The 10 Worst Arguments Against Protestantism (And the 3 Best)

Gavin Ortlund examines the ten worst arguments against Protestantism and highlights three of the strongest challenges Protestants should take seriously, including the canon, fragmentation, and appeals to antiquity and ecclesial authority. Videos Mentioned: How To Find the One True Church™ (You Need Faith): https://youtu.be/XvoHIrgnEvM?si=KN0J9abv2CWf8lse How Did "Low Church" Get Uncool?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU9wjeT4Wf0&t=937s Did Protestants Remove Books From the Bible?!?: https://youtu.be/WnzbNkIKwUQ?si=5NqdAzSV-HDFg-r1 No, Jerome Didn't Accept a Larger Canon: https://youtu.be/rpHUeTZjeuQ?si=8H4kyoxKkKlT8skD Justification: Protestant vs. Catholic: https://youtu.be/t0djZKV8w1s?si=IUmxZeohMuHYMY3p A Fallible List of Infallible Books?: https://youtu.be/rRMgYS1Taes?si=iNOjByrLCqE6h91B How Do We KNOW the New Testament Canon?: https://youtu.be/06ItjoHCp28?si=qYqf_bOGRkVRmphg Was the Earliest Bible Canon Actually Protestant?!?:https://youtu.be/U4MpUu8aDuI?si=9CWRy0EkJRCSwo0V Which Old Testament Canon is Right? With John Meade: https://youtu.be/vCwZNr1Q64w?si=GnBefJnmu-x4WtwZ Why Protestants Win the Church History Debate (Newman Was Wrong): https://youtu.be/m01G7fsaeY0?si=TpQxwBURvpMpemKf Are Protestant Churches Valid? Examining Apostolic Succession: https://youtu.be/rPUKKNnnK6U?si=QUO4DhzAVnR5ATvv Books/Articles Mentioned: Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Future: https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Retrieval-Evangelicals-Need-Future/dp/1433565269/truthunitesbo-20 National Catholic Register Article: www.ncregister.com/blog/we-need-to-stop-saying-that-there-are-33-000-protestant-denominations The Just Shall Live By Faith: Resolving the Catholic-Protestant Debate on Justification from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Shall-Live-Faith-Catholic-Protestant-ebook/dp/B0B5JQ9VKS/ What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0310156327/truthunitesbo-20 Truth Unites (https://truthunites.org) exists to promote gospel assurance through theological depth. Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of Truth Unites, Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at Phoenix Seminary, and Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Nashville. SUPPORT: Tax Deductible Support: https://truthunites.org/donate/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/truthunites FOLLOW: Website: https://truthunites.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.unites/ X: https://x.com/gavinortlund Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthUnitesPage/ MY ACADEMIC WORK: https://truthunites.org/mypublications/ PODCAST: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/truth-unites DISCORD SERVER ON PROTESTANTISM Striving Side By Side: https://discord.gg/MdTt6d5PVs CHECK OUT SOME BOOKS: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Christianity-Makes-Sense-Mysteries/dp/0310182204 https://www.amazon.com/What-Means-Be-Protestant-Always-Reforming/dp/B0CNFFP6LK https://www.amazon.com/Makes-Sense-World-That-Doesnt/dp/1540964094 https://www.amazon.com/Theological-Retrieval-Evangelicals-Need-Future/dp/1433565269 https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Right-Hills-Die-Theological/dp/1433567423 https://www.amazon.com/Retrieving-Augustines-Doctrine-Creation-Controversy/dp/0830853243 00:00 - Introduction 00:32 - 1) Jesus Founded a Visible Church 02:58 - 2) Jesus Founded My Church 06:55 - 3) Every Protestant Is Their Own Authority 09:40 - 4) But Baptism Isn't Just a Symbol! 12:22 - 5) There are 40k Protestant Denoms 14:10 - 6) My Church Gave You Scripture 16:26 - 7) Sola Scriptura Isn't In Scripture 20:03 - 8) Protestants Removed Books 21:43 - 9) Luther Invented Sola Fide 24:09 - 10) The Early Church was Obviously ___! 30:36 - 1) The Canon Conundrum 31:40 - 2 ) The Fragmentation Impulse 33:06 - 3) Antiquity + Authority 36:29 - Closing