Surprising news? Hank Hanegraaff has become Greek Orthodox? The Pulpit and Pen brought us this well done article today to show us Mr. Hanegraaff has flown the coop but I am thinking he is just showing the bad fruit that had been revealed long ago. First the latest,

The Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaff, Leaves the Christian Faith?

Here’s just a little of the history going back more than a decade from the Biblical Discernment site’s materials found here:

Christian Research Institute (CRI) Ecumenical Fellowship With Rome

Excerpts:
On 8/12/93, Hank Hanegraaff boldly stated, “We believe that Roman Catholicism is foundationally Christian.” The Bible Answerman program that day had been devoted to the defense of Catholicism. Whether Catholicism is or is not a cult is not the main issue, but its false gospel. Yet, CRI spends a large part of its time trying to prove that Catholicism is not a cult. CRI needs to state clearly that Rome’s counterfeit gospel is sending hundreds of millions to hell. Instead, CRI has defended Catholicism on radio and in its Journal, while its “criticism” has been so vague as to leave one wondering what was meant. For example, on one Bible Answerman program, Catholic apologist Scott Hahn was given free rein to promote Catholicism, defend his conversion to it, and to defend it from callers’ objections without any rebuttal from CRI to his false statements! The average listener would have had to conclude that Roman Catholicism is merely another “Christian” denomination (10/93, The Berean Call). [And this is exactly how it is perceived. In a 2/94 letter-to-the-editor of the Catholic Answers magazine, This Rock, a writer credits CRI for being instrumental in bringing him to the Roman Catholic Church; i.e., he thanks CRI for opening his eyes “to the truths of Catholicism,” and for showing him that Catholicism “held firmly to all the essentials of the historic Christian faith.”]

–  If anyone doubts that Hank Hanegraaff is pro-Roman Catholic, one only need read Hanegraaff’s 6/7/95 fund-raising appeal letter and the pro-Catholic book offered therein — Hanegraaff offers for a gift of $25, the book Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, by Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKenzie. (Geisler and MacKenzie believe that a “cooperative effort between Roman Catholics and evangelicals could be the greatest social force for good in America” [p. 357].) Hanegraaff calls Roman Catholics and Evangelicals “must reading” for “thinking Christians who are concerned, not only about sound theology, but also about the future of our nation.” He goes on to proclaim that any obstacles (such as doctrine?) between Protestants and Catholics should not stand in the way of cooperation in areas where we share mutual interests and concerns. This is the same compromising spirit expressed by the Evangelical & Catholics Together (ECT) document authored by Charles Colson in March of 1994. [On two other Bible Answerman programs (one in late-April, 1995, and the other in late-June), Hanegraaff interviewed Geisler concerning the book Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. The compromise with Catholicism was absolutely sickening.]

CRI’s strong move toward ecumenism has led them to refuse to recognize Roman Catholicism for what it is — a cult at best and a false religion at worst. Hanegraaff, et al., continue to insist that Catholicism is a Christian religion with merely some teachings that they cannot agree with. In the process, CRI denigrates those who insist on not pandering to the Vatican’s ecumenical designs. CRI positions itself as the last word in apologetics and knowledge of theological issues. Their rallying cry is for adherence to orthodoxy rather than Biblicism; indeed, they would consider Roman Catholicism an orthodox faith. But orthodoxy is not Biblicism. Orthodoxy is largely based on religious tradition, and is, therefore, often found wanting. “Orthodoxy” is predicated upon the canons of whatever religious authority happens to interpret Scripture; it is not based upon Scripture directly. CRI wants us to believe that Roman Catholicism is a pussycat we can snuggle up to and join paws with for the Reconstructionist agenda of restructuring society. (Source: “Hanegraaff Urges Cooperation With Roman Catholicism,” Media Spotlight, Vol. 16 – No. 2 [9/95], pp. 5-6).

So am I surprised by the recent events and Hanegraaff’s ‘official’ departure from the faith? No, he left long ago.