How Protestantism Is the Antithesis of Jesus' Prayer in John 17:20-23 - Apologetics for the Masses #539

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Topic

Protestantism Is the Antithesis of Jesus' Prayer in John 17:20-23.

General Comments

Been getting a number of requests for my speaking schedule lately, so I'll give you the three that I have on the calendar in 2026 as of right now:

1) March 21 - Worcester, MA. Worcester Diocesan Men's Conference. My talk is titled: Does God Want Everyone to Be Catholic? For more information on the conference, the speakers, and/or to register: https://catholicmenworc.com/. If you live nearby, come on down...I'd love to see you there!

2) October 9 - Catholic Familyland, Bloomingdale, OH. Totus Tuus Conference Family Conference. For more information and/or to register:
https://afc.org/totus-tuus/

3) October 10 - Wilkes-Barre, PA. Scranton Diocesan Men's Conference. Website link will be posted when available.

*4) One other conference that is not yet confirmed is the Marian Eucharistic Conference in Greenville, SC on October 30/31.

Introduction

At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed to the Father that we who believe in Him through the word of the Apostles - i.e., His followers...Christians - would be one as He and the Father are one. So, my question is: Does Protestantism, with all its divisions (aka "denominations), move us closer to fulfilling the prayer of Jesus, or does it totally obliterate any possibility of realizing Jesus' prayer? Let's explore that question in depth...

Challenge/Response/Strategy

I want to start off by quoting not only verses 20-23 from John 17, where Jesus prays for those who will believe in Him through the word of the Apostles, but by going back a few verses - to verse 14 - where Jesus first prays for the Apostles themselves:

John 17:14-23, "I have given them [the Apostles] thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one.¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. ¹⁸As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. ²⁰“I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, ²¹that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ²²The glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me."

So, again, the question is, essentially: Does Protestantism, by its very nature, work towards the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer that His followers be one as He and the Father are one, or does it work against the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer?

1) Given the Principle of Non-Contradiction, any particular statement of belief is either true or it is not true. It cannot be both. True or false. Truth or error.
2) If you believe in something that is not true, you are believing in a lie.
3) The Bible tells us that Satan is the "father of lies," (John 8:44).
4) Therefore, if you believe in a lie, you are believing in something that is of Satan.
5) If you believe in a false doctrine, you are believing in a lie.
6) Therefore, false doctrine is of Satan.
7) The Bible tells us that "in later times" some will depart from the faith by giving heed to "doctrines of demons," (1 Tim 4:1).
8) Therefore, if you believe in a false doctrine...give heed to the doctrines of demons...you can "depart from the faith".

Closing Comments

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