I began doing apologetics when I was 15 years old (when I first got the internet and discovered web forums); there was one particularly nasty guy, must have been in his 30s, claiming Jesus never existed, Paul created Christianity, etc. etc. He was also some sort of Khazar jew, and despised the little 15 year old white boy daring to challenge him. There were two Greek Orthodox guys on that forum as well - and from the start, they were more interested in attacking me and showing disdain for my (at the time) naive fundamentalism than they were with correcting this jewish anti-Christian missionary (as he called himself). Years later, I discovered Raphael Johnson (The Orthodox Nationalist). I understand hes not the typical Orthodox adherent, but I saw how Orthodoxy could be used to support our people. Still - the aesthetic of holiness and awe and ancient worship which attracts so many people to that church, never impressed me, and further, as Ive grown in my Faith, Ive become more and more married to Protestantism. I believe Calvinist theology is the purest and most defensible expression of Protestantism and is actually the *true* accounting of our situation before God. ------------------------ Whenever any of my orthodox friends approach me, they always approach me as if from a superior position, not understanding that, in my view, Orthodoxy is on very shaky theological ground and has no serious claims to make for my attention. Still - because I respect my Orthodox friends, Ive been engaging in a serious study of the relevant issues. Ive been working through a substantial amount of introductory audio lectures and have the following three books (as my main source material): Through Western Eyes: Eastern Orthodoxy - A Reformed Perspective by Robert Letham The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware and Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition by Seraphim Rose I hope everyone here would consider these materials adequate enough to give me a fair view of Orthodoxy (keeping in mind that all the audio lectures I have are from Orthodox priests who have their own podcasts and / or lecture series designed to introduce Westerners to Orthodoxy.) -------------------------- My main criticism (from what Ive learned thus far), remains epistemological, but I dont intend to expound on that here.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 15:00:36 +0000
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