Gavin Ortlund Responded—But Didn’t Answer the Evidence

Gavin Ortlund ‪@TruthUnites‬ has responded to our presentation on the early evidence for the intercession and invocation of the saints. Instead of correcting his claim that there are “no clear examples” within the first two hundred years, he accused his critics of “unwarranted triumphalism,” shifted the standard of evidence, and focused on passages we had already identified as evidence for heavenly intercession rather than direct invocation. In this response, we examine what Gavin addressed, what he avoided, and how the goalposts changed. We will return to the primary sources, answer his objections, and focus on the evidence for communication across death and the direct invocation of heavenly figures. Our argument has never been that every early passage contains the fully developed language of later Catholic devotion. The argument is that the historical evidence is far more complicated, and appears much earlier, than Gavin’s original claim allowed. The evidence still deserves an answer. #GavinOrtlund #CommunionOfSaints #ChurchHistory #CatholicApologetics #EarlyChurch Here is the video Stephen did with Jimmy and Cameron on ‪@CapturingCatholicism‬ responding to Gavin. https://www.youtube.com/live/WnJHGee_...