http://www.orthodoxpress.org/parish/river_of_fire.htm
And if you choose not to read it…the treasure will remain hidden, but not because God wanted it to remain so.
45 posted on 08/14/2006 8:31:05 PM MDT by AMHN
I prayed to YHvH for guidance in response. Lot's of what men with fancy titles said; very little of the Holy Word of G-d. The tone was "we're special; everyone is out of favor except us". "The Papists and the Protestants are wrong; we are right. The Jews are lost and now We are now Israel. I hope that helps you.I read the article; I was extremely underwhelmed.
b'shem Yahu'shua
Please forgive me and call uncle when I've crossed the line but Truth is, in my opinion, so fundamentally important that we must challenge even our own opinions lest we fail to find it.
In Truth, you completely missed the point of the article.
Yet in reality, by thinking that this was about Orthodoxy to the exclusion of all else, including yourself, you prove to be exclusionary.
This article is about Truth which is absolute (not to be understood that the article is Truth...that can be debated).
Pilate ask Christ "What is Truth?" not realizing that Truth was not a philisophical end but instead Truth was a person and even more true it was a person standing directly in front of Pilate and Pilate missed Him.
The article is a question of fundamental importance..."Who do you say that I am..."
Who is God? The eternal Logos according to St John. O Sophia...The Wisdom...of God. But Christ reveals more: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life..." Christ is Truth.
What is important to take away from the article is not whether or not you're Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, or any other faith...the importance is to ask yourself "Who is God" (a much deeper question than a name...ie Christ)
Diabolos: Lit. Slanderer
From the very beginning Diabolos has tried to twist our concept of God. "Did God really say that?" "Did God really mean that?" [paraphrased] But mostly Diabolos has desired to drive us from a loving relationship with God by making us believe deeply, in a complex labrynth, that a God that would kill His Son on the cross cannot be all that good.
This isn't about who is right and who is wrong per se. But what do you really believe? Who is the person God? All Good and Loving, Truthful? Or is He vengful. Most will answer the former when they tend like moths to churches with underlying dogma that support the latter.
You may be a rareity. I'm not judging. But have you really asked what you believe.
The article is only a beginning...I've not always been Orthodox. As a matter of fact I was born Protestant and spent most of 30 years as one. Interesting that although I was first appalled as you to read this diagnosis and thought exactly as you did..."The Papists and the Protestants are wrong; we [Orthodox] are right."
But as I began to ask ministers the dogma of the churches I attended, sure enough it was true.
I sought out RC and found the same (along with many other bags).
So as I look in many places I began to extrapolate the theology of what was discussed in this book and began to realize that any other solution to the problem of sin just didn't add up.
The question was, when confronted with a total paradigm shift in theology, was I willing to make it. Lose friends, family, and follow Christ. The answer had to be yes...otherwise I really didn't believe.
It's not a matter of arguing from Orthodox but instead finding that when pitted up against all other theology...the errors cannot lead to Truth.
Christ promised that the "Gates of Hell would not prevail" and the He would send the Spirit of Truth to "guide the Church in all Truth".
One must ask themselves...if this really exists...doesn't this Church have the right to claim absolute Truth. And won't Diabolos try to create so many false truths that it become almost impossible to see Truth when it stand directly in front of you as it did Pilate.
Knowing that it exists and giving each the right to prove it is what it is all about. That is different than starting with the premise that it does not exist and therefore I will not look.
I've given all a chance and only one has no error (not to be misunderstood with human error on a microscale, but on the macroscale in spite of human error has a church maintained the original word of God and has it managed to defend itself against all that is false).
Seek Truth (Christ) and you will find Him...