Greetings from Japan
I'm in Japan!
I don't know if I bothered to tell you all here, and I'm too lazy to look back through the topics, but this semester I'm abroad in Japan.
Anyway, hi!
More importantly, Orthodoxy.
My sister, raised in first a baptist, then a non-denominational (which later turned evangelical free) background, she turned Orthodox and then married my brother-in-law who is Orthodox and the son of an Orthodox priest. So I'm mildly familiar with Orthodoxy, from having attended services, including my sister's wedding.
I recently displayed interest in Orthodoxy myself, but for primarily different reasons at the time. I, being a caring person, struggled for a long time, and in many ways still do, with a particular issue. That issue is namely that of all the people in the world who did not, do not, and will not get the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ in the span of time beginning at conception and ending at death. A notable assumption I made which lead me to my quandry was that there is a choice to be made on our part to follow or not follow God. This is something that seems fundamental to me, as my understanding of why there is suffering in the world is that it is a neccessary side effect of God creating us to be more than "Yes Men". If God were to create us with no choice, it would defeat the purpose of suffering in the world, needlessly condemn people to hell, and generally fly in the face of being a "loving God".
Anyway, part of my struggle lead me to think, not very strongly as it was based on a single verse, that perhaps there is a post-mortem opportunity wherein Jesus reaches out to everyone who ever was, is or will be and those who follow him will reach Heaven and those who don't go to Hell or are seperate from God (which, by some definitions, is the same thing). I believe, correct me if I am wrong, that in Orthodoxy it is believed that the dead were all waiting somewhere (it had some name which I cant remember, but it was a familiar name), a somewhere which was abolished when Jesus died on the cross. There's more detail to it than that, but not being Orthodox and this having been a while ago, I don't remember it very exactly (I rarely remember anything exactly).
That interested me in Orthodoxy, but I've not gone too much further than getting a basic and fundamental understanding. Like all Christian denominations, it plagues me with the question, why is this one better over the others? There seems an undo amount of symbolism to me, and a lot of ritual for something which, though definitively sacred and certainly not simple to follow or do, seems to be against ritual itself.
Actually, this is something in many ways true of all major denominations that has contributed to my denominationlessness. It's simply a little more obvious with liturgical denominations. While litergy is obviously ritualistic, I feel that non-liturgical denominations can be just as ritualistic, it just isn't as obvious. Instead of priests robes, we have suits. Instead of carefully crafted cups and plates and bowls, we have brass. However, the weekly repetion of events and actions is there, along with the specific changes depending on holidays and recent events.
Recently I've had an anarchist streak when it comes to Christianity I think. I'm rather disappointed in Christianity as it stands in the US. This is largely the result of realizing that, while helpful at times, having a set doctrine and complete understanding of Christianity is not terribly important. I've spent a lot of time wondering how infallible the Bible is, and other issues that are common points of distinctive doctrinal difference dividing denominations (Mmm... Alliteration). And I've concluded that ultimately, that time would have been better spent simply reading my Bible outright or reaching out to people.
In the same way, I concluded that arguing doctrine is a waste of time. It's like taking a hammer, using it on screws and for sawing as well as for nails, and hitting anyone who disagrees with your particular style of hammer or for using it as you do. Doctrine is a tool that can be used to great effect, but it isn't a Swiss Army knife. It has a specific place, and a specific use, and it isn't meant to divide the church as it has. Still, people get into very fierce arguments of Creationism vs Evolution, but how does this save souls? Doctrine, like a hammer, is a tool that can accomplish a lot of good, and isn't inherently bad. But it seems to me that the current situation is that a bunch of people are using their hammers to hit people in the head, as opposed to building a church.
So, there's my anarchist streak right there. I'm content to be denominationless, because I think that the denominations are all wrong because of the very nature pf their existance.
I feel weird as a Christian, because my thoughts like these have been ricocheting around all over the place, but my practice has remained as always largely without change, save a slowly increasing amount of consultation with the big man.
I diverged off topic a lot, hopefully not too much. Have fun all.
I don't know if I bothered to tell you all here, and I'm too lazy to look back through the topics, but this semester I'm abroad in Japan.
Anyway, hi!
More importantly, Orthodoxy.
My sister, raised in first a baptist, then a non-denominational (which later turned evangelical free) background, she turned Orthodox and then married my brother-in-law who is Orthodox and the son of an Orthodox priest. So I'm mildly familiar with Orthodoxy, from having attended services, including my sister's wedding.
I recently displayed interest in Orthodoxy myself, but for primarily different reasons at the time. I, being a caring person, struggled for a long time, and in many ways still do, with a particular issue. That issue is namely that of all the people in the world who did not, do not, and will not get the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ in the span of time beginning at conception and ending at death. A notable assumption I made which lead me to my quandry was that there is a choice to be made on our part to follow or not follow God. This is something that seems fundamental to me, as my understanding of why there is suffering in the world is that it is a neccessary side effect of God creating us to be more than "Yes Men". If God were to create us with no choice, it would defeat the purpose of suffering in the world, needlessly condemn people to hell, and generally fly in the face of being a "loving God".
Anyway, part of my struggle lead me to think, not very strongly as it was based on a single verse, that perhaps there is a post-mortem opportunity wherein Jesus reaches out to everyone who ever was, is or will be and those who follow him will reach Heaven and those who don't go to Hell or are seperate from God (which, by some definitions, is the same thing). I believe, correct me if I am wrong, that in Orthodoxy it is believed that the dead were all waiting somewhere (it had some name which I cant remember, but it was a familiar name), a somewhere which was abolished when Jesus died on the cross. There's more detail to it than that, but not being Orthodox and this having been a while ago, I don't remember it very exactly (I rarely remember anything exactly).
That interested me in Orthodoxy, but I've not gone too much further than getting a basic and fundamental understanding. Like all Christian denominations, it plagues me with the question, why is this one better over the others? There seems an undo amount of symbolism to me, and a lot of ritual for something which, though definitively sacred and certainly not simple to follow or do, seems to be against ritual itself.
Actually, this is something in many ways true of all major denominations that has contributed to my denominationlessness. It's simply a little more obvious with liturgical denominations. While litergy is obviously ritualistic, I feel that non-liturgical denominations can be just as ritualistic, it just isn't as obvious. Instead of priests robes, we have suits. Instead of carefully crafted cups and plates and bowls, we have brass. However, the weekly repetion of events and actions is there, along with the specific changes depending on holidays and recent events.
Recently I've had an anarchist streak when it comes to Christianity I think. I'm rather disappointed in Christianity as it stands in the US. This is largely the result of realizing that, while helpful at times, having a set doctrine and complete understanding of Christianity is not terribly important. I've spent a lot of time wondering how infallible the Bible is, and other issues that are common points of distinctive doctrinal difference dividing denominations (Mmm... Alliteration). And I've concluded that ultimately, that time would have been better spent simply reading my Bible outright or reaching out to people.
In the same way, I concluded that arguing doctrine is a waste of time. It's like taking a hammer, using it on screws and for sawing as well as for nails, and hitting anyone who disagrees with your particular style of hammer or for using it as you do. Doctrine is a tool that can be used to great effect, but it isn't a Swiss Army knife. It has a specific place, and a specific use, and it isn't meant to divide the church as it has. Still, people get into very fierce arguments of Creationism vs Evolution, but how does this save souls? Doctrine, like a hammer, is a tool that can accomplish a lot of good, and isn't inherently bad. But it seems to me that the current situation is that a bunch of people are using their hammers to hit people in the head, as opposed to building a church.
So, there's my anarchist streak right there. I'm content to be denominationless, because I think that the denominations are all wrong because of the very nature pf their existance.
I feel weird as a Christian, because my thoughts like these have been ricocheting around all over the place, but my practice has remained as always largely without change, save a slowly increasing amount of consultation with the big man.
I diverged off topic a lot, hopefully not too much. Have fun all.
posted by Matoushin at 10/10/2005 11:44:00 PM
1 Comments:
Hello! I stumbled across your blog (I think Darwin on Trial was the connection). I've enjoyed reading your posts, esp. about Orthodoxy. I just read "Becoming Orthodox" by Peter Gillquist. He and about 17 other leaders of Campus Crusade left that organization in the 70s to pursue a Book of Acts kind of faith. Their research led almost all of them to Orthodoxy, and to establish the Evangelical Orthodox Church – you might find it interesting. I would like to attend a service sometime; unfortunately, I live in southern Taiwan and the Orthodox church has no presence here. Maybe if I can get to Taipei on a Sunday....
In His peace,
Kat
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