Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The

author says that

although Metropolitan Bīshouy’s book was small, it contains a lot of misunderstandings

and generalizations

that clash with the simplest rules of scientific way of thinking.

He says that

the archbishop has

erroneously condensed the reformist movement, in the person of Martin Luther, while the

facts of history affirm

that there were many factors behind the emergence of the Reformation, like the

medieval papacy with its absolute

powers and the church leaders’ excessive wealth and immoral

practices.

The author states that the

reformation movement was much deeper than one person, adding

that perhaps Metropolitan Bīshouy agrees with

him that the Arab and Eastern world needs religious reform

in order to catch up with the 21^st

century.

The author criticizes Metropolitan

Bīshouy’s selectivity when speaking about Protestant

churches in the West that allow homosexuality and

same-sex marriage while there are other Protestant churches in

the West that are conservative and even

stricter than some churches in the East.

He denies Metropolitan

Bīshouy’s allegations that the

Protestant church is trying to "invade" Kafr al-Shaykh and get Orthodox

Christians to embrace Protestant

beliefs, noting that it is high time that people’s minds should be set free

to let the people choose their

beliefs by themselves.