Thursday, September 30, 2010

WHERE DID THE BIBLE COME FROM?

Protestantism claims to be based on the the Bible alone. However, if you think about it, the truth is that Protestantism is based on many different interpretations of the Bible rather than the Bible alone. Every denomination has its own "Tradition".

What many do not realize is that the Church existed for some 400 years without the Bible as we know it today. Imagine, the Church was in existence twice as long as the United States has been in existence before there was a somewhat settled agreement as to what books to include in the Canon.

 The Orthodox Faith rightly teaches that the Church was not founded by or upon the Bible, since it did not exist then, but the Church was founded upon the Tradition handed down from Christ to the apostles. The Church existed on this oral Tradition for over 400 years before the Canon was decided upon. And who was it that decided which books to include and which books to exclude from the Canon? The Church, the only Church that existed then, the Orthodox Church. The Canon was determined by the bishops of the Church in Council; the same bishops who gave us the Orthodox Faith.

The Bible did not not produce the Church, the Church produced the Bible. The Bible is only one part of the Tradition of the Church. To be sure, it is a very important part. But the Bible was never written to be a comprehensive manual nor does it ever make such a claim about itself. Protestantism has attempted to turn it into something it never was and never can be. The Bible is not sufficient of itself to convey the fullness of the Christian Faith. It only touches on bits and pieces of it as pertains to questions and issues that were addressed in the early Church. Nor can the Bible be properly interpreted apart from the Apostolic Tradition which produced it.

The Protestant view of the Bible is akin to having twenty or so airline pilots write letters addressing certain questions raised by some students in different places over many years and then 400 years later putting those letters into a book form and declaring it to be a full and comprehensive manual and all that is needed to train all future pilots.

I have been asked by Protestants, "Does the Orthodox Church believe in the Bible?".   This is an interesting question considering the fact that the Orthodox Church collected, preserved and determined which books to include in the Bible.  It shows how far removed Protestantism is from the history of the Church.  But the correct answer to that question is "No".  We don't believe IN the Bible.  We believe  the words of the Bible.  Our faith is not in words about Christ but in the Living Word, Christ Himself.

If you really want to understand the Orthodox view of the Bible and its use read the article titled "Where did the Bible come from?" at the following link: http://orthodoxphotos.com/

Sunday, September 26, 2010

THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN EXPOSED TO ORTHODOXY

For some who have never or seldom heard of the Orthodox Church, here are some things to think about...

If you read a book on church history or go to an encyclopedia and look up Eastern Orthodox Church you will find the same sort of information.  (Warning: the encyclopedia's give a Roman Catholic view of Orthodoxy at some points, probably not so much intentional as just lack of understanding and following the Roman official line).  What you will find is that all church history, after the Acts of the Apostles, begins with what sounds like the Orthodox Church.  All the bishops mentioned, the heresies condemned, the councils and synods that met, and the dogmas confessed are the very bishops the Orthodox venerate today, the very heresies we avoid today, the very councils we still follow today and the very dogmas we still hold dear, most of which are unknown and unheard of in modern day Christianity. 

 Many today are under the impression that the church sort of fell into apostasy after the death of the apostles and didn't really resurface again until some 1500 years later when it was rediscovered by the Reformers such as Luther, Calvin, Knox, Zwingli, etc.  Some think it wasn't rediscovered until some 1800 years later by the Restoration movement led by Alexander Campbell (Church of Christ) or by Joseph Smith (Mormons) or Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science), etc.   Some seem to think the church was lost until it was found in America.  Some even think it was lost until it was found by the modern day protestants and evangelicals. 

The Church that Christ came to establish did not end with the Acts of the Apostles but continued into the next century, and the next, and the next and still exists today as one and the same Church.  Those early years immediately following the apostles are filled with the testimonies and blood of martyrs who refused to compromise, surrender or change the faith, and the faith they confessed is the same as the Orthodox faith today.

If you go to the Holy Land today you will not find a single modern day denominational or evangelical church that is indigenous.  The only churches you will find that have existed there from the beginning are the Orthodox churches.   Some church buildings have a traceable history in the same location back to the two and three hundreds.   All the writings that have been left by the early saints and theologians reflect the Orthodox faith.  None of them reflect the major tenants and characteristics of modern day groups.  Even what has been found in the early catacomb churches reflect the same worship and teachings as found today in the Orthodox Church including altars, Eucharist and Icons.  All the church buildings that stand at holy sites, such as the Holy Sepulcher, the Mount of Transfiguration, the well of the Samaritan woman, Mt Sinai, etc., are Orthodox churches that have existed there from those early years.  

This should raise questions for anyone who desires the true and authentic Christian faith?  Why are there no Methodist, Baptist, Church of Christ or any other evangelical church buildings that have existed there from the beginning?  Why do none of the early writings of the saints and martyrs reflect the characteristic teachings of Protestant Evangelicalism today?  Why do none of these appear until some 1400 to 1800 years later and only in Europe or America?

Every denomination in America can be traced to a beginning 1500 years or more after the Church was born in Jerusalem.  Every denomination in American can be traced to a person who started it based on that person's private interpretation of some Bible passages.

Many people live their entire lives having never questioned anything they believe or anything they are taught so long as it comes from their pastor or their denomination.  They just accept what they were born with.  When confronted with facts like presented here many look at this information and conclude, "Well, that is interesting, you make a good point but does it really matter?"  

This is the question I had to face when I was confronted with truths that I had never encountered before in my life.  I had to ask, "Does truth really matter?"  I believe that it matters now and eternally.  That is why when I discovered these truths, I felt I had no choice but to return to the authentic Christian faith for my salvation.  I did not want to entrust my salvation to "another gospel".  I did not want a Christianity freshly made and fashioned by this individual or that group.  I concluded that if it doesn't really matter which denominational beliefs I follow then none of it matters.  Either there is absolute truth or all things are relative.

In the midst of conflicting voices in America, if we want to know what is true and authentic how do we do that?  We go back to the founding fathers, we read their words and their documents and we trace our history back to them.  And if we lose sight of that, as is being done today, we end up with something still called America but it is ceasing to be America.  It is still called America and it still looks like America in many ways but it is essentially different.  If we drift on this path long enough, the heart and sole of what was once America will be lost to coming generations.  They will believe that they are Americans and live in America but it will not be America.  But they won't know the difference, having never known the true America. The same is true for Christianity.  Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism have been on the path of departure for over one thousand years.  Each new generation brings new fads, new doctrines, new understandings of the church and the faith.  More and more it is hardly recognizable.

But someone will say the differences are only in minor, peripheral things.  The question is, "Who decides what is minor or peripheral?"  Each new generation relegates more and more to the minor and unimportant.  But the truth of the matter is that today there are significant differences between the historic Orthodox faith, Evangelical Protestantism and Roman Catholicism in regards to all the "major" doctrines of what it means to be saved, how one is saved, who Christ is and what His death and resurrection mean and how we participate in it, and what the Church is and the role it has in our salvation.  These are not minor.  These are of the essence of salvation! In addition, much of what many today consider minor or non-essential issues were considered major and essential by the early Church. 


Everyone says they believe the Bible.  Everyone says they are led by the same Holy Spirit, and all the conflicting denominations say they form one church.  Yet, there are hundreds of different interpretations and dozens of conflicting beliefs.  How can all of this be one faith and one baptism and one Christ and one Holy Spirit and one Church?  Where is the honesty and integrity in such a view of things.  If ten heart surgeons got together and had ten radically different interpretations of how to transplant a heart we would consider it crazy.  Yet, such a thing is accepted as normal in Christianity.  Some even say it is a good thing so people can have what they like.  Would we say that about the surgeons?  Is our salvation not infinitely more important even than heart surgery?

The way this has been resolved in Evangelical Protestantism and also today in Roman Catholicism is to turn to a teaching called the "Invisible Church."   This may be akin to the ten surgeons believing in ten different ways to do a heart transplant but resolving it by saying "But we all believe in heart transplants".  But the invisible church doctrine is a topic for another time.

Think about these things.


Saturday, September 25, 2010

WELCOME TO TRUTHS ABOUT ORTHODOXY

Like ten zillion other people I have succumbed to the delusion that I have something to say and there will be someone interested in reading it.  Actually, I'm doing it for therapy.  Not that I need therapy, mind you!  Ok, I really do.

Whatever the case may be I will post some things that I think the inquiring mind may be interested in.  Some of my postings will pertain to the Orthodox Faith.  Some will contrast Orthodoxy with Evangelical Protestantism and with Roman Catholicism.  Some will be on a personal level, sharing correspondence between my son and me while he was in jail.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.