Fr. Chris Vorderbruggen Profile picture
Bivocational Missionary Priest, w/ Old Catholic Orders. Guide in prayer & reaching people on margins. Wanderer, Scuba Diver, Adventurer. Anti-Trafficking Adv.✝️
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Dec 9 14 tweets 3 min read
1/14 🧵
Someone asked a holy question. Where can we find Christ in the Old Testament. The truth is everywhere. Once your eyes adjust to the light of Advent, you begin to see Him on every page, speaking through shadow and promise. 2/14
Jesus Himself taught this. He said, Search the scriptures, for they testify of me. John 5:39. He was speaking of the Old Testament. The New had not yet been written. He tells us plainly that He is its beating heart.
Dec 7 12 tweets 2 min read
1/12 🧵
The second Sunday of Advent always slows my heart. It invites us to listen again for the Voice that breaks into our world when we least expect it, calling us to prepare a way for the Lord. Image 2/12
Saint John the Baptist stands before us today. Scripture says he came crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Matthew 3:3. His cry still reaches us.
Nov 16 14 tweets 3 min read
1/14 🧵
A Muslim wrote that if you remove Paul, councils, and Constantine, Christianity collapses into Islam. Let’s walk through this gently but truthfully. Because once we slow down the noise, the beauty of the historic faith becomes clear. 2/14 🧵
First, Christianity does not stand on Paul. It stands on Jesus Christ. The earliest creed is simple: “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12:3). Paul did not invent this. He received it from the Church that existed before him.
Nov 9 16 tweets 3 min read
1/16 🧵
A Mormon wrote that the Council of Nicaea was “a political stunt run by a pagan emperor.” He mocked the Creed as corruption and coercion.

This is not new. It’s the old habit of twisting history to justify rebellion. Let’s walk through what actually happened. 2/16
By the fourth century, Christians had endured nearly 300 years of persecution. They met in homes, caves, and catacombs, carrying the Gospel across the empire at great cost.

Nicaea was not a luxury convention. It was the Church stepping into daylight.
Nov 6 12 tweets 3 min read
1/12 🧵
A Muslim asked, “Why do Christians teach their children to worship idols?” and shared a photo of a small child kneeling before a crucifix.

It’s a sincere question, and it deserves a sincere answer. Let’s talk about what’s really happening when a Christian kneels before the Cross. 2/12
First, we must begin with truth: Christians do not worship idols. The commandment forbidding idols (Exodus 20:4) remains sacred to us. We believe there is only one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, revealed to us fully in Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 6:4, John 1:1-3).
Oct 31 13 tweets 3 min read
1/13 🧵
Every year someone insists, “Halloween is pagan!” But is it really? No, it’s one of the most Christian feasts we’ve nearly forgotten how to celebrate. Let’s remember what it is, where it came from, and how we can reclaim it for Christ. 2/13
The word Halloween means All Hallows’ Eve, the evening before All Saints’ Day. Just as Christmas Eve prepares us for Christmas, this night once prepared Christians to honor the saints in heaven and pray for the faithful departed.
Oct 29 13 tweets 3 min read
1/13 🧵
“Contradictions like these are why people lose respect for the Trinity scam.”
You will hear words like these from those who mistake mystery for contradiction. But the mystery of the Trinity is not a riddle to solve; it is the life of God revealed in love. 2/13
The critic quotes 1 Corinthians 15:45: “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” They think this means Jesus was made divine later. But that verse speaks of His resurrection, not His creation.
Oct 28 12 tweets 2 min read
1/12 🧵
A Muslim wrote: “Nobody memorizes the Bible because it isn’t the Word of God. Millions of Muslims memorize the Qur’an because it is the literal Word of God.” Let’s look at this carefully and truthfully. 2/12
The Bible and the Qur’an are not the same kind of text. The Bible is a library of books, written in different times, languages, and literary forms. It contains law, history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, Gospels, and letters.
Oct 18 13 tweets 2 min read
1/13 🧵
Many Christians wonder, “Is celebrating Halloween a sin?” The short answer is no, but how we approach it matters. To answer well, we need to look at what Halloween is, where it came from, and what Christian history has to say. 2/13
Halloween comes from All Hallows’ Eve—the night before All Saints’ Day. In medieval Europe, Christians prayed for the souls of the departed, remembered the saints, and prepared to celebrate the great feast of All Hallows.
Oct 11 17 tweets 3 min read
1/17 🧵
When the historic Church says a group is not Christian, that should never be taken as a personal insult to its members. Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are kind and sincere people. But sincerity does not change doctrine. And their doctrine is not Christian. 2/17
The historic Church of East and West recognizes baptism only when it is done with the Trinitarian formula: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). Jehovah’s Witnesses explicitly reject the Trinity. Their baptisms are not valid.
Oct 1 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
A Protestant claim often made is this: “Catholicism replaces assurance of salvation with doubt, chaining people to the Church lest they go to Hell. But the biblical gospel offers certainty of eternal life (1 John 5:13).” Let’s respond from Scripture and the historic Church. 2/15
First, the Scriptures themselves. John does say, “These things have I written… that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). But that assurance is not a one-time guarantee—it is a confidence for those who remain in Christ by faith and obedience.
Sep 23 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
In a video, Erika Kirk questioned Catholicism: “Why go through saints, Mary, or a priest? Why not straight to Jesus?” These are common objections. Let’s answer them head-on, with Scripture and the faith of historic Christians. 2/15
First truth: we do go directly to Christ. He says, “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28). “Let us… come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). Every Christian can and must pray to Jesus.
Sep 21 12 tweets 2 min read
1/12 🧵
Friends, an LDS influencer recently claimed that critics are “struggling” to challenge Mormonism. Let’s walk carefully through this. We’ll focus on the points that intersect directly with the historic Christian faith. 2/12
First, they say: “The charge that Latter-day Saints are not Christian falls flat.” Friends, this is not an insult—it is a matter of truth. The historic Church had to decide long ago: Mormonism teaches another god, another Christ, another gospel. That is why it is not Christianity.
Sep 2 15 tweets 2 min read
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A Protestant posted 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet.” Let’s reflect carefully: what does this mean, and how has the historic Christian faith understood the place of women? 2/15
First, context. Paul writes to Timothy in Ephesus, where false teachers were disrupting the Church. His instruction is pastoral, specific, and corrective—not a universal silencing of women.
Sep 1 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
Someone wrote: “Purgatory is nonsense. Christ didn’t tell the thief on the cross he’d go to purgatory—He said paradise.” Let’s walk gently but clearly. Purgatory is not against Christ’s redemption. It flows from it. 2/15
First, what do we mean by purgatory? The Church does not describe it as a second chance or another judgment. It is the final purification of the soul who dies in God’s grace but is not yet wholly cleansed.
Aug 28 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
A Protestant recently said: “The Bible never teaches we need a human priesthood. Christ alone is High Priest. The veil was torn, and we now have direct access to the Father.” Let’s walk into this together and see what the historic Church actually teaches. 2/15
Yes—Christ is our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). The veil was torn (Matthew 27:51). We now have direct access to the Father. But does this mean there is no priesthood? Scripture, the Fathers, and the whole Apostolic Church say otherwise.
Aug 28 16 tweets 3 min read
1/16 🧵
Today we walk with Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. She lived in the 4th century, in North Africa, in a world where Rome was changing and Christianity was spreading. Let’s step into her story, into her struggles, and into her hope. Image 2/16
Monica was born in the year 331 in Tagaste (modern Souk Ahras, Algeria). She grew up in a Christian family, raised in the faith at a time when Christianity was becoming legal but still not fully secure.
Aug 27 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
Friends, today our hearts are broken. During morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, two children were killed and many others wounded. The shooter also died. I want to walk with you tonight into this horror—into what we know, and into what faith must say.Image 2/15
The shooter has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, born Robert. He legally changed his name and identified as female. We will speak plainly, without “woke” distortions: he was a young man, a former student of that very school, who carried hatred in his heart.
Aug 25 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
In The Spirit of the Liturgy, Pope Benedict XVI warns us about a danger that’s very common today: the temptation to reduce the faith to orthopraxy—“right practice”—while neglecting orthodoxy—“right belief” and true worship. Image 2/15
Orthodoxy is not just intellectual correctness. The word literally means “right glory,” “right praise.” It is worship offered to God in truth (John 4:24). Orthopraxy—our actions, forms, styles—must flow from this worship, not replace it.
Aug 23 14 tweets 3 min read
1/14 🧵
A protestant says: “No such place as Purgatory. It’s Heaven or Hell, no in between.” Let’s walk through Scripture, the Fathers, and the faith of the historic Churches—not to argue, but to clarify what Purgatory is and what it is not. 2/14
First: what Purgatory is not. It is not a second chance after death. It is not Hell with an exit door. It is not earning salvation. Salvation comes only through Christ. Purgatory is for the saved—for those destined for Heaven.
Aug 18 15 tweets 3 min read
1/15 🧵
The parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1–13) has puzzled Christians for centuries. A steward cheats his master, reduces debts, and is praised for it. Many ask: How can this make sense? Let’s walk through it together. 2/15
Here’s the text: A steward is accused of wasting his master’s goods. About to be fired, he calls in the debtors and lowers their bills. The master commends him for acting shrewdly. Jesus adds: “Make friends with unrighteous wealth…” (Luke 16:9).