Posted on 10/31/2011 5:10:42 AM PDT by rzman21
Introduction In the past decade there has been an ever increasing level of interest in Orthodoxy in this country. Along with this interest has come a tremendous increase in the number of converts from Protestantism to Orthodoxy. Thus, it was inevitable that Protestant apologists would begin to train their intellectual artillery on Orthodoxy. In the Protestant Reformed journal Credenda/Agenda, we find one of the first attempts to repudiate the claims and teachings of the Orthodox Church in a way that does not merely rehash anti-Roman polemics (though the author does not fully escape this temptation, as we shall see).
In the lead article of the issue under consideration, Douglas Jones attempts to lay out the battle plans for subsequent articles. He briefly levels six specific charges against the Orthodox Faith in order to support his basic thesis that it is apostate. We have chosen to list these in the order in which we will address them, not as he presented them: 1) our theology is Platonistic, and thus pagan; 2) the doctrine of Theosis relegates the Cross of Christ to a "quaint sideshow"; 3) Orthodoxy teaches salvation by works, substituting human effort for Christ's effort; 4) we have subjugated God's revelation (Holy Scripture) to human tradition; 5) we place an undue emphasis on ecclesiastical power and tradition which has turned the Church into a magisterial authority dominated by "ecclesiastics"; 6) our worship is arrogant and pagan.
One may wonder why it has taken so long for an Orthodox response to this Credenda issue to appear. Even though some Protestants have found the articles persuasive, many Orthodox have argued that these articles should not even be dignified with a response. Jones' remarks in particular lack balance and objectivity. The Church that has produced tens of millions of martyrs for Christ in this century alone is to him merely a "synagogue of Satan." Common sense, decency, and even a cursory reading of Orthodox materials—let alone interaction with Orthodox Christians—would easily lead an objective person to the conclusion that the Credenda staff's depiction of the Orthodox Church is way off. Nevertheless, we have decided to respond to these articles because many sincere Protestants who are unfamiliar with Orthodoxy have unwittingly accepted them at face value. We felt that a thorough reply was necessary for the sake of those Evangelicals who want to learn the truth about the Orthodox Church.
What will become more clear as one reads the rest of the issue in question is that the authors' fundamental misunderstanding of Orthodoxy stems from a penchant for analyzing everything through the prism of a Reformed Protestant worldview. This worldview is decidedly different from that of the Orthodox, and likewise that of Christian antiquity. Their mistakes are also the result of an over-dependence upon modern Orthodox writers (who frequently do not properly articulate the Patristic consensus), as well as a complete neglect of the liturgical texts of the Orthodox Church. The latter is an especially serious error; for our theology is often set forth in these texts in ways that other written forms of Holy Tradition do not. To overlook them is to invite error and misrepresentation, both of which are rife in these essays. In the end, Jones and company portray an Orthodoxy which no one (Orthodox or otherwise) with even a moderate grasp of Orthodox belief could recognize.
Really? Then why don't they simply call themselves Catholic instead of having a different name?
I call it simplistic because if one takes for instance the Anglicans, they are not all Anglo-Saxons, right?
I thought the Orhodox church and the Roman church were merging.
***I have had two Methodist friends tell me they “hate” the Catholic church.***
Years ago I read a two volume history of the Christian Church, written in the 1800s, by a methodist preacher.
I noticed that every three or four pages he would suddenly find a reason to take a swing at the Catholic Church.
***Or was it the Catholics who “protested” against the Orthodox by starting a new denomination? Very confusing.***
Many years ago I read a newspaper article, written by an Eastern Orthodox priest as to how the Catholic church split and left the “True Faith” of the Orthodox.
Interesting take on it.
: )
Yes.
As I understand it, both Whiteford and Barnes are opposed to evolutionism. Now as we all know, "all True Orthodox" are evolutionists, and only inbred trailer park trash believe that garbage about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, or the Ark, or the Tower of Babel. Furthermore the host site also contains an article by the late Fr. Seraphim Rose who not only opposed evolutionism but actually wrote a book against it. Obviously Fr. Seraphim "wasn't really Orthodox" either, else he would have spent his days defending Darwin, Wellhausen, and other fonts of the absolutely unchanging Eastern Tradition.
Don't be fooled by Bible-thumping rednecks in Orthodox clothing![/Sarcasm]
My Melkite Church professes to be Orthodox in communion with Rome, but a wholesale reunion is far off because of politics.
I might add that Rome doesn’t require us to use Thomistic scholastic theological concepts.
I’ve never once, for example, heard my pastor preach about purgatory, indulgences, etc.
The LCMS is missing the sacraments save baptism and marriage.
Byzantine Catholics say our Latin brethren went off the deep end with trying to apply Aristotle’s categories of philosophy to matters of faith.
We share a great deal with the Orthodox despite the fact we are in full communion with the Pope of Rome.
Anyone remember it and can you provide a link?
The Lutheran Confessions don’t define the number of Sacraments.
The Lutheran confessions are frequently far from consistent, especially when it comes to the sacraments.
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