A Third Alternative?!

It has been difficult trying to figure out where to start this discussion. A few people have asked good questions recently that seemed like good starting points. My friend Scott, for example, whose childhood faith parallels mine (ie. attended the same large Baptist church, lived for the same evangelical summer camp, and got baptized together) asked if the Orthodox church isn't just the same thing in different cultural clothing. That is, don't Protestantism and Orthodoxy have "the same Jesus, same Bible, [just] different styles"?

It's a good question, and one that I hope I can answer adequately. But in order to, eventually, do that I have a lot of ground to cover first. So, I think it will be best, and easiest, if I start by recounting what originally drew me to Orthodoxy. (Hopefully Shannon will post soon too about her side of the story.)

It is slightly ironic that it was not until my time at a thoroughly evangelical university that I started this journey toward Orthodoxy. My mother, I just learned last week, was baptized, as an infant, in the Ukranian Orthodox church, and, while I always knew that my grandma and grandpa, long ago, attended an old fashioned church very different from my familiar Baptist mega-church, I never knew that it was one of the three major branches of Christendom, and I certainly didn't know anything about it. Growing up in North America in the 20th Century, I was aware of several dozen different varieties of Protestantism, but beyond that it was just the Catholics.

And Catholics, I was led to believe, were hopelessly wrong about Christianity. I don't remember very many explicit, systematic denunciations of Catholicism in my church, but even from passing remarks and the occasional half-answered question one quickly learned to smugly recite a few of their fundamental flaws:

-They worship Mary

-They believe that the bread and wine actually turn into the real flesh and blood of Christ

-They think priests can forgive your sins and that you earn forgiveness by saying enough Hail Mary's

-They think the Pope is perfect and doesn't sin

Anti-Catholic sentiments among evangelicals have abated in the last 10 or 15 years, thank God, and in general evangelicals have a more nuanced understanding of the above mentioned issues--which, I hope you see, are grossly oversimplified or distorted. But understand that this was the climate I grew up in. Evangelicals, in my experience, weren't openly hostile toward Catholics but there was always a tacit condemnation of their egregious beliefs and practices.

So it was something of a revelation when, in my Introduction to Theology class at TWU, the professor began speaking of the Eastern Orthodox church. "What!?," I thought, "You mean there's a church that is a) not considered outright heretical and that is b) neither Catholic nor Protestant??" As we learned a little more I became even more intrigued. For I learned that:

- while the Orthodox certainly accord Mary great honor, she does not play the same allegedly essential role of "co-redemptrix" that she does in the Catholic church.
- And while they take seriously Jesus' words that the bread is his body and the wine is his blood they do not seek to explain how exactly this might be the case, as the Catholics do with their theory of Transubstantiation.
-I didn't learn much about the role of the priest in forgiveness and their view of penance at the time, but I was heartened to learn that...
-They have no pope nor corresponding theological difficulties. The church is still governed by council.

Here then was an orthodox (small 'o') church that was emphatically not Protestant and, at least upon first glance, shared none of the qualities of the Catholic church that rubbed my inherited qualms the wrong way.

After that discovery, any time the topic of Orthodoxy was offered as an option for papers or projects in any of my classes I snatched it up. And thus began my current religious peregrination.

A Clarification and Elaboration

I want to thank those of you that have already commented on my previous post or brought up the topic in non-blog, three-dimensional conversation. The interest and willingness to dialog has been encouraging.

However, since writing my last post I have kind of regretted something I wrote:

So while the trajectory of our journey has a likely destination--becoming Orthodox--it is by no means a foregone conclusion. I am more than willing to entertain the possibility that I (we) might ultimately reject Orthodoxy. And it is not completely outside the realm of possibility that at the end of the journey I won't even be Christian any more.

I say "kind of" regretted it because I wouldn't actually retract the statement, but it seems that it has been slightly misunderstood and shifted the focus away from the real thrust of the post. People's reactions after reading it seem to have been something like, "oh my gosh, Brian might be 'falling away.'" Even Shannon told me that it was scary to read.

So let me elaborate with two metaphors.

We are on the cusp of a major commitment, kind of like marriage. And I believe that the marriages that have the best chance of being successful/healthy are the couples who, during courtship, fully entertain the option of NOT getting married. The decision to commit the rest of your life to someone is so much richer and more real if it is freely chosen with eyes wide open.

(This metaphor unfortunately breaks down a little since I already got metaphorically married. I chose to become a follower of Christ long ago, so in a sense it's kind of like I'm open to divorce, which, when it comes right down to it, I guess I am--if my spouse is abusing my children, for example.)

Enter the second metaphor. The court case was settled years ago, but some notable evidence may have recently been discovered. Does it not behoove the courts to reopen the case? And doesn't a fair trial--ie. an honest search for truth--require an openness to a completely opposite verdict? If the judge and jury are not open to the possibility that the defendant, who was previously found innocent, might be guilty, then the trial is a sham.

All I meant when I said, "it is not completely outside the realm of possibility that...I won't even be Christian any more," is that I am fully committed to a fair trial. That's not to say I don't expect the defendant to once again be found divine.

If Christ is the Truth then my search for truth is bound to lead me right back to Him. And maybe--hopefully--I will come to a deeper understanding.

Inauguration

Welcome to our new blog. If you don't care for religious discussion and you just want to hear about our family's domestic doings go to our other blog Rushcapades.

Here, we look forward to sharing all things relating to our journey toward Eastern Orthodoxy. My next post will initiate a series of posts chronicling my journey toward Orthodoxy: from the early dissatisfaction with evangelicalism--the form of Christianity in which I was raised--through my inchoate interest in this previously unknown ancient branch/trunk of the Christian faith, to the point where my wife, Shannon, and I are now.

We have been regularly attending an Antiochian church for almost three years now, where we have been catechumens for over half that time.

We view the decision to be chrismated as a serious, life-long commitment to the community and a radical shift in lifestyle, so we're not rushing into it. As much as we can't imagine reverting to evangelicalism, we still have our reservations about Orthodoxy and we hope that this blog will incite lively discussion, with others of all backgrounds raising questions that will sharpen our discernment, catalyze the seeking-learning process and jolt me out of the comfortable doldrums in which I find myself (I won't presume to speak for Shannon here).

Your participation is key. If you read something here that you think is crazy or enticing, if something about Orthodoxy perplexes you or rubs you the wrong way, if you think Orthodoxy is a corrupt, irrelevant bag of $#!+, say so. Honesty reigns supreme here and I'm not easily offended. I am most interested in finding Truth. So while the trajectory of our journey has a likely destination--becoming Orthodox--it is by no means a foregone conclusion. I am more than willing to entertain the possibility that I (we) might ultimately reject Orthodoxy. And it is not completely outside the realm of possibility that at the end of the journey I won't even be Christian any more. To truly seek truth I think one needs to be open to such potentialities. In fact, in moments of utmost honesty, I know myself to be much more agnostic than I regularly admit.

But, before I get sidetracked on an endless rabbit trail of faith, doubt, and uncertainty, I want to reiterate: if you read this blog and you have something to say, please do! Leave a comment, send me an email, call me, whatever.

Wherever you are in life, join us in this discussion and journey.