Christianity - A Great Tragedy of Our Day, IX

Christianity is adrift on the sea of individualism and private interpretations, having lost all connections to the historical Church. It totally ignores the voice of the Holy Spirit in the Church through the centuries as though the Christian Faith can be remade by each generation.

Christianity...VIII

In an effort to reconcile the thousands of diverse denominations with St. Paul’s teaching that there is one Church, Christianity invented the concept of the invisible Church, a concept unknown in the Bible except for the Church Triumphant in Heaven. The Church of the OT (Israel) and the Church of the NT (the New Israel) are clearly visible and identifiable by their one apostolic doctrine, government and worship.

Christianity...VII

Christianity is pluralistic, embracing thousands of denominations with varied and conflicting beliefs, practices and worship styles. The Church is One in all the world and at all times, adhering to one apostolic doctrine, government and worship.

Christianity...VI

Christianity is of this world reflecting and perpetuating the worldly values of pride, immodesty, consumerism and entertainment venues. The Church is other-wordly reflecting and perpetuating the attitudes and values of the Kingdom of God which are opposed to the spirit of this age

Christianity...V

Christianity is nebulous as to it content and perimeters. It reduces the Christian Faith to its least common denominator and renders many areas of truth relative so as to embrace many varied and conflicting "truths" and "churches". The Church is One with clear boundaries and perimeters. The Christian Faith is absolute in all its parts and never reduced to its least common denominator.

Christianity....IV

Christianity is a caricature of the Christian Faith - the result of everyone interpreting the Bible as they please. Christianity seeks to reduce God to man's level in a way that is pleasing to man, making God in man's own image. The Church is God's creation that elevates man up to God. In the Church man is given the potential of being recreated in the likeness of God.

Christianity...III

In the New Testament there is no mention of something called Christianity. However, the Church is mentioned some 100 times. Christianity is a man made tradition, like that of the Pharisees. The Church is a Divine revelation that amazed even the angels.

Christianity - A Great Tragedy, II

The world of Christianity tries to figure out if this doctrine or that doctrine is true. Each one hurls bible verses to prove their point. In the Church all doctrinal controversies were settled during the first one thousand years as the Holy Spirit led the Church into all Truth as the Saviour had promised.

Christianity - A Great Tragedy of Our Day

The great tragedy of our day is that something called Christianity has replaced the Church. Christianity is whatever people want it to be while the Church is that which Christ established. The Church is One and proclaims one unchanging body of Truth and Life from the apostles to the present. Such a concept of the Church is unknown, foreign and unwelcome in modern "Christianity".

OPINIONS

Opinions once formed, cling with excessive obstinacy, when the will is not subject to the love of truth. Then, inquiry after truth gives way to the search for proofs of what we wish to believe; desire is paramount over truth, a reflection of the pride and self-will of our sinfulness.

The Doctrine of the Universal Competence to Interpret Scripture And Its Consequence

The doctrine of universal competence to interpret Scripture means that theoretically there could be as many different Churches as there are people. But, in practice, the great majority of Protestants are contented merely with the recognition of their right to private interpretation, and do not take the trouble to exercise the right in any systematic fashion. Rather, they form organizations under the leadership, past or present, of the more active minds among them who actually have engaged in interpretation to work out statements of belief for which they have sought to win adherents.

Originally, the older Protestant denominations had separate and distinctive interpretations of the Gospel and Creed to serve as some justification for their separate existences, and they showed great enthusiasm and vigor in maintaining their special beliefs. But because all of the denominations were based on the doctrine that each individual can construct his own beliefs according to his own ideas, it was impossible for any single denomination to claim forthrightly that it alone was the one true Church.

For this reason Protestant theologians took the line that the one true Church includes everyone who belongs to Christ, regardless of membership in a particular organization, and that Christ alone can truly tell who they are. The ONE Church, they said, is invisible. At the very heart of Protestantism, therefore, is planted in germ the popular modern idea that anyone can believe as he pleases, and on his own sole authority. Because no one knows who or what is right, the Church, composed of those who are right, must be invisible. And if the Church is invisible, with its members scattered among all denominations, and known only to Christ, who could oppose the idea that a believer's chances are likely to be as good in one denomination as in another?

Indeed, those who believe that one denomination is as good as another often believe also that the chances of Mohammedans and Buddhists are likewise good enough. And Sunday School Lessons have appeared which present heathen religions as quaintly different and interesting, but not as clearly and positively wrong.

By our time, the earlier enthusiastic particularism of the Protestant sects has disappeared. They are mostly indistinguishable from one another, because freedom to believe as one pleases means freedom to believe in not very much. They all tend to believe as little as possible and to subtract continually even from that little. So, inevitably the doctrine that each person can be his own supreme authority in religion is working itself out into sheer atheism for an increasing number of people. If it doesn't matter what church you belong to, how can it matter if you don't belong to any church at all? If it doesn't matter which or how many churches you reject, how can it matter if you reject them all? If it doesn't matter what you believe about Christ, how can it matter if you don't believe anything at all about Him, or even if you deny that He ever existed, as many have done? Of course, in their progress toward atheism people move without haste — they may begin with broad-minded questioning of the Virgin Birth of our Lord, and not arrive at denial of the Resurrection until quite a while later.

To put the case plainly, the reasoning which leads to the doctrine that the Church is invisible, must also lead finally to denial of the Church invisible, as well as of the Church visible, for all minds that do not stop thinking. And in due time comes the denial, first of Providence, and at last of God's own existence.

According to recent surveys, Protestantism has disintegrated into over 28,000 denominations and sects, which are increasing by an average of five every week, thanks, primarily, to their "private interpretations." A minefield indeed.

But, if we follow in the footsteps of the God-bearing Fathers, as the Definition of the Fourth Ecumenical Council advises us, we shall tread in the steps of those who have safely reached the other side.

excerpt from "The Creed" by a monk Theodore

The Beauty of the Orthodox Christian Faith

Each Sunday, all the Faithful Orthodox Christians in all places in all the world will gather around their Bishop confessing one Lord, one Faith and partaking of the one Body and Blood of the one Lord Jesus Christ. The worship will be the same as from the days of the apostles, as well as the Faith confessed. The focus will be on the sacred and awesome worship of the the Blessed Trinity - Father, Son... and Holy Spirit, One God. There will be no performances, no entertainment, and no make-it-up-as-you-go-what's-happening-now stuff. The latest fad, speaker or musical group will not be found. The Faithful will not be seeking a thrill, or goose bumps, or some kind of "high" or principals for positive living and successful prosperity. The focus will not be on some man (or woman, as the case may be) who is giving a lecture or lesson according to his own interpretations and whims. Such is the Orthodox Christian Faith in sharp contrast to all that have departed from this Faith and turned to a caricature that is called "Christianity".

How My Theology Professor at Bible College Led Me to the Orthodox Christian Church

How My Theology Professor at Free Will Baptist Bible College led me to the Orthodox Christian Church.

It was certainly unintentional and unknown on his part, but true nonetheless. I remember that day vividly. I was in the theology class being taught by Leroy Forlines. He was teaching on the doctrine of Baptism and looking at various scriptures that addressed this subject. We came to I Peter 3: 20-21 where St. Peter is explaining how Noah’s family was saved by passing through the water of the flood and how we are saved by passing through the water of baptism. The professor came to the words, “the like figure of baptism does now save us” and the professor stopped to explain what this means. He said something to this effect: Now we know that baptism does not save us so what we have here is a figure of speech known as a metonymy in which one word is used to stand for another word. The word baptism is a figure of speech that means faith. We know we are save by faith so what St. Peter is saying here is that we are saved by faith which is symbolized by baptism. This is not a word for word quote but a summary of what was said. 

At that moment I remember feeling like I wanted to scream NO, NO, NO! You can’t do that! That is not what the clear and plain words say! If St. Peter had wanted to say faith now saves us he could have but instead he said as plain as day that baptism now saves us just like passing through the water saved Noah’s family. I had great respect for my professor but at that moment I felt betrayed. It was clear to me that he was manipulating Scripture in order to make it say what he thought or wanted it to say in accord with his own preconceived doctrine and the tradition of the denomination. He was interpreting Scripture rather than allowing Scripture to interpret him and his beliefs. I left the classroom that day, never again content just to accept the interpretations of Mr. Forlines or Dr. Picirilli. From there I went on a long ten year search looking for the true, original and authentic One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as opposed to the sectarian and manipulated interpretations of various denominations that all claimed to “just follow the Bible”. I finally found the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church which to my surprise had never ceased to exist from the Day of Pentecost.