tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822203.post8924783461500115668..comments2023-09-13T04:31:43.283-07:00Comments on The Abandoned Mind: Lovers or Haters of Truth?Fr. Michael Reaganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02265035749268657422noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822203.post-61195527398747986792007-08-27T19:59:00.000-07:002007-08-27T19:59:00.000-07:00Dear “Anonymous”I get the impression you are not r...Dear “Anonymous”<BR/><BR/>I get the impression you are not responding to anything I wrote so much as you are seizing this as opportunity to voice your own opinions. Clearly my own reference to Roman Catholicism was passing, as I focused my attention primarily on those who reject “Church” entirely in favor of their own interpretations of the bible. In regard to the RCC however it does not quite, as you claim, “accept” the creeds of the 7 councils, as it has clearly mutilated the Nicene Creed to suit its own preferred “truth” and has otherwise so departed from the life and faith of Orthodox Christianity as to be utterly out of communion with it.<BR/><BR/>As to other Western Christians who supposedly accept “most” of the sacred traditions, I ask you, why do they not accept them all? Is not their “picking and choosing” of Christian tradition the root of heresy and division and sufficient evidence of their relativistic approach? Why do they not accept the one sacred Church itself, but insist that “their church” is equally legitimate, or as in the case of many, that they can follow Christ outside of any church whatsoever?<BR/><BR/>You and I might well debate the degree of relativism that exists within contemporary Western Christendom, but neither of us can honestly contend that it is not there. Your own comments reveal this much.<BR/><BR/>As to your closing comment of “all due respect,” that might be easier to believe if you had signed your name.Fr. Michael Reaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02265035749268657422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822203.post-15500619005293188542007-08-27T14:54:00.000-07:002007-08-27T14:54:00.000-07:00"Western Christendom was plunged headlong into the..."Western Christendom was plunged headlong into the murky sea of relativism. With the bible replacing the Church as the sole guide to faith and practice, every man became his own pope and parsed the scriptures to decide his own doctrinal positions and in short, his own truth."<BR/><BR/>Isn't this, Father, painted with too broad of a brush? Are you including the RCC and all the variants of the Reformation as being "equally guilty" (to the same degree and kind) of "relativism"? Certainly the RCC doesn't fall into the "everyone-is-his-own Pope" category. They have a Pope! They also agree with the first 7 Ecumenical Councils. Wouldn't most "mainstream" Orthodox see the RCC (western by your definition) and the EO churches as sharing many features of "church-ness" in common, although each would argue (for different reasons) the other is to some degree "damaged" (rather than devoid of truth)? What about the many elements of the "Creed" (Nicene and Apostle's)and many of the theological doctrines of the Ecumenical Councils, accepted as "sacred" by many "western Christians"? Must we lump all "western Christianity" into the same kettle ("division, [total] error, and rancor") in order to make the point that while there are elements and degrees of "truth" in all the expressions of Christianity, the "essential fulness" of the Orthodox expression surpasses them? If the Holy Spirit was not operating in you before you became Orthodox, what spirit led you to the Orthodox Church? If the Holy Spirit was operating in you and others who become Orthodox, how can we call these other traditions devoid of truth? Even Patriarch Photius, 9TH Century (refering to east-west) wrote:<BR/><BR/>"Everywhere one must preserve what is defined by common ecumenical decisions, but a particular opinion of a Church Father or a definition isued by a local council, can be followed by some and ignored by others..."<BR/><BR/>I just think important issues - even when they are nuanced - are better served by "rightly dividing" them with a scalpel, rather than a meat cleaver.<BR/><BR/>With all due respect.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822203.post-15448370523813377432007-08-25T19:24:00.000-07:002007-08-25T19:24:00.000-07:00Great post Father! Why doesn't it bother our prot...Great post Father! Why doesn't it bother our protestant brothers and sisters even a little that the theology that they have embraced bears little resemblance to the father of their faith? If Luther came back today, he would be faced with the fact that quite few of his "reformers" have bothered to follow his reformation. But these people are convinced that it works, and because they "are saved" they really don't need to fret about such things. <BR/><BR/>Thank you for the time and effort that you put into this Father Michael.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21822203.post-82518903965380930852007-08-25T15:14:00.000-07:002007-08-25T15:14:00.000-07:00Amen! Fr. Michael, Amen! Its the hardest thing to ...Amen! Fr. Michael, Amen! <BR/>Its the hardest thing to do, giving up our own mind for the mind of Christ, of the Church...<BR/>Christ is in our midst!handmaidmary-leahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15020071205679915685noreply@blogger.com