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The Church and the Pope: The Case for Orthodoxy Paperback – July 1, 2022
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Today, the place and authority of the bishop of Rome in the first millennium has become a matter of great interest and importance not only for the official dialogue but for all serious seekers of the true Church. One such seeker is the prolific New York Times Bestselling Author Robert Spencer, who applied his analytical acumen to a thorough examination of The Church & The Pope.
From the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers through the Oecumenical Councils and the filioque controversy in the time of St. Photios the Great, on up to the Great Schism, all of the “flash points” of church history indicate the same conciliar nature of the Church as witnessed in Acts: “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”
The whole “cloud of witnesses” give testimony to the truth of the Church vis-a-vis the post-schism papal claims: the Apostle Peter himself and the choir of the Apostles, St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Polycarp of Smyrna, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, St. Cyprian of Carthage, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Athanasius the Great, St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, St. Photios the Great and others.
Viewing the life and nature of the Church throughout the first millennium through the spiritual vision of these great saints, Spencer first walked, and now walks us, out of the weeds of innovation and division and back into the garden of the Church Fathers where unity and continuity shine.
- Print length112 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJuly 1, 2022
- Dimensions6 x 0.26 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101639410058
- ISBN-13978-1639410057
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Product details
- Publisher : Uncut Mountain Press (July 1, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 112 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1639410058
- ISBN-13 : 978-1639410057
- Item Weight : 5.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.26 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #558,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #379 in Christian Popes
- #442 in Christian Orthodoxy (Books)
- #782 in Christian Historical Theology (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
ROBERT SPENCER is the director of Jihad Watch and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. He is the author of twenty-eight books, including the New York Times bestsellers "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)" (Regnery Publishing) and "The Truth About Muhammad" (Regnery Publishing) and the bestsellers "The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS" (Bombardier Books) and "The Critical Qur’an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research" (Bombardier Books). His forthcoming book is "Muhammad: A Critical Biography" (Bombardier Books).
Spencer has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the FBI, the United States Central Command, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Justice Department’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council and the U.S. intelligence community. He has discussed jihad, Islam, and terrorism at a workshop sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the German Foreign Ministry. He is a senior fellow with the Center for Security Policy.
Spencer is a regular columnist for PJ Media and FrontPage Magazine, and has written many hundreds of articles about jihad and Islamic terrorism. His articles on Islam and other topics have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, the New York Post, the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News, Fox News Opinion, National Review, The Federalist, Human Events, American Greatness, The Hill, the Detroit New, Real Clear Religion, the Daily Caller, the New Criterion, the Journal of International Security Affairs, the UK’s Guardian, Canada’s National Post, Middle East Quarterly, WorldNet Daily, First Things, Insight in the News, World Israel News, Aleteia, and many other journals. He has also served as a contributing writer to the Investigative Project on Terrorism and as an Adjunct Fellow with the Free Congress Foundation.
Spencer has appeared on the BBC, ABC News, CNN, OANN, Newsmax, Steve Bannon’s War Room, FoxNews’s Tucker Carlson Show, the Sean Hannity Show, the Ingraham Angle, the O’Reilly Factor, Megyn Kelly’s The Kelly File, Geraldo Rivera Reports, the Glenn Beck Show, Fox and Friends, America’s News HQ and many other Fox programs, PBS, MSNBC, CNBC, C-Span, CTV News, Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News, France24, Voice of Russia and Croatia National Television (HTV), as well as on numerous radio programs including The Sean Hannity Show, Bill O’Reilly’s Radio Factor, The Mark Levin Show, The Laura Ingraham Show, The Herman Cain Show, The Joe Piscopo Show, The Howie Carr Show, The Curt Schilling Show, Bill Bennett’s Morning in America, Michael Savage’s Savage Nation, The Alan Colmes Show, The G. Gordon Liddy Show, The Neal Boortz Show, The Michael Medved Show, The Michael Reagan Show, The Larry Elder Show, The Peter Boyles Show, Vatican Radio, and many others.
Robert Spencer has been a featured speaker at the University of California-Irvine, Temple University, Dartmouth College, Penn State University, the University of California-Los Angeles, Stanford University, New York University, Brown University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, State University of New York-Binghamton, State University of New York-Stony Brook, Florida State University, DePaul University, the College of William and Mary, Washington University of St. Louis, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Boise State University, Cal Poly, Portland State University, and many other colleges and universities. He has also addressed the Heritage Foundation, Westminster Institute, the Gatestone Institute, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance in New York City, the Hudson Institute, the Temple of the Arts in Los Angeles, the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, the Christian Rights and Freedom Institute, the Young Presidents’ Organization, Calvary Chapel Pacific Coast, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), FreedomFest, Young America’s Foundation, Hershey’s Sweet Retreat, the John W. Pope Civitas Institute, the Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley, Train the Trainer, and many other audiences.
A complete listing of Robert Spencer’s books:
1. Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World’s Fastest Growing Faith (Encounter Books, 2002)
2. Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West (Regnery Publishing, 2003)
3. Inside Islam (with Daniel Ali) (Ascension Press, 2003)
4. The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims (Prometheus Books, 2004)
5. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) (Regnery Publishing, 2005)
6. The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion (Regnery Publishing, 2006)
7. Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn’t (Regnery Publishing, 2007)
8. Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs (Regnery Publishing, 2008)
9. The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran (Regnery Publishing, 2009)
10. The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration’s War On America (with Pamela Geller) (Threshold Editions/Simon & Schuster, 2010)
11. Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam’s Obscure Origins (ISI Books, 2011)
12. Not Peace But A Sword: The Great Chasm Between Christianity and Islam (CA Press, 2013)
13. Arab Winter Comes to America: The Truth About the War We’re In (Regnery Publishing, 2014)
14. The Complete Infidel’s Guide to ISIS (Regnery Publishing, 2015)
15. The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran (Regnery Publishing, 2016)
16. The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies) (Regnery Publishing, 2017)
17. Confessions of an Islamophobe (Bombardier Books, 2017)
18. The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS (Bombardier Books, 2018)
19. The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process (Bombardier Books, 2019)
20. Rating America’s Presidents: An America-First Look at Who Is Best, Who Is Overrated, and Who Was An Absolute Disaster (Bombardier Books, 2020)
21. Mass Migration in Europe: A Model for the U.S.? (Center for Security Policy Press, 2020)
22. Islamophobia and the Threat to Free Speech (Center for Security Policy Press, 2021)
–. Did Muhammad Exist? An Inquiry Into Islam’s Obscure Origins — Revised and Expanded Edition (Bombardier Books, 2021)
23. The Critical Qur’an: Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research (Bombardier Books, 2022)
24. The Church and the Pope (Uncut Mountain Press, 2022)
25. Who Lost Afghanistan? (Center for Security Policy Press, 2022)
26. The Sumter Gambit: How the Left Is Trying to Foment a Civil War (Bombardier Books, 2023)
27. Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization (Bombardier Books, 2023)
28. Muhammad: A Critical Biography (Bombardier Books, 2024)
Spencer’s books have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, Italian, German, Finnish, Korean, Polish, Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesia.
Spencer (MA, Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history in depth since 1980.
What They’re Saying About Robert Spencer
“My comrade-in-arms, my pal, my buddy.” — Oriana Fallaci
“A hero of our times and one of the bravest defenders of liberty that I have ever met.” — Geert Wilders
“No one has upset the Islamophobia cabal more than Robert Spencer. First, he knows more about Islamic doctrine than they do. Next, he has outed all the tricks they use in their taqiyyah bag to disinform the public. Finally, and most importantly, Robert will not be cowed.” — Ayaan Hirsi Ali
“One of the top two or three experts in the world on this great war…against fundamental Islam. One of the top two or three experts in this nation about trying to suppress speech. People should know that Robert Spencer has been the tip of the spear in warning America, in fighting against radical Islamic jihad, not just here in this country – where you’ve done an amazing job – but throughout the world. Robert, you’re one of the true patriots in this country, and you’ve risked so much, including your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor, and your pursuit of happiness. You’re a great patriot to this country.” — Stephen K. Bannon, former Trump Administration Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor
“One of the most important writers living today…his books should be required reading.” — Dennis Prager
“A brave crusader against the dopier multiculti illusions.” — Mark Steyn
“I highly recommend that you listen to this guy.” — Glenn Beck
“A very savvy and knowledgeable critic.” – Dinesh D’Souza
“One of the most acclaimed counter-jihad scholars.” — Asian Tribune
“J’apprécie beaucoup ce que vous écrivez sur l’Islam.” — Fr. Samir Khalil Samir, S.J., internationally renowned Islamic scholar
“Robert Spencer incarnates intellectual courage when, all over the world, governments, intellectuals, churches, universities and media crawl under a hegemonic Universal Caliphate’s New Order. His achievement in the battle for the survival of free speech and dignity of man will remain as a fundamental monument to the love of, and the self-sacrifice for, liberty.” — Bat Ye’or
“A leader in this war for over a decade, documenting not just what is happening but explaining why.” — PJ Media
“A leading figure of the conservative movement in the US.” — Limerick Leader (Ireland)
“Distinguished scholar.” — Akbar Ahmed, Ibn-e-Khaldoon chair of Islamic Studies, American University, Washington, D.C.
“One of the most insightful and learned scholars of Islam.” — Catholic Insight
“Robert Spencer is indefatigable. He is keeping up the good fight long after many have already given up. I do not know what we would do without him. I appreciate all the intelligence and courage it takes to keep going despite the appeasement of the West.” — Ibn Warraq
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Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2023
In the conclusion of his book, Robert Spencer, a relatively recent convert from the Catholic to the Orthodox Church, states that many of the points he makes in it were made in the 19th century by Eastern patriarchs in an Ecumenical Letter written in response to Pope Pius IX's invitation to the Orthodox Church to return to the Catholic fold. In sum, the patriarchs stated that Catholicism’s innovative teachings, i.e., those it proclaimed after the two churches fell out with each other in 1054, are "impious," "soul-destroying," and "condemned." Neither the pope nor the Eastern Patriarchs, Spencer remarks, "had any doubt where the other one stood, or why."
What, has that certainty somehow vanished since that exchange? Don't both churches today understand exactly where each other stands? How would ongoing discussion after 10 long centuries not be beating a dead horse? Is it any wonder, as RS points out, that the issue of papal power, the worst of Catholicism’s pretensions in Orthodox eyes, does not preoccupy the contemporary Orthodox Church; that Orthodox responses to Catholic claims regarding the papacy are hard to find? Isn’t that because the Orthodox have had it to here repeating the same arguments against it?
Regardless, Spencer insists that more discussion is needed on the part of church leaders: "[U]ltimate reconciliation between Orthodoxy and Catholicism will not be possible without some consideration of what has separated them in the first place, and that will inevitably involve each side making a full and honest statement for the case of its position [. . .] [U]nless it is fully acknowledged and understood by both sides" what divides them, there can be no real unity.
Some consideration of what has separated them in the first place? Seriously? Like there haven’t been all kinds of it for eons and to no avail? It’s only too clear that neither church has any intention of relinquishing its claims, their cushy ecumenical exchanges notwithstanding.
Spencer points out that Pope Paul VI (d. 1978) stated that "undoubtedly” the papacy is "the greatest obstacle on the path of ecumenism," which prompts the question: Does RS mean to suggest that that statement signaled the Catholic Church's coming round to a future admission of the falsity of the papal office? That will never happen. He goes on to quote Pope John Paul II as saying that what is needed is “a way of exercising the [papal] primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation.” The author remarks that for that to happen would require “examining what is really essential to the papal mission, and what isn’t.”
But it's precisely what is ESSENTIAL to the primacy, infallibility and universal jurisdiction, that the Orthodox Church expects the Catholic Church to renounce. Does Spencer imagine that John Paul II would have ever maintained that those two elements are inessential? The idea is ludicrous on its face.
Spencer avers that if only the pope would “return to the situation of the first millennium” (when both churches were united), then he would retain his preeminent status as the first bishop among equals “without exercising pretensions to infallibility that popes clearly do not have [. . .] and universal jurisdiction [. . .].” But if anything is expendable in the doctrine of the papacy, it’s the pope’s status as “first among equals.”
If the Catholic Church were ever to renounce what it claims is the solemnly defined doctrine of papal power, that would entail the renunciation of much, much more. The 14 councils that Catholicism teaches are ecumenical but which Orthodoxy rejects as spurious would have to be renounced as well, at least insofar as their teachings and decrees are at variance with Orthodoxy, and they would surely be numerous. The Catholic Church would have to resurrect its liturgy of a 1000 years ago, while allowing for reasonable adaptation, which would be nonetheless repellent to the great majority of Catholics, both clerical and lay, as well as to its theologians. A slew of much-loved Catholic devotions would have to be abandoned, such as that of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, etc. Papally-approved Marian apparitions, such as Lourdes and Fatima, along with those of Catholic saints, would have to be quashed as counterfeit—indeed, satanic. And the veneration of those saints (whose canonizations the church claims are infallible) would have to be done away with as well.
There isn’t the least likelihood that any of that will ever happen. If it did, millions of Catholics worldwide would certainly apostatize. They would regard themselves and their descendants down the ages as having been duped beyond forgiveness. And the scoffing of unbelievers would deafen the world.