In your understanding of what God requires of us in the way of belief and praxis, would you say that Orthodoxy has had it wrong pretty much from day one?
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NO. But I'm not that detailed familiar with Orthodoxy in any comprehensive way.
I can accept what you say to a large degree on faith.
But I have had plenty to disagree with posters hereon supposedly from the Orthodox standpoint. So, I'm not sure where I'd draw any lines.
Theoretically, I could have a problem with the iconography. Supposedly it could be as big a problem as the RC statues etc. But I usually don't have the same cold evil feel about Orthodox iconography in my spirit. It MAY be the case that the Orthodox successfully avoid idolatry more than the RC's. I don't know.
I still have a hard time and cannot accept the praying to departed saints or to Mary. That is just wholesale contrary to my whole understanding of Scripture and of my experience with Jesus, The Father and Holy Spirit. I cannot imagine a common ground on that in the RC or Orthodox directions.
But mostly, LOVE GOD WHOLLY; OTHERS AS SELF; DO UNTO OTHERS. . . . SEEK GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FIRST, FOREMOST AND ALWAYS . . .
and I'll happily consider someone a brother or sister in Christ--almost always--regardless of A LOT of garbage otherwise.
Not sure how to sort it out more . . . if you care to ask more specific questions about such praxis, fine. Just avoid assuming I know a lot of special terms etc.
In terms of congregational distinctives having to do with faithfulness to the faith delivered . . . It sounds like you are asserting that every Orthodox congregation is balanced and healthy and focused exclusively and wholesale on God, His will etc. I'm exceedingly skeptical that that's true. And, it would likely be the congregational disctinctives that had gotten a given congregation askew.
Sometimes we get in trouble doing what we do best far too much. Sometimes it's a relatively initially small pride that satan gets amplified and then all kinds of evil slid in on. It's usually human stuff that gets rationalized as justified according to this or that belief, tradition or custom of men. . . . and sometimes even true doctines are used to hide all kinds of evil.
Thanks for the response which I take to be both honest and sincere. I appreciate that.
"I still have a hard time and cannot accept the praying to departed saints or to Mary. That is just wholesale contrary to my whole understanding of Scripture and of my experience with Jesus, The Father and Holy Spirit. I cannot imagine a common ground on that in the RC or Orthodox directions."
That's fair. I rather doubt I have ever heard any Protestant, aside from some Lutherans and Anglicans say otherwise. As I mentioned some posts back, I think that sort of devotion simply isn't for you guys and it is, at least to an extent, unfair of us to think you'd take on our mindset when it comes to these matters. The same pretty much goes for veneration of icons. If you are interested, I posted a thread on icons by +Gregory Palamas (14th century) which does a good job of explaining what we are about when it comes to icons.
"It sounds like you are asserting that every Orthodox congregation is balanced and healthy and focused exclusively and wholesale on God, His will etc. I'm exceedingly skeptical that that's true."
LOL!!!!!!! You're talking to a Greek, my friend. We are the worst sinners in Christendom. Parish Councils tend to look at the parish like their Greek restaurants and treat the priest like he's the hired cook! Every Sunday at communion time we pray a prayer in which we declare ourselves to be the chief among sinners. In our mindset, The Church is a hospital for sick souls; its just where we belong and we proclaim Christ "Physician of our souls and bodies!" And so we go to the Divine Liturgy, attend the services and devotions, public and private, try to follow a prayer rule and when we fall down, we repent, get up and try some more to die to the self and focus on Christ.
"Sometimes we get in trouble doing what we do best far too much. Sometimes it's a relatively initially small pride that satan gets amplified and then all kinds of evil slid in on. It's usually human stuff that gets rationalized as justified according to this or that belief, tradition or custom of men. . . . and sometimes even true doctines are used to hide all kinds of evil."
Absolutely. Pride, which is at base what you are describing, is a very, very deadly sin. If anything takes "the eye of the soul" off Christ and focuses it fast on the self, it is pride.