Robert Sungenis

Robert A. Sungenis (born 1955) is an American Catholic author of apologetic works critiquing the Protestant doctrines of sola fide and sola scriptura. He is also known for his advocacy of geocentrism and his controversial beliefs about Jews and Judaism.

Biography

Robert Sungenis was raised in a Catholic family, but became a Protestant Christian at age nineteen.^[1] He obtained his B.A. in Religion from George Washington University in 1979, and an M.A. in theology from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1982. Sungenis obtained a Ph.D. in 2006 from the Calamus International University, a private distance-learning institution located in Republic of Vanuatu.^[1] His dissertation was on the subject of geocentrism and was then edited and self-published as the two-volume set, Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right. He is presently seeking a doctorate in religious studies from Maryvale Institute an International Catholic Distance-Learning Institution.^[2]

Sungenis returned to Catholicism in 1992 at the age of thirty-seven. In 1994 he was the principal author of a book critiquing the eschatological views of Harold Camping.^[3] The story of his conversion to Catholicism is chronicled in the first of the Surprised By Truth books^[4] edited by Catholic apologist and author Patrick Madrid. He has debated many Protestant apologists, including James R. White, Dave Hunt, Michael Horton, Robert Godfrey, Matt Slick and Robert Zins on doctrinal, theological, and historical issues such as sola scriptura, the papacy and papal infallibility, transubstantiation and the Mass, salvation and justification. His articles were published in Our Sunday Visitor, The Catholic Answer, Catholic Faith and Family, The Coming Home Journal, Envoy Magazine, This Rock, Catholic Family News, The Remnant, Latin Mass Magazine and reviews of his work appeared in Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Touchstone Magazine, Culture Wars magazine and at Salon.com. In 2000, Sungenis wrote and hosted a 16-part series on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) titled, Justification: Not By Faith Alone. In 2001, he co-wrote and co-hosted with Patrick Madrid an 18-part series on EWTN titled, Not By Scripture Alone, both shows being based on his two published books, Not By Faith Alone and Not By Scripture Alone. Sungenis also made several appearances on EWTN’s Mother Angelical Live, The Journey Home and The Abundant Life. In August 2002, Sungenis was a guest on CNN International to debate the issue of women priests with guest Rea Howrath. In August 2006, Sungenis was a guest on the BBC’s “The Today Programme” debating modern cosmology against Bro. Guy Cosolmango of the Vatican Observatory. In 2006, Sungenis was a contributor to the documentary produced by The Fatima Center titled “Heaven’s Key to Peace,” concerning the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal in 1917.^{[citation needed]}

Faith Alone

Sungenis is known for his apologetic works critiquing the Protestant doctrine of "faith alone". In 1997, he published Not By Faith Alone in which he asserted that Sola Fide is not biblical. Sungenis is of the opinion that the word "faith" is never used in conjunction with the word "alone" by the apostle Paul, that by the phrase "the works of the Law" Paul only excluded works done outside of God's grace, that Paul spoke about all people having to eventually be judged by God based on their works, and that those who persist in wilful sin will be eternally condemned. His book has received praise from S. M. Hutchens (Senior Editor of Touchstone Magazines) and an endorsement from Fabian Bruskewitz (Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska), but criticism from Robert N. Wilkin (Editor of Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society).^[5][6][7]

Jews and Judaism

Sungenis's controversial views of the Jewish people and Judaism have been sharply criticized by fellow Catholics and by the Southern Poverty Law Center as being anti-semitic.^[8][9][10] In 2002, he claimed it was a fact that no one had ever proven that 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust and that demographic statistics show no real difference in the number of Jews living before and after World War II. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, he also "repeated a series of ancient anti-Semitic canards" and later wrote about the involvement of Jews and Israel in a New World Order Satanic conspiracy aimed at world domination.^[9][10] In 2011, a spokesperson from the organization Pro Ecclesia said, "In 2002 he made an unwise remark about the Holocaust. He doesn't do it now. He has been put right and he's perfectly OK."^[10]

In 2002, Sungenis stated that he is against Zionism, but that he is not anti-semitic. "Anti-semitism is a hatred for the Jewish race. There isn't a bone in my body that feels that way about Jewish people," he wrote.^[11] In 2007, Sungenis' bishop, Kevin C. Rhoades, directed Sungenis to stop writing about the Jewish people and Judaism.^[12] In 2008, Rhoades denounced his views of the Jewish people and Judaism as "hostile, uncharitable, and unchristian". Bishop Rhoades also directed Sungenis to remove the name "Catholic" from his organization.^[8]

Geocentrism

Sungenis is an advocate of geocentrism. He believes that physics and the Bible show that the sun and all the planets orbit the Earth and that the Earth does not rotate. Sungenis published Galileo Was Wrong The Church Was Right saying that it would "give Scripture its due place and show that science is not all it's cracked up to be." For several years, his website offered a $1000 reward to anyone who could prove heliocentrism and disprove geocentrism. Science rejects this cosmological view as demonstrably false and untenable.^[13]

Publications

• Not By Faith Alone: The Biblical Evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification, Queenship Publishing (1996), 774 pp. ISBN 1-57918-008-6
• Not By Scripture Alone: A Catholic Critique of the Protestant Doctrine of Sola Scriptura, Queenship Publishing (1997), 650 pp. ISBN 1-57918-055-8
• How Can I Get to Heaven? The Bible's Teaching on Salvation Made Easy to Understand, Queenship Publishing (1997), 334 pp. ISBN 1-57918-007-8
• Not By Bread Alone: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Queenship Publishing (2000), 450 pp. ISBN 1-57918-124-4
• The Gospel According to Matthew (Catholic Apologetics Study Bible, Vol. 1), Queenship Publishing (2003), 427 pp. ISBN 1-57918-236-4
• The Apocalypse of St. John (Catholic Apologetics Study Bible, Vol. 2), Queenship Publishing (2007), 544 pp. ISBN 1-57918-329-8
• The Epistles of Romans and James (Catholic Apologetics Study Bible, Vol. 3), CAI Publishing, Inc. (2009), 665 pp. ISBN 0-9818660-6-9
• The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1 – 11 (Catholic Apologetics Study Bible, Vol. 4), CAI Publishing, Inc. (2009), 692 pp. ISBN 0-9818660-7-7
• The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Catholic Apologetics Study Bible, Vol. 5), CAI Publishing, Inc. (2009), 423 pp. ISBN 0-9818660-8-5
• Galileo Was Wrong: The Church Was Right: The Scientific Evidence for Geocentrism, (CAI Pub. Inc, 2009, 653 pages). ISBN 0-9818660-4-2
• Speaking in Tongues: Sign of Blessing: Sign of Judgment: A Critical Analysis of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, (CAI Pub. Inc. 2010, 80 pages). ISBN 0-9841859-5-X
• Catholic/Jewish Dialogue: Controversies and Corrections, CAI Publishing, Inc. (2010), 734 pp. ISBN 0-9841859-3-3
• Bob's Dictionary of Big Words (smaller version), CAI Publishing, Inc. 2011 ISBN 0-9841859-8-4
• Bob's Dictionary of Big Words (larger version), CAI Publishing, Inc. 2011 ISBN 0-9841859-7-6
• The Consecration of Russia: How Seven Popes Failed to Heed Heaven’s Command and Brought Turmoil to the Church and the World, Hometown Publications, Inc. copyright 2013, 384 pages, ISBN13: 978-0-9841859-9-3.
• The Gospel According to John, CAI Publishing, Inc. copyright 2011, 497 pages, ISBN13:978-0-9841859-1-7.

References

External links

• Bellarmine Theological Forum, Robert Sungenis' website
• Galileo Was Wrong, Sungenis' book on geocentrism