Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 like be carefull, we are encouraged to praise and worship and pray to our god with the other christians and have fellowship but just be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Thanks to Nihil for the Banished Heart suggestion. Maybe I've been looking in the wrong places, but I've been very disappointed by the standard of Catholic writing about the Orthodox Church. One of you guys could change that? :) Yeah, like I mentioned, it is not precisely about Orthodoxy, but give the themes it deals with it actually gets quite in depth on the Liturgy in the east and west in the first millenium, the development of theology, and their more divergent developments after the schism. I did say that I consider it friendly towards Orthodoxy. I think that is true, but Banished Heart does not pull any punches. Both for western and eastern Christianity, the book does point out faults on both sides, some of which had a role in causing the split. For the west, some of the main shortcomings Hull points out are a really consistent sense of liturgical (and to a great extent theological) imperialism, i.e. western theologians trying to impose western understandings on eastern Christians, who tended to be regarded as theologically suspect. Also the west has been suffering from a sort of creeping ultramontanism, at least since Trent as a response to Protestant rejection of authority. On the other hand, while the west has not always safeguarded her Liturgy, the east - at least according to Hull - has generally been quicker to adopt heterodox formulae for the sake of secular rulers, especially some of the emperors. And he goes into detail on times when this has happened. So in general I found it to be a very fair book, and invaluable for understanding the current crisis in the Church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 how about ' the fullness of truth, no need to look any further' by O.G original gospel. like be carefull, we are encouraged to praise and worship and pray to our god with the other christians and have fellowship but just be careful. I do think we are not only encouraged but obligated to find out as much as we can understand about other traditions - it's not good enough to say that X, Y or Z are wrong, you have to know why and how they came to be that way. I was tempted to be snarky and just put 'the Bible' too, but I don't think that really cuts it when someone is asking honestly and without prejudice on their side. Wouldn't look very good for me on the Last Day, would it. For myself (and in my experience this is also the usual Orthodox position) I would say the opposite of your second statement - it's great to dialogue and talk things out and get to know one another as people, but you don't pray with the heterodox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Yeah, like I mentioned, it is not precisely about Orthodoxy, but give the themes it deals with it actually gets quite in depth on the Liturgy in the east and west in the first millenium, the development of theology, and their more divergent developments after the schism. I did say that I consider it friendly towards Orthodoxy. I think that is true, but Banished Heart does not pull any punches. Both for western and eastern Christianity, the book does point out faults on both sides, some of which had a role in causing the split. For the west, some of the main shortcomings Hull points out are a really consistent sense of liturgical (and to a great extent theological) imperialism, i.e. western theologians trying to impose western understandings on eastern Christians, who tended to be regarded as theologically suspect. Also the west has been suffering from a sort of creeping ultramontanism, at least since Trent as a response to Protestant rejection of authority. On the other hand, while the west has not always safeguarded her Liturgy, the east - at least according to Hull - has generally been quicker to adopt heterodox formulae for the sake of secular rulers, especially some of the emperors. And he goes into detail on times when this has happened. So in general I found it to be a very fair book, and invaluable for understanding the current crisis in the Church. Good! I'm glad it doesn't pull punches. Blind spots and pulling the wool over our own/others' eyes causes us a lot of problems. I don't want to feel superior to you, I want to know what the truth is. My priest was once asked by a catechumen about the Inquisition and whether we consider ourselves 'blameless' because we haven't perpetrated something like that. He said, 'Well, we don't have that blood on our hands. But we have a lot of other blood on our hands.' I'll try to get a copy. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Don't get me started on the Inquisition, especially considering it's lack of relevance to this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJon16 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Don't get me started on the Inquisition, especially considering it's lack of relevance to this thread. Since when has that ever mattered on Phatmass? Ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anastasia13 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 The OP is specifically looking for books about Eastern Orthodoxy. While Orthodoxy is a great book, it isn't about Eastern Christianity. Oriental Orthodox is still Orthodox but a distinct group from (though related to) Eastern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seven77 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 You may find the book Way of Pilgrim helpful to understand the spirituality behind the Jesus prayer and the Orthodox perspective on keeping the presence of God. It's written by an anonymous author from the Russian Orthodox Church. I thought it was very edifying read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) Oriental Orthodox is still Orthodox but a distinct group from (though related to) Eastern. Thanks for the clarification. Still, Chesterton's book deals with the general concept of Orthodox faith, not particular groups labeled as such. Edited September 27, 2014 by Amppax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I bet Chesterton has a very interesting view of Orthodoxy, having converted from it himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I bet Chesterton has a very interesting view of Orthodoxy, having converted from it himself. Wat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 Wat. G.K. Chesterton used to be Orthodox, but then he converted to Catholicism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amppax Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I bet Chesterton has a very interesting view of Orthodoxy, having converted from it himself. No he didn't. He was Anglican. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 No he didn't. He was Anglican. I was told he was originally Orthodox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deus te Amat Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I was told he was originally Orthodox. You shouldn't believe everything you hear. From an about the author section of a book I have: Chesterton came from a nominally Anglican family and had been baptized into the Church of England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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