Contents

‡ Sociological & Theological Cults
§ Theological Cults Only
↓ Non-Heretical Sects
† Orthodoxy Not Heterodoxy

  1. Characteristics of a Cult
  2. List Of Cults ‡
  3. List Of Heretical Sects §
  4. List Of Sects ↓
  5. Orthodox Christian Groups †
  6. Scriptural Overview †
  7. Warnings From The Apostles †
  8. Conclusion
  9. Sources & Recommendations



☠️ I. Characteristics of a Cult

Some of the items in this list alone are not enough to classify a group as a cult, but when put together, if a group fits all or nearly all of the elements in this list, then it would be legitimate to classify them that way.

  1. The group is focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous unquestioning commitment.
  2. The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.
  3. The group is preoccupied with making money.
  4. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.
  5. Mind-numbing techniques, [such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, debilitating work routines], are used to suppress doubts about the group or its leader
  6. the leadership dictates sometimes, in great detail, how members should think act and feel [for example members must get permission from leaders to date, change jobs, get married; leaders may prescribe what type of clothes to wear, where to live, how to discipline children and so forth].
  7. The group is elitist, claiming a special exalted status for itself, its leaders and members [for example: the leader is considered the messiah, or an avatar; the group and/or the leader has a special mission to save humanity].
  8. The group has a polarized us versus them mentality which causes conflict with the wider society.
  9. The group’s leader is not accountable to any authorities [as are for example military commanders and ministers priests monks and rabbis of mainstream denominations]. The group teaches or implies that supposedly exalted ends justify means that members would have considered unethical before joining the group [for example collecting money for bogus charities].
  10. The leadership induces feeling of guilt in members in order to control them
  11. Members subservience to the group causes them to cut ties with family friends and personal group goals and activities that were of interest before joining the group
  12. Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group
  13. Members are encouraged or required to live and or socialize only with other group members.



☠️ II. List Of Sociological & Theological Cults

Kool-Aid-Cult-Meme

The sociological sense is used when discussing behavior or other sociological aspects: a group or movement may be a cult if it acts in ways that are illegal or otherwise unacceptable in a civilized society. — Sociological sense of the term cult.

The theological sense is used when discussing major religious differences: a group or movement is theologically a cult if it identifies itself as belonging to a mainstream, recognized religion — and yet rejects or otherwise violates one or more of the central, essential teachings of that religion. — Theological sense of the term cult.

Criteria for Ranking:

While all these cults are notorious for their deadly actions, the ranking attempts to reflect the scale and severity of their crimes.

  • Number of Deaths: Cults with higher death tolls are ranked higher.
  • Brutality of Acts: The nature and brutality of the acts committed by the cult.
  • Impact on Society: The broader impact and lasting effects on society.

Here is a list of the deadly cults arranged from most devastating to least based on the scale and brutality of their actions:

1. People’s Temple (Jonestown)

  • Leader: Jim Jones
  • Notoriety: Mass suicide-murder in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978.
  • Deaths: Over 900 members, including children, died after consuming cyanide-laced punch.

2. Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

  • Leaders: Credonia Mwerinde and Joseph Kibweteere
  • Notoriety: Mass murder-suicide in Uganda in 2000.
  • Deaths: Over 900 members, many burned alive in a church.

3. Aum Shinrikyo

  • Leader: Shoko Asahara
  • Notoriety: 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.
  • Deaths: 13 people killed, thousands injured.

4. Branch Davidians

  • Leader: David Koresh
  • Notoriety: 1993 Waco siege in Texas.
  • Deaths: 76 members, including many children, died in the fire.

5. Order of the Solar Temple

  • Leaders: Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret
  • Notoriety: Mass suicides and murders in Switzerland, Canada, and France in the mid-1990s.
  • Deaths: 74 members.

6. Heaven’s Gate

  • Leaders: Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles
  • Notoriety: 1997 mass suicide in California.
  • Deaths: 39 members.

7. The Manson Family

  • Leader: Charles Manson
  • Notoriety: 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles.
  • Deaths: Several people, including actress Sharon Tate.

8. Matamoros Human Sacrifice Cult (Narcosatanists)

  • Leader: Adolfo Constanzo
  • Notoriety: Involvement in drug trafficking and ritual human sacrifices in the late 1980s.
  • Deaths: Multiple murders.

9. The Ant Hill Kids

  • Leader: Roch Thériault
  • Notoriety: Extreme abuse and murders in the 1980s.
  • Deaths: Several members.

10. The Order (Aryan Nations)

  • Leader: Robert Jay Mathews
  • Notoriety: Violent crimes, including armed robbery and the murder of Alan Berg in 1984.
  • Deaths: One high-profile murder and various violent crimes.

11. Children of God (The Family International)

  • Founded: 1968, David Berg.
  • Notoriety: Apocalypticism, unconventional sexual ethics, communal living.
  • Impact: Widely considered a cult for its radical beliefs and controversial practices, including the use of sex as a form of evangelism.



💀 III. List Of Heretical Sects Also Known As Theological Cults

The theological sense is used when discussing major religious differences: a group or movement is theologically a cult if it identifies itself as belonging to a mainstream, recognized religion — and yet rejects or otherwise violates one or more of the central, essential teachings of that religion. — Theological sense of the term cult.

  1. Verses against legalism (Eph 2:8-10; Gal 2:16,21; 3:10-12; 5:4; Ro 3:20,28).
  2. Verses against antinomianism (1 Jn 3:6-10; 5:18; Jd 4 NET; Ro 6:1-2,15; 3:8,31; Heb 10:26-31; 6:4-6; Lk 9:62).
  3. Verses for obedience “after” justification (1Jn 2:3-6; 3:6-10; 5:3-4 Jn 14:15,21; 15:10).
  4. Verses for Godly dispositions of Love (1 Jn 2:9-11; 3:10; 4:8,20; Jn 13:34-35).
  5. Verses for Godly and Holy lives (Heb 12:14; 1 Tim 6:3-4; 2 Tim 3:12; Titus 2:11-12; Gal 5:22-23).
  6. Verses for good works “after” justification (James 2:14-26; Eph 2:10).
  7. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit, not human decision (Ga 5:22-23 NLT; Jn 15:4-5; 1Cor 3:6-7).

3.1 Legalistic Heretical Sects or Theological Cults

Legalism

65. LEGALISM
WORKING FOR GOD’S FAVOUR FORFEITS IT

. . . do not do what they do, for they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see . . . Matthew 23:3–5

The New Testament views Christian obedience as the practice of ‘good deeds’ (works). Christians are to be ‘rich in good deeds’ (1 Tim. 6:18; cf. Matt. 5:16; Eph. 2:10; 2 Tim. 3:17; Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14). A good deed is one done (a) according to the right standard (God’s revealed will, i.e. his moral law); (b) from a right motive (the love to God and others that marks the regenerate heart); (c) with a right purpose (pleasing and glorifying God, honouring Christ, advancing his kingdom, and benefiting one’s neighbour).

Legalism is a distortion of obedience that can never produce truly good works. Its first fault is that it skews motive and purpose, seeing good deeds as essentially ways to earn more of God’s favour than one has at the moment. Its second fault is arrogance. Belief that one’s labour earns God’s favour begets contempt for those who do not labour in the same way. Its third fault is love-lessness in that its self-advancing purpose squeezes humble kindness and creative compassion out of the heart.

In the New Testament we meet both Pharisaic and Judaizing legalism. The Pharisees thought that their status as children of Abraham made God’s pleasure in them possible, and that their formalized daily law-keeping, down to minutest details, would make it actual. The Judaizers viewed Gentile evangelism as a form of proselytizing for Judaism; they believed that the Gentile believer in Christ must go on to become a Jew by circumcision and observance of the festal calendar and ritual law, and that thus he would gain increased favour with God. Jesus attacked the Pharisees; Paul, the Judaizers.

The Pharisees were formalists, focusing entirely on the externals of action, disregarding motives and purposes, and reducing life to mechanical rule-keeping. They thought themselves faithful law-keepers although (a) they majored in minors, neglecting what matters most (Matt. 23:23–24); (b) their casuistry negated the law’s spirit and aim (Matt. 15:3–9; 23:16–24); (c) they treated traditions of practice as part of God’s authoritative law, thus binding consciences where God had left them free (Mark 2:16 – 3:6; 7:1–8); (d) they were hypocrites at heart, angling for man’s approval all the time (Luke 20:45–47; Matt. 6:1–8; 23:2–7). Jesus was very sharp with them on these points.

In Galatians, Paul condemns the Judaizers’ ‘Christ-plus’ message as obscuring and indeed denying the all-sufficiency of the grace revealed in Jesus (Gal. 3:1–3; 4:21; 5:2–6). In Colossians, he conducts a similar polemic against a similar ‘Christ-plus’ formula for ‘fullness’ (i.e. spiritual completion: Col. 2:8–23). Any ‘plus’ that requires us to take action in order to add to what Christ has given us is a reversion to legalism and, in truth, an insult to Christ.

So far, then, from enriching our relationship with God, as it seeks to do, legalism in all its forms does the opposite. It puts that relationship in jeopardy and, by stopping us focusing on Christ, it starves our souls while feeding our pride. Legalistic religion in all its forms should be avoided like the plague.

— Dr. J. I. Packer (PhD, University of Oxford), Concise Theology. 65. Legalism: Working for God’s favour forfeits it. On faith, on repentance. ◊

1. “Jehovah’s” Witnesses (Watchtowerites)

  • Founded: Late 19th century by Charles Taze Russell.
  • Notoriety: 142 deviations from Christianity, including essential doctrine.
    • Denial of the Trinity.
    • Denial of Jesus deity.
    • Denial of bodily resurrection (1Co 15:14,17; John 2:19-21; Luke 24:36-39; John 20:27).
    • Denial of Body & Soul (2Cor 5:8; Phil 1:21-23; Lk 23:43; Mt 10:28).
    • Denial of Beast & False Prophet burning alive for 1000 years and then for eternity (Re 19:11-14,20; 20:10).
    • Denial of 144,000 being Jewish, virgin, men (Re 7:4; 14:4).

2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

  • Founded: Early 19th century by Joseph Smith.
  • Notoriety: False views on the Trinity being separate entities instead of God in three distinct persons. They think they can become gods and are in denial of Isaiah 43:10.
  • The Joseph Smith Papyri, used by Joseph Smith to produce the Book of Abraham, were initially believed to contain the writings of the biblical Abraham by Mormons. However, when the surviving fragments were re-examined by Egyptologists in the 20th century, they were identified as standard Egyptian funerary texts, including the “Book of Breathing” and the “Book of the Dead.” These findings completely debunked the Latter-day Saint community.

3.2 Antinomian Heretical Sects or Theological Cults

Antinomianism

3.2.1 Dualistic Antinomianism

Dualistic antinomianism appears in the Gnostic heretics against whom Jude and Peter wrote (Jude 4–19; 2 Pet. 2). This view sees salvation as for the soul only, and bodily behaviour as irrelevant both to God’s interest and to the soul’s health, so one may behave riotously and it will not matter. ◊

Gnosticism

  • Founded: Gnosticism, emerging from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, is a complex religious movement characterized by esoteric knowledge for salvation and a dualistic worldview. Key figures include Simon Magus (mid-1st century; Acts 8:9-24), Valentinus (active around 136-165 AD), and Basilides (active around 117-138 AD). The movement lacks a precise founding date and is influenced by Jewish, Christian, and Hellenistic thought. Thus, Gnosticism as a movement developed over a period of time, roughly from the 1st to the 3rd centuries AD, without a single founding year or individual.
  • Notoriety: Dualistic antinomianism. These are likely the false teachers the Apostle Peter warned us about in 2 Peter 2:1-2,12,17,19.

3.2.2 Spirit-Centred Antinomianism

Spirit-centred antinomianism puts such trust in the Holy Spirit’s inward prompting as to deny any need to be taught by the law how to live. Freedom from the law as a way of salvation is assumed to bring with it freedom from the law as a guide to conduct. In the first hundred and fifty years of the Reformation era this kind of antinomianism often threatened, and Paul’s insistence that a truly spiritual person acknowledges the authority of God’s Word through Christ’s apostles (1 Cor. 14:37; cf. 7:40) suggests that the Spirit-obsessed Corinthian church was in the grip of the same mindset. ◊

3.2.3 Christ-centred Antinomianism

Christ-centred antinomianism argues that God sees no sin in believers, because they are in Christ, who kept the law for them, and therefore what they actually do makes no difference, provided that they keep believing. But 1 John 1:8 – 2:1 (expounding 1Jn 1:7) and 1Jn 3:4–10 point in a different direction, showing that it is not possible to be in Christ and at the same time to embrace sin as a way of life. ◊

Repent-Meme

1. Hyper-Grace Movement

Includes the Extreme 80’s “Free Grace” movement, as they have near identical false teachings on faith and repentance.

Founded: Chaferanism was systematized in the 1980s. This movements false teachings on the meaning of faith & repentance bled into the heretical sect known as the Hyper Grace movement. The hyper-grace heresy began to take shape in the early 2000s. One of the most prominent figures associated with the Hyper-Grace movement is Joseph Prince, a false teacher and heretic from Singapore.

  1. Faith is not only the assent of our minds, but a trust & reliance on Christ. It is a believing trust or a trustful belief. Faith is composed of notitia (‘knowledge’), assensus (‘agreement’), and fiducia (‘trust and reliance’). Even though the Apostle James debunks assent to facts as salvific (James 2:19), as does our most authoritative lexicons (BDAG), false teachers will strip fiducia (‘trust and reliance’) from the meaning of faith. They tamper with essential doctrine.

    Christian theologians have never seen faith simply in terms of intellectual assent to Christian belief. It is a matter of the heart, not simply the mind, involving personal commitment. As the English theologian William Temple (1881–1944) once pointed out: “Faith is not only the assent of our minds to doctrinal propositions: it is the commitment of our whole selves into the hands of a faithful Creator and merciful Redeemer.” …

    Faith is about trust in God, rather than just accepting that God exists.

    — Dr. Alister McGrath (Ph.D., Molecular Biophysics at Oxford; D.D. Theology at Oxford; D.Litt. Intellectual History at Oxford), Theology - The Basics, Faith. p. 1,4.

  2. The applied meaning of repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ (Ac 3:19; 26:20; Mt 3:8 NLT; Rev 2:5; Lk 13:3). Repentance is clearly a contrition and a hatred for sin (Jd 22-23). False teachers will teach that faith & repentance are only assent changes in the head and are synonyms. By doing so they erase Christ’s call to repent and diminish the gospel (Mk 1:14-15; Ac 17:30; 1Jn 2:4).

    Many understand repentance to mean simply a “change of mind.” The weakness of this position is that, for the New Testament, this meaning finds no support in any authoritative Greek lexicon or in any modern English translation, none of which translate metanoéō and metánoia as “change of mind” for New Testament passages. It is a definition unique to Free Grace supporters, without scholarly support from the academic community or any standard Greek reference works. It also lacks support from any English translation of the Bible.

    — Dr. Wayne Grudem (Ph.D., University of Cambridge; D.D., Westminster), “Free Grace” Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel. p. 70. Endorsed by 9 leading Biblical scholars.

  3. Assurance of salvation is predicated upon an evidence-based faith (1Jn 2:3-6 NLT). False teachers live in denial of the scriptures (2Cor 13:5), arguing that it leads to self-examination and doubt. Perhaps we should not be giving false assurance to rapists, murderers, and pedophiles who have no intention to repent (aka. turn from their sins).

    If you are unrepentant (Lk 13:3) and you pursue lifestyles of sin (1Jn 3:6-10; Gal 5:19-21) the only assurance you have, is no assurance. This is your wake up call (Re 3:3). You should be told to test to see if your faith is genuine (2Cor.13:5), to see if you really are trusting in Christ, because if you were, you’d be repentant, you’d carry your cross daily (Mt 10:38; Lk 9:23), you’d be bearing the fruits of obedience (John 15:1-17; James 2:14-26; Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 2:4), and you’d have the assurance of being foreknown (Mt 22:14). These are divine enablements.

    Do not be deceived, if you are walking after the flesh and involved in the things of the flesh, you have no assurance of being in the Kingdom of Heaven — Chuck Smith (YouTube Short)

    It will help you to make the distinction between (1) justification, which is by faith alone (Eph 2:8-10; Rom 3:28), and (2) assurance of salvation, which is predicated upon an evidence-based faith (1Jn 2:3-6 NLT; Jn 14:15,21). “we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.… That is how we know we are living in him.”†

    Biblical faith is evidence-based.… Real faith in Christ shows itself by its fruit in the lives of those who profess it. It is not a superficial thing…. — Dr. John C. Lennox (DPhil, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford; PhD, University of Cambridge; DSc, Cardiff University) ±

  4. Anyone who can say “Jesus is Lord,” and mean it, does so by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9 NLT). False teachers only want Jesus “as savior” but deny him “as Lord” over their lives (Jd 4 NET; 2Pe 2:1-2 NET). Both are true for the saved, as Christianity is a call to discipleship (Mt 10:38 NLT; Lk 9:23; 14:27).

    Jesus on another occasion said, “Why do you call me Lord and yet you don’t do the things that I command you?” You see, our problem is that we’ve come to think of the term “Lord” as a name and so we say, “The Lord Jesus Christ” and we think of Lord as His first name, Jesus His middle name and Christ His last name; He’s the Lord Jesus Christ. But in reality when I say the Lord, you should put a comma there for Lord is not his name; it’s His title. The title that signifies my relationship to Him. He is my Lord, I am his slave; I am his servant, He is my Lord. — Chuck Smith C2000

    The idea that there can be saving faith without repentance, and that one can be justified by embracing Christ as Saviour while refusing him as Lord, is a destructive delusion.

    — Dr. J. I. Packer (Ph.D., University of Oxford). Concise Theology, 60. Repentance. Time Magazine top 25 evangelical. On faith, on repentance.

  5. False teachers exploit the vulnerability of innocent children, leading them into patterns of sin and false security (Lk 17:2). They mislead them by twisting the scriptures to falsely imply that “everyone sins” to encourage antinomian behavior (Rom 1:32), thereby abusing the grace of God as a license for immoral conduct (Jd 4 NET). Additionally, they distort the true nature of repentance, reducing it to a mere “change of mind” rather than the genuine contrition and turning away from sin that is consistently affirmed by authoritative Greek lexicons (Ac 3:19; 26:20; Mt 3:8 NLT; Rev 2:5; Lk 13:3). This manipulation not only undermines their spiritual integrity but also paves the way for apostasy.

    ℹ️ Disclaimer: Everyone has sin (1 Jn 1:8–10), but not everyone pursues lifestyles of indulgent sin (1Jn 3:6-10). Though we may stumble, make mistakes, and God forbid backslide, there is no such thing as a born again Christian that “practices” sin (habitually and continually pursuing a lifestyle of sin).

    Justification is by faith alone (Rom 3:28), but a faith that does not grow the fruit of obedience by the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is not true faith; it is a dead faith, and James rejects salvation by a dead and superficial faith (James 2:14-26). Genuine faith always “results” in the fruits of the faith (Ga 5:22-23 NLT; Jn 15:4-5; 1Cor 3:6-7), denying this, denies His transformative power.

    6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. — 1 John 3:6-10 ESV

These movements live in complete denial of what the scriptures, the academic community, and lexicons state. They’re indoctrinating innocent children into lifestyles of sin and false assurance, causing them to apostatize (Lk 17:2).

“The so-called Free Grace version of the gospel of Jesus Christ is unbiblical, anti-evangelical, and sub-Christian, …” — Dr. J.I. Packer (Ph.D., University of Oxford), Time Magazine top 25 evangelical. On faith, on repentance.

It is unfathomable to me that there is a group of people out there telling murderers, rapists, and pedophiles, that all they have to do is “change their minds,” not repent and turn away from what they’re doing. These people have the audacity to call themselves Christians, teachers, and spiritual leaders. If you’re so afraid of “legalism,” which this is not, that you can’t tell a pedophile to repent, turn away from their sin, and stop molesting children, you’re in a cult all your own.

You can say that you are sorry for what you have done but if you continue to do it, that is not true repentance. Real repentance is being so sorry, so contrite, that you do not do it again. You turn away from it and cease doing it. If a person declares that they have repented of a certain action or sin, and they continue in that same action, there is good reason to doubt the genuineness of the repentance. It is not a true repentance when you continue in that sin. Repentance is the first step to salvation. — Chuck Smith

3.2.4 Dispensational Antinomianism

Dispensational antinomianism holds that keeping the moral law is at no stage necessary for Christians, since we live under a dispensation of grace, not of law. Romans 3:31 and 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 clearly show, however, that law-keeping is a continuing obligation for Christians. ‘I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law,’ says Paul (1 Cor. 9:21). ◊

ℹ️ Disclaimer: We are no longer under the law (Ro 6:1-2,14-15; Gal 3:23-25; Gal 5:18; Col 2:14), but we still uphold the law (Romans 3:31). For teachers who understand the scriptures and still teach Dispensationalism without the antinomianism: Chuck Smith, Ron Rhodes, and John MacArthur are safe.

3.2.5 Dialectical Antinomianism

Dialectical antinomianism, as in Barth and Brunner, denies that biblical law is God’s direct command and affirms that the Bible’s imperative statements trigger the Word of the Spirit, which when it comes may or may not correspond exactly to what is written. The inadequacy of the neoorthodox view of biblical authority, which explains the inspiration of Scripture in terms of the Bible’s instrumentality as a channel for God’s present-day utterances to his people, is evident here. ◊

3.2.6 Situationist Antinomianism

Situationist antinomianism says that a motive and intention of love is all that God now requires of Christians, and the commands of the Decalogue and other ethical parts of Scripture, for all that they are ascribed to God directly, are mere rules of thumb for loving, rules that love may at any time disregard. But Romans 13:8–10, to which this view appeals, teaches that without love as a motive these specific commands cannot be fulfilled. Once more an unacceptably weak view of Scripture surfaces. ◊



🤷🏻 IV. List Of Sects

The term sect is often used to indicate a group or movement that — while often still considered part of the faith it identifies with — has doctrines or practices not in line with the historical, commonly accepted teachings of that religion. — What is a sect?

4.1 Synergistic Sects

Labeling this group as legalistic is challenging because they profess alignment with Ephesians 2:8-10 and Romans 3:28, emphasizing salvation by grace through faith. Although they adopt a synergistic approach that integrates faith and works, many do not view themselves as earning justification. If their belief in this regard is sincere, they avoid heresy. However, their perception of the interplay between works and faith remains notably misaligned.

In Galatians, Paul condemns the Judaizers’ ‘Christ-plus’ message as obscuring and indeed denying the all-sufficiency of the grace revealed in Jesus (Gal. 3:1–3; 4:21; 5:2–6). In Colossians, he conducts a similar polemic against a similar ‘Christ-plus’ formula for ‘fullness’ (i.e. spiritual completion: Col. 2:8–23). Any ‘plus’ that requires us to take action in order to add to what Christ has given us is a reversion to legalism and, in truth, an insult to Christ. ◊

I believe saving faith will result in obedience… We must guard jealously the fact that faith alone is what saves us, not faith plus obedience. … No historic Protestant confession says that saving faith includes obedience. — Historic Protestant Position Δ

1. Roman Catholicism & Eastern Orthodoxy (CCC)

  • Notoriety: Synergistic (CCC 1129: “The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation.”), and sacerdotalist (CCC 1545, 1547, 1566).

2. Lutheranism

  • Founded: Lutheranism was founded in the early 16th century as part of the Protestant Reformation. Its origins can be traced back to Martin Luther, a German monk and theologian, who challenged the practices and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • Notoriety: Synergism. Augsburg Confession (1530) Article 9 - Of Baptism: “Of Baptism they teach that it is necessary to salvation, and that through Baptism is offered the grace of God, and that children are to be baptized who, being offered to God through Baptism are received into God’s grace.”

3. Arminianism

  • Founded: Arminianism was founded by Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch theologian, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
  • Notoriety: Synergism.
  • See Orthodox Christian Groups for Reformed Arminianism (Reformed Wesleyanism).

Arminians view regeneration synergistically; the new birth occurs as a result of human willing and divine working. …

Furthermore, some affirm that God wills that sanctification be perfected in this life by a second work of grace that is said to eradicate the sinful nature and its desires, fill the heart with perfect love for God, and enable Christians to live without willful sin. This decisive post-conversion experience is designated “entire sanctification,” “sinless perfection,” and “full salvation.” …

In addition, many Arminians deny the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. They insist that by deliberate sin Christians can renounce their prior faith commitment and thereby fall from the state of grace, forfeit eternal salvation, and be doomed to perdition. The Arminian understanding of salvation thus is synergistic (a “working together”); divine grace and the liberated human will cooperate to bring about salvation. From inception to consummation the unsaved via free will make significant contributions to the outworking of their salvation. …

— Dr. Bruce Demarest (Ph.D., University of Manchester) was senior professor of spiritual formation at Denver Seminary, where he taught since 1975, and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, Theological Thinkers and Cultural Group, and Spiritual Formation Forum. “The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation (Foundations of Evangelical Theology).” p. 35.

4.2 Monergistic Sects

Monergism is the most secure theological stance. Among all the non-heretical sects, Calvinism is the safest; however, these sects have “other issues” that categorize them as sects, such as limited atonement. More extreme or hyper variants also espouse double predestination and anti-evangelistic tendencies.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1648). Q33. What is justification?

A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace1, wherein he pardoneth all our sins2, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight3, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us4, and received by faith alone5.

  1. Rom. 3:24
  2. Rom. 4:6-8; 2 Cor. 5:19
  3. 2 Cor. 5:21
  4. Rom. 4:6, 11; 5:19
  5. Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9

1. Hyper-Calvinism (Not Orthodox Calvinism)

  • Notoriety: Anti-evangelistic, double-predestinarian, limited atonement.
  • Limited atonement was incorporated into Reformed theology primarily during the Synod of Dort (1618-1619). St. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, & Jonathan Edwards never held to “Limited Atonement.” The Bible does not support limited atonement: 1 Jn 2:2; 4:14; Jn 1:9,29; 3:17; 4:42; 12:32; Ac 2:21; Ro 5:6; 1Ti 2:3-4,6; Titus 2:11; 2Cor 5:19; 2Pe 3:9.

The dreadful error of hyper-Calvinism is that it involves God in coercing sin. This does radical violence to the integrity of God’s character. — Dr. R. C. Sproul (Ph.D., Whitefield), “Chosen by God,” Ch. 7. Sproul was a devout 5-point Scholastic Calvinist.

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I cannot imagine a more ready instrument in the hands of Satan for the ruin of souls than a minister who tells sinners it is not their duty to repent of their sins [and] who has the arrogance to call himself a gospel minister, while he teaches that God hates some men infinitely and unchangeably for no reason whatever but simply because he chooses to do so. O my brethren! may the Lord save you from the charmer, and keep you ever deaf to the voice of error. — In Murray, Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism, 155–56.

2. Orthodox Calvinism (Scholastic Calvinism)

  • Founded: Calvinism was founded by John Calvin, a French theologian and pastor, in the mid-16th century. Calvin’s influential work, “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” first published in 1536, laid the foundational doctrines of what would later be called Calvinism.
  • Notoriety: Limited atonement was incorporated into Reformed theology primarily during the Synod of Dort (1618-1619). St. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, & Jonathan Edwards never held to “Limited Atonement.” The Bible does not support limited atonement: 1 Jn 2:2; 4:14; Jn 1:9,29; 3:17; 4:42; 12:32; Ac 2:21; Ro 5:6; 1Ti 2:3-4,6; Titus 2:11; 2Cor 5:19; 2Pe 3:9.
  • See Orthodox Christian Groups for Amyraldism (Moderate Calvinism).

All of this invalidates the L of TULIP – “limited atonement” – the view that Christ did not actually die for all but only for the “elect”. In fact, not only Luther but many of the other reformers, including Calvin, did not subscribe to limited atonement… this view of the atonement was not even introduced until the second or third generation of Reformers…

— Dr. John C. Lennox (DPhil, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford; PhD, University of Cambridge; DSc, Cardiff University) ±

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However, the first phase of the Reformation was Amyraldian in the sense that the churches professed a strong view of divine predestination while also affirming a universal perspective on the extent of the atonement. There is mention of election but no support for limited atonement in the First Helvetic Confession (1536), the Scots Confession (1560), or the Belgic Confession (1561). Lutherans and Anglicans both confess divine predestination while simultaneously affirming a universal atonement and the universal offer of the gospel. 146 On the Anglican side, D. B. Knox, a much-neglected Australian Anglican theologian, stands in this tradition of Anglican Calvinism with a universal view of the atonement.147 For Knox, the work of Christ extends uniformly to the whole of humanity, and this is clear when based around certain theological tenets.

— Dr. Michael F. Bird (Ph.D., University of Queensland), Evangelical Theology, 4.4 The Death of Jesus, 4.4.3.3 Amyraldian View. p. 486.

4.3 Miscellaneous Sects

1. KJV Onlyism

  • Notoriety: turns a blind eye to biblical language scholarship. Worships the creation rather than the creator. In denial of Daniel 12:4 which states that knowledge will be increased. Logically our English translations will increase in accuracy as well.
    • The Textus Receptus was composed by a Catholic Priest named Erasmus. (KJV, NKJV).
    • The TR was not historically received by all or even by Erasmus himself as there are 27 different and conflicting Textus Receptus’.
    • Erasmus felt that the doctrine of Faith Alone was not supported in the bible in the simplistic way Luther proposed.
    • Erasmus only used around 3 manuscripts to produce the severely anemic Textus Receptus. There are approximately 5000 mss of the Byzantine MT. So it’s not actually Majority text by methodology.
    • Erasmus lacked the last leaf of Revelation, back translated from a defective copy of the Latin Vulgate, and created 20 errors that don’t exist in any Greek mss, botching the last 6 verses of revelation, the very place the bible warns not to get wrong! Not Recommended

“99.8% of textual variants affect nothing, most are spelling differences. there’s different ways to spell John, there’s different ways to spell Mary, they’re not going to affect anything, but the one-fifth of 1% that do affect things are the ones that scholars talk about. The bottom line is it does not matter in some respects which New Testament you use because no essential doctrine is jeopardized by any of these textual variants” — Professor Daniel B. Wallace, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts.



✅ V. List of Orthodox Christian Groups

Sound-Teaching

1. Apostolic Age Followers of “The Way” (ἡ ὁδός - hė hodós) & Ante-Nicene Period Christianity (Χριστιανισμός)

This is systemless Christianity directly from Christ and the Apostles. The terms ἡ ὁδός (hē hodós) and Χριστιανισμός (Christianismos) refer to different periods and aspects of early Christianity:

  1. ἡ ὁδός (hē hodós) – Followers of “The Way”:
    • This term is associated with the Apostolic Age, which is the period during the lifetime of the apostles, roughly from the time of Jesus’ resurrection (c. AD 30) to the death of the last apostle, John (c. AD 100). It was used to describe the early Christian movement in its initial stages.
    • Example: Acts 9:2, where Saul (later Paul) sought to persecute followers of “The Way.”
    • See also: Acts 9:2 (c. AD 34-36); Acts 19:9 (c. AD 54-56); Acts 19:23 (c. AD 54-56); Acts 22:4 (c. AD 57); Acts 24:14 (c. AD 57); Acts 24:22 (c. AD 57)
  2. Χριστιανισμός (Christianismos) – Christianity:
    • This term, and the related term Χριστιανός (Christianos) meaning “Christian,” became more common in the Ante-Nicene Period, which extends from the end of the Apostolic Age (c. AD 100) to the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325. By this time, the term “Christian” had become widely accepted as the standard designation for followers of Jesus Christ.
    • Example: Acts 11:26, where the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
    • See also: Acts 11:26 (c. AD 47-48); Acts 26:28 (c. AD 59-60); 1 Peter 4:16 (c. AD 64-65).

In summary, ἡ ὁδός (hē hodós) is primarily associated with the Apostolic Age, while Χριστιανισμός (Christianismos) is more associated with the Ante-Nicene Period. Consider my articles on being a systemless moderate and basic protestant.

2. Moderate Protestant ‘isms

There’s very few groups that fall into this uniquely accurate section, among them are: Amyraldism, Reformed Arminianism (Reformed Wesleyanism), C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, and the original Calvary Chapel distinctives. These all define moderate protestant positions.



📜 VI. Overview of Scriptural Teachings

✅ Correct teachings from scripture are as follows:

  • The Bible is against the heresy of legalism, but supports Christ’s fruit-bearing metaphor of resulting obedience to God.
    • Justification is by faith alone (Eph 2:8-10; Gal 2:16,21; 3:10-12; 5:4; Ro 3:20,28), but the faith that saves is never alone in the person justified (1Jn 2:3-6; 3:6-10; 5:3-4 Jn 14:15,21; 15:10).
    • Saving faith “results” in (not “includes”) obedience to God (1Jn 2:3-6; 3:6-10; 5:3-4 Jn 14:15,21; 15:10), and good works that “follow after” (not “merits”) justification (James 2:14-26; Eph 2:10).
    • True Christians love God by obeying him (1Jn 2:3-6; 3:6-10; 5:3-4 Jn 14:15,21; 15:10).
    • Obedience does not merit salvation, the Holy Spirit produces obedience (1Cor 3:6-7; Ga 5:22-23 NLT; Jn 15:4-5, Ac 17:30; 1Jn 2:4).
    • Faith is not a work (Romans 4:5), and repentance is a fruit (Mt 3:8-10 NLT).
  • Repentance is the immediate fruit of a genuine non-superficial faith.
    • Repentance is the “resulting” fruit of genuine saving faith. Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ (Acts 26:18,20; 3:19; Mt 3:8 NLT; Rev 2:5).
    • Repentance is produced from a Godly sorrow and leads to salvation and eternal life (2 Cor. 7:10; Acts 11:18).
    • The message that ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ should be preached to the entire world in the name of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31).
  • The Bible is against the heresy of antinomianism.
    • We are set free from sin, but not set free to sin (1 Jn 3:6-10; 5:18; Jd 4 NET; Ro 6:1-2,15; 3:8,31; Heb 10:26-31; 6:4-6; Lk 9:62).
    • Christians do not “practice” sin, abuse grace as a license to sin, or remain in a lifestyle of sin (1 Jn 3:6-10; 5:18; Jd 4 NET; Ro 6:1-2,15; 3:8,31; Heb 10:26-31; 6:4-6; Lk 9:62).
    • Everyone has sin (1 Jn 1:8–10), but not everyone pursues lifestyles of indulgent sin (1Jn 3:6-10). Though we may stumble, make mistakes, and God forbid backslide, there is no such thing as a born again Christian that “practices” sin (habitually and continually pursuing a lifestyle of sin).
    • We are no longer under the law (Ro 6:1-2,14-15; Gal 3:23-25; Gal 5:18; Col 2:14), but we still uphold the law (Romans 3:31).
  • Christianity is a call to discipleship (Mt 10:38 NLT; Mt 16:24; Lk 9:23 Lk 9:62; Lk 14:27; Mk 8:34… Jn 15:8 ESV; Mt 3:10; 25:30).

📜 VII. Warnings From The Apostles

What the Bible really says.

Because I already addressed the heresy of antinomianism multiple times, I’m going to briefly cover the topic here:

1 But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles. Because of these false teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. — 2 Peter 2:1-2 NET

  1. The Apostle Peter reveals that false teachers would infiltrate the church, lead many into debauched lifestyles, slandering the way of truth with their destructive heresies. In 2 Peter 2 he describes them as, “brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed” (v. 12), “springs without water and mists driven by a storm” (v. 17), and “slaves of depravity” (v. 19). These statements showcase that the subjects were unregenerate professors of the faith.
  2. The Apostle John[1] [2] completely obliterates antinomianism in 1 Jn 2:3-6 when he says, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” He later states, in 1 John 3:7-9, “Little children, let no one deceive you. … Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, … No one born of God makes a practice of sinning …” proving, without a shadow of a doubt, that a true born again has undergone regeneration by the power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They no longer “practice” and pursue lifestyles of sin.
  3. The Apostle Jude in Jd 4 NET calls the church to defend the truth aggressively against this infiltration of dualistic antinomianism when he says, “For certain men have secretly slipped in among you—men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe—ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
  4. The Apostle Paul conquers this extremism in Romans 6:1-2,15 when he says, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!” Paul also debunks dispensational antinomianism when he says, “Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.” (Rom 3:31 NET; 1 Cor 6:9–11; 9:21).

The Apostle Paul thoroughly warned New Testament Christians (You & Me). These warnings were written to people who would be listening to the New Testament epistles as they were read aloud in New Testament Churches (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 2 Cor. 13:5; Heb. 3:12; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 3:6, 9-10; 14).

19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! — Galatians 5:19-21 NET

Practice in this sense means a lifelong continual pattern. It speaks of the pursuit of a lifestyle of indulgent sin. This does not mean that you will not have sin or that you will be perfect, in fact you may struggle with sin, make mistakes, and even backslide. A true Christian will undergo decreasing patterns of sin (1 John 3:8–9; cf. Rom. 6:14–18) in their progressive sanctification. They will not remain in their old way of life (2 Cor. 5:17; 1Jn 3:31).

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Some of you once lived this way. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. — 1 Cor. 6:9-11 NET

The Apostle Paul calls on us to examine or test our faith, to see if it is genuine, to see if Jesus is really living in us. If he is, well, then you have a living faith, if not, then you have a dead faith and are disqualified, or fail the test of genuine faith.

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. — 2 Cor. 13:5 NLT

Finally, I would like you all to ruminate and hang on every word from the Apostle John.

6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. — 1 John 3:6-10 ESV



🩻 VIII. This ministry holds to a Systemless Moderate & Basic Protestant View

I pray that those lost in the many cults and sects will make Christ their teacher once again, as the Bible says, “Call no man your teacher”. A true teacher does not teach man-made things (i.e. Calvinism, Arminianism, Chaferanism). The verse where Paul advises against labeling ourselves after specific leaders is found in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13:

“What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”

Paul’s point here is to emphasize unity in Christ rather than division by allegiance to specific human leaders, systems, ‘isms, sects, cults, etc. Below I’ve listed the very best and most vetted and highly recommended orthodox stances you should take.

  1. Basic Protestant (five solas)
  2. Theologically Conservative
  3. Faith is a “believing trust” or “trustful belief”. Faith is composed of notitia (‘knowledge’), assensus (‘agreement’), and fiducia (‘trust and reliance’).
    • pisteuō means “to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, believe (in), trust, w. implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted…”
  4. Repentance is a turning from sin to God (Acts 3:26,19), produced from godly sorrow (2Cor 7:10), culminating in a hatred for sin (Jude 23).
  5. Moderate Distinctives (systemless)
  6. Compatibilist view of free will
  7. Eschatological Premillennialist
  8. Soft-cessationist
  9. Recommendations
    • BDAG / HALOT
    • NET Full Notes
    • ESV Study Bible
    • NLT Filament



🩻 IX. Sources, Cites, & Recommendations

C.S. Lewis (Oxford & Cambridge) “A towering intellect and profoundly gifted writer. He was a scholar at both Oxford and Cambridge. He taught at Magdalen College, Oxford, for nearly three decades before becoming the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University in 1954.”

❧ Dr. D. A. Carson (Ph.D., New Testament at University of Cambridge) Carson has been described as doing “the most seminal New Testament work by contemporary evangelicals” and as “one of the last great Renaissance men in evangelical biblical scholarship.”

Dr. Alister McGrath (Ph.D., Molecular Biophysics at Oxford; D.D., Theology at Oxford; D.Litt., Intellectual History at Oxford) “Dr. Alister McGrath is a distinguished scholar with an unparalleled academic pedigree, holding a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics, a Doctor of Divinity in Theology, and a Doctor of Letters in Intellectual History, all from Oxford University. His interdisciplinary expertise and profound contributions to both science and theology establish him as a leading intellectual and a highly respected authority in his fields.”

Dr. Michael S. Heiser (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) “Dr. Heiser was a Biblical Language Scholar, textual critic, and master of ancient languages, specifically Old Testament Biblical Hebrew, as well as Ancient Egyptian, and created the KJV, NIV, and NKJV Interlinears for Logos Bible Software.”

Dr. Hugh Ross (Ph.D., Astrophysicist at University of Toronto) “Hugh holds a degree in physics from the University of British Columbia and a PhD in astronomy from the University of Toronto. After five years on the Caltech faculty, he transitioned to full-time ministry and still serves on the pastoral team at Christ Church Sierra Madre.”

Dr. Bruce Demarest (Ph.D., University of Manchester) “was senior professor of spiritual formation at Denver Seminary, where he taught since 1975, and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, Theological Thinkers and Cultural Group, and Spiritual Formation Forum. “The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation (Foundations of Evangelical Theology).””

± Dr. John C. Lennox (DPhil, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford; PhD, University of Cambridge; DSc, Cardiff University) “is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and an Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College, Oxford University. He attended The Royal School, Armagh, and went on to become Exhibitioner and Senior Scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where in 1962 he also attended the last lectures of C. S. Lewis. Lennox obtained Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Cambridge with the dissertation Centrality and Permutability in Soluble Groups (1970). He was awarded a Doctor of Science degree in mathematics by Cardiff University for his research. Lennox also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford (by incorporation) and an M.A. degree in bioethics at the University of Surrey.”

◊ Dr. J. I. Packer (PhD, University of Oxford), Concise Theology. 66. Antinomianism: We are not set free to sin. On faith, on repentance. “Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College. He was a prolific writer, and he also served on the translation board of the English Standard Version of the Bible. The 2005 Time listed him as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals. During his time at Oxford, Packer attended lectures by C. S. Lewis, and hearing Lewis greatly affected his spiritual thinking.”

Δ Dr. Wayne Grudem (Ph.D., University of Cambridge; D.D., Westminster Theological Seminary) “a distinguished Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies. He graduated Harvard, Westminister Seminary, and Cambridge. Member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, the general editor of the ESV Study Bible, and the author of over twenty-five books.”

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The ESV Study Bible has over 200+ biblical scholars (100+ ESV; 95 Study); 9 countries, 20 denominations, 50 seminaries, colleges, and universities, including Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, London, Japan, California, MIT, Duke, Westminister, Dallas, etc. 20,000 study notes, 80,000 cross-references, 200+ charts, 50+ articles, 240 full-color maps and illustrations. Textual Basis: Masoretic Text BHS ‘83, DSS, LXX, SP, S, Vg; UBS5, NA28.

The NET Bible: Full Notes Edition is a completely new, non-sectarian and “inter-denominational,” translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes, completed by more than 25+ of the world’s foremost biblical scholars from Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Sheffield, Columbia, Dallas, etc. This is the largest set of translators’ notes ever created. Textual Basis: Masoretic Text BHS [B19A(L)], DSS; NA28, UBS4.

The NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, 165 scholars (100+ NIV; 65 Study); Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, California, London, Belfast, Claremont, Denver, Westminister, & Dallas.

The NLT Filament Study Bible has over 90+ Scholars in translation from Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Columbia, Westminster, Dallas, etc. The study brings even more to the table. In addition to the NLT being the most readable Bible version on earth according to quantitative linguistic comparison of Bible translations using computerized statistical analysis, many distinguished scholars are worth noting.

The NKJV Thomas Nelson Study Bible translation has 177 Scholars, and the study includes many others.

New Oxford Annotated Bible, Fifth (NRSV) the study Bible from Oxford University. Over 50 years of students, and professors, relying on The New Oxford Annotated Bible as an unparalleled authority. Contains Secular, Jewish, & Ecumenical Scholarship.

The Jewish Annotated New Testament



“The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.” ― Ecclesiastes 12:11