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Meeting the challenge of Eastern Orthodoxy

Friday, 20 July 2007 13:51

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First of all one needs to understand that natural religion has it origin in natural theology that starts man with out any revelation from God in the Scripture.

Natural Theology stats with autonomous man and lead to rationalism, existentialism, mysticism, fideism, naturalism. The problem with comparative religious studies is that people are using the same words but with different meanings. So there have been different systems of naturalism theology:

  1. 1. East - Plato > mysticism > Eastern Orthodoxy
  2.  West - Aristotle > Rationalism or Empiricism > Roman Catholicism
  3. Islam - Paganism > Emotionalism

This understanding is necessary to understand why Biblical Christianity condemns Natural Theology (Psalm 147:1-20 ) as invalid, because it tries to find "God" without special revelation.  Thus, in many ways, the gospel is at stake in critiquing Eastern Orthodoxy.

Eastern Orthodoxy churches were the first seeker churches because they looked to the pagan community to dictate ways of worship that would attract them. This lead the church to assign humanistic philosophic meanings to Biblical words. The culture swallowed up the church when the church tried to relate to the culture by over contextualization. An example of this is the venerating icons. Orthodoxy was also the first emergent Church in that they started to prefer humanistic philosophers over Scripture writers. They became so relativistic that true truth became unknowable. They looked to pagan philosophy to dictate what should be preached. This led Orthodoxy away from propositional revelation in Scripture to natural theology where man is the origin of all truth, meaning, justice, morals, and beauty.

Comments  

 
0 #7 Glenn Leatherman 2011-02-04 06:31
Ryan,
I agree that saying something doesn't make it true. I would love to dialog on this, but I will need to carve out some time to review this article and the context that I wrote it in 2007. I believe it originated from notes I took during a seminary lecture I attended, but need to make sure.

I can agree you truthfully, although partially explain part of the gospel with your post #6 above after the first phrases of the first sentence - starting with ...the Son of Man. Let me get my head back around these issues and respond later.
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0 #6 Ryan Close 2011-02-03 16:15
If you expect anyone to take you seriously, you will need to defend your assertion by giving proof. In other words, simply saying something is true does not make it so. Your readers expect you to give reasons for what you tell them.
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0 #5 Ryan Close 2011-02-03 16:11
I assume that you would agree that any Church that teaches what I have outlined above is not mystical or humanistic. By any definition, that is not humanistic. It is the strongest challenge to humanism in no uncertain terms. In order for your assertion that Orthodoxy is mystical and humanistic to stand you will need to show how what I have outlined is in fact not what the Orthodox Church teaches.
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0 #4 Ryan Close 2011-02-03 16:09
I, on the other hand, in the course of my four (4) consecutive posts, have shown that Orthodoxy is not based on Greek Philosophy, is actually a triumph over mysticism, and is based on the foundational belief that the Son of God has become a man, has entered the material and historical world of dirt, eating, sleeping, trees, rivers, cities, dogs, whales, suffering, crying, and dying. That the Son of God has come in this way, become a human being, to unite God and man and all creation in a restored, sanctified, and all encompassing sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. As such Christ is the only prophet, the only priest, and the only king and there is no other authority or foundation for all of life than the criterion of Jesus of Nazareth, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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0 #3 Ryan Close 2011-02-03 16:07
Thank you for your response. I can appreciate your point of view. I knew from the outset that you disagreed with the teaching, mission, and life of the Orthodox Church. But you have not told us why?

You claim that Orthodoxy is equivalent to Greek Philosophy and is a form of "natural theology." You say, "I still see orthodoxy as a humanistic religion that starts with man rather than with God," but you have failed to give any proof or reasons for this opinion.
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0 #2 Glenn Leatherman 2011-02-03 11:26
thanks for the posts. I still see orthodoxy as an humanistic religious that starts with man rather than with God. while I am sure there are some Christians that are involved with Eastern Orthodoxy, I do not consider Eastern Orthodoxy part of orthodox or genuine Christianity.
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0 #1 Ryan Close 2011-02-03 11:11
This is incorrect. Firstly, the western Christian bodies are much more influenced by Plato than the Orthodox Church because of their singular reliance on Blessed Augustine who was heavily influenced by neo-platonism. Many of his teachings, which are accepted by both Roman Catholics and Protestants are not accepted as true by the Orthodox Church.
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