Yes you did post that elsewhere, and I responded to the accusation. It is a circularity which you have invented. Additionally even if you were given a circular reasoning, that is something people tend to do, and I have seen it from Catholics quite often. Are Catholics therefore also Protestants?
I donāt know how I could have invented the circularity, since it was based on what the Orthodox posters were saying. But itās symptomatic of a tendency of some Orthodox posters on these forums to be elusive about the basis for their opinions. And circular reasoning is a characteristic of Protestantism even if a Catholic does it.
But I think what in part caused me to make the Protestant remark, is the disconnect Iāve experienced between Orthodox posters here and in another forum, and Orthodox people I have known. The Orthodox Christians I have known, and it hasnāt been a lot, have all been decent and warm people, with their religion being a part, perhaps the major part, of their Greek or Russian heritage. If I asked about their religious practices, they responded with a deep seated confidence and a disarming humility. Once I even asked if I could come along for the Divine Liturgy. And even though I couldnāt understand the Greek that was being spoken, I remember being touched by the deep piety of my friendās grandmother and took note of what could only be the Divine presence in her soul lighting up her eyes.
I read Timothy Wareās book in order to inform myself about Orthodoxy some more. After some consideration of his points, I reached the frank conclusion that I could not understand why he was not a Catholic himself. It was from his book that I learned that the Orthodox accept the historical Petrine nature of the Roman Church, but do not accept what they believe to be the accumulation of more power in the papacy than was originally intended. But I was impressed with the hopeful tone he had in discussing the possibility of the two Churches reuniting. In time, I became very eager that such a reunification would one day take place, for the good of the Church, and for the good of the world to which we are to be a light.
One day I went to an online Orthodox forum and joined as a member. I restricted myself to the forum on Orthodox-Catholic relations. I naively thought that I would discuss reunification between the two Churches with a sympathetic group. Well, let me tell you, I never ran into such a buzzsaw in all my life. There were a large number who not only didnāt want to reunite with the Catholic Church, but positively detested Catholicism, and werenāt ashamed to let me know the fact of it and why. Meanwhile, I was informed that I was to preface anything I said with words like āin my opinionā so that no one could mistake what I said for a proclamation, while it was permissible for the Orthodox to hurl any abuse they had a mind to. Finding these operating rules oppressive, I eventually stopped posting there.
Later I found Catholic Answers Forums, and signed up. At that time there was a specific Catholic-Orthodox forum, so I went there to see if my reunification hope would find a more sympathetic audience there. Well, what did my wondering eyes behold, here were the Orthodox engaged in polemics almost as aggressive as what I witnessed on the Orthodox forum. They were calling my Church heterodox, accusing us of seeking domination rather than unity, accusing Catholics of misrepresenting Catholic teaching in order to obtain that sinister unity, calling the Eastern Catholics dupes, saying the Filioque is a heresy, rendering polemical versions of history, and making loud and clear the position that there would be no reunification with the Catholics except by means of conversion to Orthodoxy. Meanwhile they had people who seemed to be able spend all day at the forum, making numerous posts as long as this one, and nearly impossible to keep up with.
With views so intransigent, I had to wonder why they came to a Catholic forum at all. Was it to make converts? Was it to try and show the world the superiority of their religion? I decided that I would no longer emphasize unity with them, but, rather, do the best I could to defend my Catholic faith in my own small way.
Still, I wondered. Why were these Orthodox Christians so different from the ones I knew personally? Then I remembered that certain leaders of Campus Crusade had become Orthodox back in the 1970s forming the Evangelical Orthodox Church. Most of those Churches eventually came under the Antiochian Orthodox Church, with others joining the Orthodox Church of America. It is quite possible, I thought, that these individuals brought their evangelical anti-catholicism with them when they converted and maintained much of the same impetus to witness to the unsaved that was so essential to their evangelical Protestantism. And maybe, I thought, some of that same spirit spread to other Orthodox Christians. Of course, suggestions of reunification would sound ridiculous to those ears. They are proclaiming the truth, the truth that involves the falsity of Catholicism, now with the added confidence that comes from belonging to a Church that goes back to the Apostles. Of course, I have no way of knowing that, but it is sometimes in the back of my mind, and maybe thatās a partial reason I used the āPā word. Let me assure you, Iāve gotten worse from the Orthodox.
When the holy spirit Impregnated Mary??
Also i am sure he would have not have liked the Attitude of Rome in 1054 AD
