Is Dan Corner a Heretic to be Exposed and Refuted?

by Editor | Apr 7, 2012 | Religion Featured

Is Dan Corner a Heretic to be Exposed and Refuted?

Background to Debates and Heretic Discussions

Dan Corner is an American evangelical Christian evangelist who is the founder and director of Evangelical Outreach, an independent, non denomination evangelical ministry. Dan Corners popular status has being his contemporary literary contribution to the Calvinist and Arminian historical debate on the eternal security or falling from grace of the Christian believer. He is one of the most outspoken religious figures on the topic with his lively debates resulting in accusations of heretic teachings, exposed, or refuted. He does stand in long and well establish historic and biblical position on eternal security. He has published seven books on a variety of thematic evangelical Christian topics and is a frequented guest for television and radio shows. He is an ordained minister and holds a Masters of Divinity. His ministry, Evangelical Outreach, maintains a web database of current topics of interest to the American Evangelical that is well trafficked for its discussions and debates on contentious subjects.

Biography: Exposing Dan Corner

Dan Corner was born into a practicing Catholic family where he faithfully attended his local parishes. Dan’s formative religious experience was Catholic, but after graduating from with a Bachelor of Science, began to question his roots as a Catholic. In particular, his experience with his own independent studies of the Bible as contrasted to Catholic doctrine put him on a course that would later shape his writing and ministry. It was during this time, in his early 20s, Dan changed his religious commitments from Catholicism to Evangelical Christian. Once outside of the Catholic Church, he was exposed to a variety of sectarian Christian beliefs, but it was the conversion of a family member as a Jehovah Witness that propelled him to study Theology. He continued to worked professional for 11 year before altering his career and education into full time ministry work. After completing his Masters of Divinity from he was a pastor and pioneered a full gospel church in Pittsburgh, PA for seven years. Since late 1990s, he founded and runs the Evangelical Outreach. During this period he was able to publish, write, and make radio and television guest appearances.

Ministry, Debates, Accusations of Heretic and Refuted

Proclaiming and defending the gospel of grace is what the Evangelical Outreach specializes in. The two chief websites are http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org (a 1000+ page Christian database of diverse Bible based information) and http://www.eternallifeblog.com (another informative, contemporary, apologetic type website). Dan Corner, as leader of the Evangelical Outreach is a non-denominational holiness preacher and author, who addresses controversial issues including the believer’s eternal security. This position, although a valid Biblical and historical position in the church, has produce the controversy about Dan’s positions and his accusations for holding heretic positions. Corner’s sermons stress repentance and a submissive faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to receive the free gift of eternal life for initial salvation, and heart purity, holiness and endurance until death for final salvation. He is strongly antagonistic to all doctrines that contradict Biblical grace, especially eternal security. Dan Corner believes that we are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8,9), but we can fall from grace (Gal. 5:2-4). We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1), but our saving faith can be shipwrecked (1 Tim. 1:19), destroyed (2 Tim. 2:18) and cease to exist (Lk. 8:13; Rom. 11:20-23). The doctrinal statement of Evangelical Outreach gives more details ( http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/doctrine.htm ) Evangelical Outreach does not teach a works salvation, as it is sometimes falsely accused of.

Corner’s gospel spreading efforts are varied and widespread. They range from simple street evangelism, street preaching, door-to-door evangelism to mass distribution of gospel salvation literature, campus evangelism, TV and radio interviews, etc. Corner is a strong believer in gospel tracts and has personally distributed well over 100,000 during his Christian life. Evangelical Outreach encourages and enables people throughout the world to freely print quality Bible based salvation literature from their own printer for instant use ( http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/printfreetracts.htm ). Corner also has much first-hand expertise and experience in evangelizing, exposing and refuting Jehovah’s Witnesses. In fact, he has gone to their conventions and preached to them from the street over a bull horn, gone into their kingdom halls for discussions, etc. Mormons and Catholics are two other groups he has vast experience with.

Theology and Controversy

As current evangelical trends tend to side on the Calvinist approach to grace, his books addressing the Arminian view point have become involved in critical debates popular Christian movements from Billy Graham’s saved by grace messages to Rich Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. His discussions and debates against the positive confession success theology starting in the 1990s. This lead to Corner quickly sensed the need for literature to address the widespread eternal security doctrine accepted and embraced as being connected to the gospel and grace by many professing Christians. Early in his Christian life, he knew he would one day write a book on that subject, though it never materialized for over 15 years. His first book on that subject was 120 pages and entitled, The Believer’s Security, Conditional or Unconditional? That book, plus the widespread distribution of 100s thousand tracts and web articles, has continued to raise his popular discussions and debates on the believer’s grace.

Publish Works and Resulting Debates on Dan Corner

Books and Booklets

His most significant work, the 801 page volume, The Believer’s Conditional Security: Eternal Security Refuted (ISBN 978-0-9639076-8-4) was published in 2000. Today, his book is one of the most exhaustive and comprehensive treatments published on the refutation of eternal security (or once saved always saved). It has over 700 footnotes, a full bibliography of 190+ sources and is fully indexed with both subject and Scripture references. In addition, his chapters revealing Calvin’s sinister side and exposing the Synod of Dort (1618), will provide a factual, historical account little known in our day outside the academic world. Reference and reviews of his work can be found at http://www.amazon.com/Believers-Conditional-Security-Eternal-Refuted/dp/0963907689 or at http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/bcstestimonies.htm Similar reviews, mixed in with various personal testimonies from various people, are found at http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/paul.htm . The personal testimonies are from a diverse background of imprisoned criminals to pastors and academics, missionaries and lay people from different parts of the world.
The Myth of Eternal Security (ISBN: 978-0-9762470-0-5) a 230 page book, has additional material refuting eternal security, but without the detailed documentation found in The Believer’s Conditional Security: Eternal Security Refuted.
Is This The Mary Of The Bible? (ISBN: 978-0-9639076-7-7) was written with the Catholic in mind. The gentle but firm 296 page book reveals the major differences between the real mother of Jesus and the Mary of Catholicism, which has slowly evolved over the centuries. Various radio interviews also resulted on this subject.
The Gospel According To Charles Stanley (ISBN: 0-9639076-9-7) is a 42 page booklet which Biblically examines what popular Charles Stanley has taught about eternal security from his own book on that subject, Eternal Security Can You Be Sure?
Unmasking John MacArthur’s Calvinistic Version of Saving Faith (ISBN: 0-9639076-3-8) is an examination and compilation of various teachings by John MacArthur in a 52 page booklet.
A Critique of Gail Riplinger’s Scholarship and KJV Onlyism (ISBN: 978-0-9639076-1-5) is a 54 page booklet written on the raging KJV controversy, especially with Gail Riplinger in mind.
A Study On Biblical Salvation (ISBN: 0-9639076-2-X) reveals the necessity of repentance for salvation and details what it exactly is. This 54 page booklet also contains one chapter from The Believer’s Conditional Security about initial and final salvation.

Tracks

Evangelical Outreach has a large track distribution network with 100s thousands distributed to date. Enable by modern web technology, his tracks have reached worldwide distribution. Although few tracks are maintained (approximately one dozen different gospel tracts are written and printed), the have popular appeal in their subject matter approach. Some are in illustrated cartoon format. Evangelical Outreach makes them available in bulk purchases at http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/sctracts.htm or one can print them freely from their own printer http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/printfreetracts.htm . Much of his teaching materials have been translated into Spanish, Russian, Romanian, and Portuguese. The Heaven/Hell tract is most popular and has been translated into ten languages.

Radio and TV

Dozens of radio interviews and debates on once saved always saved occurred over the years. The most notable debates were with Dave Hunt of the Berean Call and at a different time with Calvinist Mark Driscoll of Mar’s Hill Church. Many of the debates and discussions are published on YouTube (a search for Dan Corner on YouTube show over 7800 results).