I
Articles, Papers, Essays, and Links
Having collected a great deal of material concerning a number of different beliefs, it is my goal to share as much as possible. This page will contain my own articles and essays as well as links to many more.
Explanation of Articles
Here we will list some of the most interesting and important articles on each of the following topics. The section of the website is undergoing constant updates and renovation. Please bear with us as we continue to provide more articles and links.
1. Faith vs. Works: A False Dichotomy
These articles will examine one of the most prevalent myths popular among Protestants and Evangelicals: the idea that there is a separation between Faith and Works in the Christian life. Protestants refer exclusively to Ephesians 2:8-9 as if it were the only verse of Scripture that speaks on this point. These articles will demonstrate that since the beginning, however, the Church has believed in "synergia," a cooperation of God's tremendous grace and mercy, in combination with man's willful steps in obedience. It is my contention that a lot of the confusion surrounding this issue is a result of the English verb, "to do." "What are you doing?" implies an action, or more specifically, "a work." When Evangelicals claimed, "You can't DO anything to earn your salvation," what they wanted to imply is that you can't perform good deeds absent from a life in Jesus Christ in a vain attempt to earn your way into heaven. However, over the years, somehow their message got garbled, and people misinterpreted it and took it to some weird extreme. Now they believe you can't DO ANYTHING, because "anything" you do is, technically, "a work." Am I allowed to pray? Nope, praying is a work, and we don't believe in a works-based salvation. No, the extremists believe, everything comes from God, and His mercy alone saves us. We can't lift a finger. All our efforts are useless. As you can see, this kind of extreme nonsense very quickly leads to the predeterminist teachings of Calvin. In that system, God selected the elect from the beginning of time, so you are either written in the Book of Life, or you are not, either way, there is nothing you can do about it. This promises to be a fantastic collection of essays. In the meantime, I highly recommend the following articles:
2. The Infallibility / Inerrancy of Scripture
Having been a former proponent of the KJV-Only position, I have a lot to say about this. This will be a great chapter. This chapter will contain a sorts of information about transmission, languages, copyists' errors, the different manuscripts, Tischendorff and Sinaiticus, and the modern English versions of Scripture. Lacking any ecclesial authority, Christian conservatives NEED to believe that the Bible is the Inerrant, Infallible, God-protected "instruction manual" that survived 2000 years of transmission in order to be the supernatural mysterious Holy Book that it is now. This ties in to their fanciful notion that the Church descended into error, falling victim to the pagan customs of men. Since the Church was destroyed, they believe, then the Bible, logically, is the only revelation of God that got handed down to them. But when one analyses the method of transmission through the centuries, which shows even minor differences between texts, their arguments begin to fall apart. This promises to be a lot of fun. Stay tuned.
- S P E C I A L L Y F E A T U R E D A D V E R T I S E R -
Orthodox Religious Icons
"Come And See Icons.com" is a fantastic website featuring a LARGE collection of beautiful icons from across America and around the world, well-organized alphabetically, available for purchase. Also featuring books, CD's, and art. Prompt mail order service and great prices. A small family-run business, you get personal attention and the satisfaction of knowing you are dealing with a devoted Orthodox family! * Highly recommended *
3. Eternal Security
This section promises to be one of the largest on the website. There are so many things to say about this misguided and incorrect doctrine. Even the name of this doctrine is incorrect. No one disputes that True Believers will have eternal life in Christ. But the real essence of the argument is not whether salvation is Eternal, but whether it is Conditional or Unconditional. Evangelicals believe an incorrect notion, "once saved, always saved," as if salvation is a one-time, once for all decision, like snapping your fingers. And then, having made this profession of faith, they have construed Scripture in such a way as to believe that there is no way that someone can lose their faith or fall away. (But those that do, they conveniently sweep under the rug by saying, "Oh, they were never actually saved anyway.") Eternal Security is a great topic and we plan to have a lot of articles here.
4. The Rapture
The doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture was invented during the the 1820's and 1830's by a collection of individuals that included Jesuit priest Emmanuel Lacunza, 15-year old Margaret MacDonald, and Plymouth Brethren founder John Nelson Darby. The Scofield Reference Bible of 1909 popularized the idea of a "secret rapture" for the saints. This quaint idea about a Secret Rapture has now become an accepted tenet of the American Evangelical tradition. They even have lots and lots of books that "prove" it from the Scriptures. And Evangelicals accuse the Orthodox of "error and superstition." Ha ha!
"But as I've shown, many pretrib publishers are a far cry from Thomas Nelson. Their
bottom line consists of three things: money, money, and money! They don't care that
pretrib is less than 200 years old and that it didn't take over American evangelicalism
much before "Doctor" Scofield's Bible in 1909! They don't care that the late Corrie
ten Boom stated in a published article that pretrib leaders are "the false teachers
Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days" and that pretrib caused the deaths
of "millions" of Chinese Christians when the Communists took over China! And they
don't care that the dishonest pretrib theory they peddle for money in fact makes them
accessories to the past, present, and future mass-murder of fellow believers!"
Excepted from this great article: "DECEIVING, AND BEING DECEIVED"
By Dave MacPherson
http://www.notdeceived.net/deceiving_and_being_deceived.htm
Also from his website:
The Unoriginal John Darby
http://www.notdeceived.net/unoriginal_john_darby.htm
WILL YOU MEET THE LORD IN THE "RAPTURE" OR IN REALITY?
An Orthodox Perspective on the Evangelical Theory of the Rapture
Part I
http://www.holycross-hermitage.com/pages/Orthodox_Life/rapture1.htm
Part II
http://www.holycross-hermitage.com/pages/Orthodox_Life/rapture2.htm
5. Infant Baptism
Infant Baptism
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7067.asp
6. Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic
Orthodoxy vs. Roman Catholicism
http://www.antiochian.org/Midwest/Articles/Orthodoxy_&_CatholicismNB.htm
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ORTHODOXY AND ROMAN CATHOLICISM
http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/ortho_cath.html
7. Orthodox Doctrine
I Believe: A Short Exposition on Orthodox Doctrine
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/i_believe.htm
Sources
of Teaching and Church Authority Part I
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7063.asp
Sources of Teaching and Church Authority Part II
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7064.asp
What
is the basis for Certainty in the Orthodox Church?
http://www.antiochian.org/theology/what_is_the_basis_for_certainty_.htm
8. The Communion of Saints & Prayers to Saints
The Christian souls that have passed away since 33 AD: are they in heaven? Are they awake? Are they sleeping? What are they doing? Are they conscious? Are they in purgatory? Are their souls sleeping inside the remains of their bodies? St. Stephen, first martyr for the faith: where is his soul right now and what is he doing? This is more stuff that conservative Christians never consider. Christians are supposed to believe in the life hereafter and the resurrection from the dead. However, after questioning a number of people, it seems that many American Christians believe in a heresy called "soul sleep." This promises to be very intriguing. In the meantime, here is a wonderful place to start.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese:
The
Lives of the Saints Section
http://www.goarch.org/en/resources/saints/
9. Libraries of Orthodox Articles
Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese Library of Articles
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/
Father Alexander Articles
http://www.fatheralexander.org/page6.htm
Antiochian Midwest Collection
http://www.antiochian.org/Midwest/Articles/ArticlesFrame_listing_by_topic.htm
Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy
http://www.stjohndc.org/heterodoxy/heterodoxy.htm
OrthodoxNet.Com
http://www.orthodoxnet.com/index_main.shtml
I Believe: A Short Exposition on Orthodox Doctrine
http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/i_believe.htm
Saint Pachomius Library
http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/reading/St.Pachomius/globalindex.html
More Orthodox Links
1. A
Brief Introduction
2. My
Journey Towards Orthodoxy
3. Evangelical Errors of Logic
