Protestants -- why aren't you Orthodox?

[LilyM]

That is like asking me “why don’t you worship at a Hindu temple?”
I live in the Appalachia and Orthodox Churches don’t exist here, neither do Catholic Churches (one in the county and it is 25 miles away and holds Mass in Spanish because only immigrants attend).

Is that the main reason though? That they’re not close to you? Isn’t religion supposed to be about what you believe to be the truth in regards to God and His law, rather than which faith(s) have conveniently located churches???

 

[Damascus]

Is that the main reason though? That they’re not close to you? Isn’t religion supposed to be about what you believe to be the truth in regards to God and His law, rather than which faith(s) have conveniently located churches???

But in all fairness Lily, why the heck in this great country is there a shortage like this?

I really dont think we should give him a hard time, I think we ought to be ashamed we have not done something about it.

 

[Damascus]

Personally I would be there to visit within the first month
WP

Whoa, not so fast! You told me on another thread you would give the Catholic Church a go! At least a visit. Since you made that commitment first,

They can wait in line next.

 

[tizzidale]

I’m in RCIA, formerly an Orthodox Catechumen, and born and raised protestant in the deep, deep, South. I can say without reserve that most Protestants I know wouldn’t think once about attending an Orthodox Church - much less a Catholic church. However, that’s ‘most’. I noticed recently that the Orthodox parish I had belonged to as a catechumen was chrismating six new members today. And it’s a smallish parish in the deep south. Most of the members there are Protestant converts, and I myself attended - so there must be some Protestants who are attracted (I had to drive over two hours to attend services - and this was done by a good number of parishioners).

All of that being said . . . did I consider Catholicism prior to my journey to Orthodoxy? Definitively not. In fact, I wrote a letter explaining Orthodoxy to some family and friends (hey, it’s weird to most people I know!), and one of the first things I mentioned to allay their fears was, “Hey, calm down, it’s not like I’m going to the Roman Catholic Church.” (not in those words, but that was essentially what I was saying). It didn’t help much They still prayed for the salvation of my soul, which I appreciated very much - now, I find myself ‘going Catholic’, so I wonder if they regret those prayers.

God bless,

rusty

 

[LilyM]

But in all fairness Lily, why the heck in this great country is there a shortage like this?

I really dont think we should give him a hard time, I think we ought to be ashamed we have not done something about it.

Ummm … that’d be because only 1/6 of the world’s people and 1/4 of Americans are Catholic d’uh … logically there should be a fair few areas that don’t have a Catholic Church.

And what are you suggesting - that we build churches and hope that their mere existence will attract people to the faith??

 

[Damascus]

Ummm … that’d be because only 1/6 of the world’s people and 1/4 of Americans are Catholic d’uh … logically there should be plenty of areas that don’t have a Catholic Church. And it’s ridiculous to build them and hope that their mere existence will attract people to the faith!!!

How many Christians are there in the world and who is the largest?



I dont care how many other christian or even atheist denominations there are out there, are you telling me if –

if we build it they will NOT come?

Sorry for the baseball reference, but its american so why not?

So its a clicky social club now?

I am sorry but as silly as I sound to you, Its silly to me that we have Catholic Churches being built all over third world contries and not here, what the bleep.

 

[THutch04]

I did consider Orthodoxy before I decided on Catholicism (and actually, it was very difficult to make the decision between the two). But I don’t think it’s one that a lot of people would really consider. Orthodoxy isn’t very well known, and not many people really know what exactly it is, so that itself might keep people from looking into it. Personally, I didn’t have the cultural connections to Orthodoxy to choose that over Catholicism (which wasn’t the only reason, but it was part of that decision).

 

[LilyM]

How many Christians are there in the world and who is the largest?



I dont care how many other christian or even atheist denominations there are out there, are you telling me if –

if we build it they will NOT come?

Sorry for the baseball reference, but its american so why not?

So its a clicky social club now?

I am sorry but as silly as I sound to you, Its silly to me that we have Catholic Churches being built all over third world contries and not here, what the bleep.

Yes but we had people becoming Catholic, in the third world and the first, FIRST and THEN building the churches they needed. Didn’t Paul and the apostles preach in synagogues and meet in private houses when the faith didn’t have billions of followers?

Likewise with every other faith. Muhammad started by gaining followers, not by building mosques.

 

[LilyM]

Yes but we had people becoming Catholic, in the third world and the first, FIRST and THEN building the churches they needed. Didn’t Paul and the apostles preach in synagogues and meet in private houses in the early days?

Likewise with every other faith. Muhammad started by gaining followers, not by building mosques.

 

[Damascus]

Yes but we had people becoming Catholic, in the third world and here, first and THEN building the churches they needed. Didn’t Paul and the apostles preach in synagogues and meet in private houses when the faith didn’t have billions of followers?

Likewise with every other faith. Muhammad started by gaining followers, not by building mosques.

Okay lets spread the gospel at the local synagoue and –

can I even type it? Take Cues from MO?

Urggh, and Bleep.

Hmm, sounds, like bad business if you ask me. Builders build spec homes.

 

[LilyM]

Okay lets spread the gospel at the local synagoue and –

can I even type it? Take Cues from MO?

Urggh, and Bleep.

And stop stuttering Liliy M, I saw your post the first time!

You respond too quickly and I’m a compulsive re-editor, that’s my problem

Put it this way - I can learn from and emulate some of the business practices of McDonalds or Microsoft even if I don’t particularly like (or even hate) some or all of their products.

So we can learn a few things (not all, not a lot) from the M-man.

 

[Damascus]

I think I am guilty of derailing this thread, and encouraging Lily M,

the road to bleep is filled with good intentions, yet I wind up on that road all the time.
Carry on people! I will depart post haste!

 

[rr1213]

Then you believe that it wasn’t just the Catholic Church that was in grave error before the Reformation, it was the entire Christian world. You believe that all the Christian traditions that could reasonably trace back to Pentecost had fallen into grave error, and that 1500 years after the fact, all of these errors were suddenly discovered and remedied.

Is there anything wrong with my analysis?

Yeah, it overstates the case. I never said anything like that. When did the Catholic Church begin abusing indulgences…or at least not cracking down effectively on those elements within the Church who misrepresented their nature and benefit? Also, even Catholics admit that some of their doctrines have evolved over time. Sure, you can find evidence of many of the Marian doctrines in the early church, as well as evidence against them, but they did not become dogmatically defined and mandatory on Catholics until centuries after the Reformation. From the admittedly little research I have done on the Orthodox Church, they hold to many of the same Marian doctrines although they don’t seem to be quite so dogmatic about it as the Catholic Church. I could have the wrong impression there, though, because my research on that topic has been fairly cursory.

 

[Contarini]

They aren’t Catholic, they don’t teach many of the “errors” you charge Catholicism with, and they trace themselves back to Pentecost. So why are you not Orthodox?

I’m not the kind of Protestant you have in mind (I don’t think Catholicism has any more errors than any brand of Protestantism–fewer than most and maybe fewer than any), but this is a serious issue for me, so I’ll answer it.

I’m not Orthodox because I find Orthodox ecclesiology unconvincing. Orthodoxy either sets itself up as a less plausible alternative to Catholicism, or embraces a “Eucharistic ecclesiology” that from my perspective works fine in a Protestant (especially Anglican) context.

I tend to believe that the Orthodox are (to use traditional Protestant language) the “purest” brand of Christianity out there on the whole (with the huge exception of church-state relations–another reason to prefer Catholicism). But I can’t believe that they are the One True Church. I’d love to see Protestantism look more like Orthodoxy (which would make us look more like Catholicism as well, of course). But I doubt I’ll ever convert to it. (I’d be happy to be part of a corporate reunion with the Orthodox–or for that matter with Rome!)

Edwin

 

[UBERROGO]

They aren’t Catholic, they don’t teach many of the “errors” you charge Catholicism with, and they trace themselves back to Pentecost. So why are you not Orthodox?

Orthodox Jew or Orthodox Catholics? I dont know of any other Orthodox (muslims?) so your comment that Orthodox arent catholics leaves me bewildered to say the least.

 

[water]

That is like asking me “why don’t you worship at a Hindu temple?”
I live in the Appalachia and Orthodox Churches don’t exist here, neither do Catholic Churches (one in the county and it is 25 miles away and holds Mass in Spanish because only immigrants attend).
The only choices here are Baptist, Pentecostal, Church of Christ or Methodism (two branches thereof). I choose FC Methodism because it is more “traditional” than the Baptists and far more conservative than the United Methodists.
WP

In some countries, people walk 2 days in order to attend Masses. In US, 25 miles are not too long, and besides, we have transportation.

 

[rr1213]

Orthodoxy either …or embraces a “Eucharistic ecclesiology” that from my perspective works fine in a Protestant (especially Anglican) context.
Edwin

Edwin, good to see you making the rounds here again. If you don’t mind saying, what do you mean by Orthodoxy having an Eucharistic ecclesiology that works fine in an Anglican context?

 

[a_cermak]

Well, for me, when I left Catholicism, I didn’t even consider the Orthodox Church because it is simply not a part of the tradition I’m accustomed to. In addition, the Orthodox Churches I’m familiar with didn’t seem particularly open to new converts. If I were to make the same decision again, I might well choose the Orthodox Church (probably Antiochian). However, I’m quite comfortable with the Episcopal Church.

 

[VociMike]

Orthodox Jew or Orthodox Catholics? I dont know of any other Orthodox (muslims?) so your comment that Orthodox arent catholics leaves me bewildered to say the least.

Eastern Orthodox. Schism of 1054 and all that. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[VociMike]

Yeah, it overstates the case. I never said anything like that. When did the Catholic Church begin abusing indulgences…or at least not cracking down effectively on those elements within the Church who misrepresented their nature and benefit? Also, even Catholics admit that some of their doctrines have evolved over time. Sure, you can find evidence of many of the Marian doctrines in the early church, as well as evidence against them, but they did not become dogmatically defined and mandatory on Catholics until centuries after the Reformation. From the admittedly little research I have done on the Orthodox Church, they hold to many of the same Marian doctrines although they don’t seem to be quite so dogmatic about it as the Catholic Church. I could have the wrong impression there, though, because my research on that topic has been fairly cursory.

Then let me just ask the question, does the Orthodox Church teach grave error?

If it does, what errors are those?

If it doesn’t, then it is both without error and it traces itself back to Pentecost, so why would you not want to join it?