlastingly."
[163]
Scott 1974, pp. 1888–1889, Perseverance, Final. "[John Wesley says that] Arminians hold, that a true believer may make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience; that he may fall, not only foully, but finally, so as to perish forever. […]."
[164]
Summers 1888, pp. 173–210.
[165]
Pope 1879, pp. 131–147.
[166]
Pope 1883, pp. 276–291.
[167]
Simpson 1882, pp. 708–709, Perseverance, Final, Louis H. Everts, 1882. "Arminian churches […] do not believe that those who are converted will necessarily be [finally] saved. […] The Methodist Churches, being Arminian in theology, totally reject the doctrine of the necessary perseverance of the saints […]'."
[168]
Stokes 1990, pp. 117–118. "Other people say, once in grace always in grace. […] But we United Methodist believe that we are still free to turn away from Christ even while we are Christians. […]."
[169]
Yrigoyen 2001, p. 85. "Article XII addresses the problem of our disobedience and sin after we have been prepared by grace and have accepted God's offer of pardon and forgiveness […] In this Article there is a plain denial of what some call eternal security or once saved, always saved […]."
[170]
Salvation Army 2010, pp. 180–181, 183–184. "Continual and unrepentant disobedience can result in loss of faith, and loss of our status in Christ [...] [It also states,] Assurance does not mean that our salvation is guaranteed to us against our free will. It is possible to cease to obey Christ and so forfeit our hope of eternal life. […]."
[171]
Robertson 2005, p. 14.
[172]
Church of the Nazarene 2025, Articles of Faith: Repentance. "We believe that all persons, though in the possession of the experience of regeneration and entire sanctification, may fall from grace and apostatize and, unless they repent of their sins, be hopelessly and eternally lost."
[173]
AG 2017. "In view of the biblical teaching that the security of the believer depends on a living relationship with Christ (John 15:6); […] The General Council of the Assemblies of God disapproves of the unconditional security position which holds that it is impossible for a person once saved to be lost."
[174]
Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region 2018, pp. 13, 30. "We further believe that the fullness of the Holy Spirit does not make believers incapable of choosing to sin, nor even from completely falling away from God […]."
[175]
Thompson 2008, chapters 2, 3, 6, 10, 12.
[176]
Cottrell 1996, Romans 8:12–13; 11:19–21; 14:13–23; 16:17–20.
[177]
Cottrell 2002, pp. 375–382.
[178]
Dillow 1992, p. 202. "Even though [Arminian] Robert Shank would not agree, it is definitely true that saving faith is the act of a single moment whereby all the benefits of Christ's life, death, and resurrection suddenly become the irrevocable possession of the individual, per se, despite any and all eventualities."
[179]
Hodges 1989, p. 63. "We miss the point to insist that true saving faith must necessarily continue. Of course, our faith in Christ should continue. But the claim that it absolutely must […] has no support at all in the Bible."
[180]
Stanley 1990, p. 81. "To say that our salvation can be taken from us for any reason, whether it be sin or disbelief, is to ignore the plain meaning of this text [Ephesians 2:8–9]."
[181]
Fink 2003, p. 87, ‌. "Apostasy is certainly a biblical concept, but the implications of the teaching have been hotly debated. […] The debate has centered on the issue of apostasy and salvation. Based on the concept of God's sovereign grace, some hold that, though true believers may stray, they will never totally fall away. Others affirm that any who fall away were never really saved. […] Still others argue that the biblical warnings against apostasy are real and that believers maintain the freedom, at least potentially, to reject God's salvation."
[182]
McKnight 2005, p. 59. "Because apostasy is disputed among Christian theologians, it must be recognized that ones overall hermeneutic and theology (including ones general philosophical orientation) shapes how one reads texts dealing with apostasy."
[183]
McKnight 2005, p. 60. "[…] apostasy ought not to be used as a continual threat so much as an occasional warning of the disaster that Christians may bring upon themselves if they do not examine themselves. As a warning, apostasy can function as a moral injunction that strengthens commitment to holiness as well as the need to turn in complete trust to God in Christ through his Spirit."
[184]
Fink 2003, p. 87, ‌‌. "Persons worried about apostasy should recognize that conviction of sin in itself is evidence that one has not fallen away."
[185]
Kallestrup & Toivo 2017, p. 46.
[186]
Polack & Kania 2015, p. 112.
[187]
Van Hove 1907.
[188]
Prawo.pl 2022.
[189]
Apostazja Info 2020.
[190]
Polsat News 2020.
[191]
TOK FM 2020.
[192]
Aleteia Polska 2018.
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Pew Research Center 2015.

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