Ethos: "The fundamental character or spirit of a culture; the underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society; dominant assumptions of a people or period."
I am part of a men's bible and prayer group in my community. Because my own local Orthodox Church is slow and void to provide such an outlet in our community, I have the opportunity to establish friendships, go on outings, share prayer requests, read exhortation passages from the Bible, smoke a lot of cigars, and generally be "men" with a group of Protestants. (Some of my Church of Christ friends might take exception with my calling them Protestants, but for lack of a better word, they are non-Orthodox.)
My Protestant friends have begun to rib me, with good nature, about my being Orthodox. I deem that their ribbing comes from a place of uncertainty about what I believe. I am the odd man out, being the only non-protestant. I have made a concerted effort not to mention Orthodoxy or to discuss the wide Protestant/Catholic divide. Since the group does not endeavor as a "bible study group", we have not ventured into doctrines of the faith. I do have one up on the group being that I was Protestant for the first 49 years of my life.
I have become aware lately, however, of a wall of communication on the most basic level even when discussing the most elementary of scriptures. It is an excepted Protestant practice that each man gets to interpret the meaning of the scriptures based on his own understanding. The phrase "I believe" is common, or "for me I think it says..." It is a given in this Protestant ethos that there will be differences of interpretation from denomination to denomination. Each man seems to pride themselves in their ability to "get along" and accept one another's views, or at least their right to have a view. The wall I hit was in a discussion concerning the fact that one can find doctrinal conflict between individuals in the same church. As an Orthodox Christian I sit quietly amazed that such is the case. I am also amazed that such common place conflict doesn't bring more awareness that there is something inherently wrong with this ethos. How do I enter in to such a conversation? How do I tell them that their's is an ethos brought on by individualism and division and is only about 400+ years old? How do I tell them that the Orthodox Church has no such dil
emma, that the truth was established 2000 years ago and thus there is no debate on doctrinal issues? How do I tell them that the same unified church who canonized the very scriptures over which they are puzzling, also preserved what they mean...once and for all? How do I tell them that the ethos of the original Christian church is one of doctrinal unity, community, and preservation of the teachings of the Apostles? How do I say any of this without commenting on the blight that is the idea of Sola Scriptura? How can anyone come to the fullness of the truth without first knowing where the pillar of truth is found?
"These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is
the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
1 Timothy 3:14-15
We have seen the true light.
We have received the heavenly Spirit;
we have found the true faith,
in worshiping the undivided Trinity;
for He hath saved us.
Preserve, oh God, the Holy Orthodox Faith
and all Orthodox Christians
unto ages of ages amen.
I think that in the grand scheme of things, many who are too embarrassed because of lack of knowledge or lack of understanding tend to joke or rib about things.........
ReplyDeletekeep fighting the good fight
You are right Brother. I must be careful not to sound pious, but it amazes me how unlearned many people are, even those who have "served in the ministry". I actually had one former minister say to me the other day that "a bunch of Roman Catholic priests decided what the Bible was going to be. I had to tell him gently that there weren't any "Roman Catholic priests"
ReplyDeletein late 300 A. D., That there was just one Church. He just gave me a blank stare. "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant."
Just flat out tell them. Also ask them the origins of their religion. Theirs will point to some white guy, whereas yours was founded by Christ himself, and you're even in the Acts of the Apostles.
ReplyDeleteFr. Hopko told a great story about a WCC -why we are even in that organization is beyond reason!- meeting in Russia while it was still under Soviet opppression. He was the English speaking Orthodox so he was accosted with questions. These people never even heard of the Nicene creed! "Oh that's Greek thinking. It's old. Modern people can't relate to it etc etc." They went to St. Sergius monastery outside Moscow and people, the blind, the lame, all these peopl esinging in the middle of the night. And all these prots were looking at them, and crying and saying, "I've never seen such piety," and then they asked him what the people were singing and he said, "Well, they're just singing the outdated Nicene creed which nobody knows about."
One can't imitate, mock or mimic the Church. Either you're in it, or you're not.
Vir,
ReplyDeleteOf course, my questions were rhetorical. I am weekly contending for the faith. I understand that to "flat out" say something is appropriate and necessary at times, However, in the marketplace and particularly in this group, I would rather take the "I'm one of you" approach of Christ when he ate with the publicans and the sinners at the local bar. Sometimes "flat out" lacks the grace needed in such an environment and, since I am not Christ, I would simply come off as arrogant thus shutting down further communication. Your words are well taken though. In evangelical circles it is "Turn or burn, Satan's Waitin'. We as Orthodox, however do not judge another's salvation nor do we speak damnation to other trinitarian denominations. There is truth and a measure of validity to them, otherwise why would my "Baptist" baptism have been accepted when I entered the Orthodox Church? Sounds as if you and I share the same bent though. I am all about "cut to the quick." I have had to learn to apply grace.