Why I Became An Orthodox Christian | Full Episode
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 พ.ค. 2024
- Why did a Baptist such as myself become an Orthodox Christian? In this episode, I walk you through my conversion process. In it, I go step-by-step, addressing each doctrine of Protestantism that I came to reject and why, as well as the issues I had that prevented me from becoming Catholic, finally to the point of accepting Orthodoxy as the fullness of the faith.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below. Thanks for listening and God bless!
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Video Intro
0:19 Introduction
4:39 Protestant Upbringing
8:02 Introduction to Orthodoxy
12:55 My First Visit to an Orthodox Church
15:13 Sola-Fide
30:39 Sola-Scriptura
38:32 Ecclesiology
49:12 Sacraments
55:32 Mary & The Saints
1:01:47 Liturgy, Priesthood, & Icons
1:11:01 Filioque & The Great Schism
1:16:37 The Papacy. Uniates, & Papal Infallibility
1:22:06 Purgatory & Indulgences
1:24:54 Immaculate Conception
1:30:07 Dogmatic Contradictions, Liturgical Innovations, & Ecumenism
1:36:22 The RCC Cannot Be Taken Seriously
1:39:13 Why I Love Orthodoxy
1:47:45 Conclusion
1:52:24 Where to Learn More
1:56:34 Video Outro
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REFERENCES:
Find An Orthodox Church Near You
orthodoxyinamerica.org/
Books
“Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy: Finding the Way to Christ in a Complicated Religious Landscape” by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
“Rock and Sand: An Orthodox Appraisal of the Protestant Reformers and Their Teachings” by Fr. Josiah Trenham
“Arise, O God: The Gospel of Christ’s Defeat of Demons, Sin, and Death” by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
“The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God” by St. John Maximovitch
“Orthodox Worship: A Living Continuity with the Synagogue, the Temple, and the Early Church” by Benjamin Williams & Harold Anstall
“Thinking Orthodox” by Dr. Eugenia Constantinou
“The Didache” by The Twelve Apostles
“The Letters of St. Ignatius” by St. Ignatius
“On The Incarnation” by St. Athanasius
Podcasts/TH-cam Channels
“The Whole Counsel of God” by Fr. Stephen De Young
“The Royal Path” by Fr. Turbo
“Patristic Nectar” by Fr. Josiah Trenham
Fr. Spyridon Bailey
Patristix
Playlists
Orthodox Inquirers (Intro): • Orthodox Inquirers (In...
Orthodox Inquirers (Longform): • Orthodox Inquirers (Lo...
I am Catholic and willing to convert to Orthodox
Glory to God! If you haven’t already, definitely make yourself known at your local Orthodox parish and talk to the priest.
Former Roman Catholic here, I became an Orthodox Christian ☦🙏
Me too, i´m Colombian now Orthodox
I, after some time, have come to the conclusion that the Orthodox faith is indeed the original church of Christ. Sadly, none are near me. In fact, the area is devoid of any good churches. Watching online has helped, but that is becoming not enough.
Yes
Consider the struggle and environmental factors the Jews endured for God. Consider that God is gathering his gentiles to specific areas just as a shepherd protects his flock. The church’s may be beacons for us to move towards.
Try to contact the specific Archdiocese thst you would be under depending on your area, perhaps they can assist in setting up a mission for your area, until then pray and endure, many have been in your situation, think of the "God-fearers" (Romans who would pay tribute to the God of Israel, most of whom would become the first major group of Gentile Christians after Christ came) who would stand outside of the Temple and Synagogue, be patient, and trust that God will give you a path towards His Church
Consider making a trip sometime, even if it’s far away! God bless your journey 🙏🏻
Indeed, time for a road trip!
Former American Protestant turned Orthodox Christian here ☦️🙌
Christos ANESTI
Very similar story. I was southern Baptist in Alabama but watched on TH-cam the Josiah Trenham rock and sand interview. After watching I walked around my neighborhood in stunned silence for over an hour in complete shock thinking I had to know more. Eventually concluded the Orthodox Church was the church Christ established at Pentecost
Rock and sand changed everything for me
Same with me, had to ask myself some hard questions after watching Rock and Sand and his other videos
Glory to God ❤
It's crazy I am currently a southern Baptist from Alabama looking to join the Orthodox Church but i am worried about telling my family any tips?
@@sethjackson3078 when I told my wife about this she initially cried and had to go to therapy so it was not a great start haha. But the biggest thing has been not solely making historical or logical arguments but also living it out. If I had to guess the reaction will be negative but if you are living it out they’ll see the change in you and wonder what it’s all about.
I was open to everything. Atheism, Islam, Judaism…but ended up deconstructing into Orthodoxy.
That sounds like an incredible story! What was your worldview before converting?
@@untoages I was raised Baptist but I left that in college as Calvinism made no sense. I was mostly agnostic bordering on atheist. I had been attending a (very) small church mostly because I had work colleagues there and it was a nice place to be. They did a book study on Leviticus and I started asking questions. “Well, why does it not still look like this?” So I started studying all of the other religions on the hunt for an altar…Judaism and messianic Judaism had no altar or priesthood and everything I could find message wise seemed to devolve into politics. Islam had no priesthood or altar either and they separated the family during services and that didn’t seem right along with it also devolving into politics. Protestantism well…you know. Buddhism and Hinduism didn’t actually seem like religions to me at all upon studying them. They felt like individual indulgence in passions so I couldn’t get into that either. It came down to atheism or some form of Catholicism. I have a buddy that’s RC and we went to mass together quite a bit. While I enjoyed it something felt off. I happened to have a small orthodox parish down the road from me so one day I tried that. And there it was: the entire Old Testament with Christ on the altar instead of the lamb along with the incense, the lampstands, the complete liturgical calendar… It explained every question I’d ever had about life and death and the church’s explanation of these things made more sense than anything I’d heard from the atheists. This is my third year at the parish and I’ll be baptized sometime this year.
My name is also not Kenneth, I’m actually a younger female. This is just a dummy account with a random name.
This is a good video. Especially for people who have trouble wrapping their minds around this. My friends cannot understand. I’m a pagan now 😂. lol
@@Whatintheworlt Wow, glory to God! That’s such a wild journey, but it’s not uncommon. I’ve heard some crazy stories of how people end up at the doors of the Church. And I understand exactly what you’re talking about with your friends not getting it. It’s like speaking a different language to people who are Protestant or Catholic, but once you get Orthodoxy, everything just clicks into place. I’m happy to hear you’re getting baptized soon, welcome home!
@@untoagesit has been chaotic and people in my life are confused but you are correct it’s not uncommon. Luckily my husband is on board and attends as well and that mattered to me. Glad you found the church as well! Many years!
Christ Has Risen! ❤️☦️
Ваистину воскресе!
A couple years ago, before I became orthodox, I was reading this “Bible” written by some man who claimed to have the Spirit, and doing edibles. Long story short I got possessed, saw this powerful light who I believed was Jesus, and knew immediately that calling yourself “saved” meant you believe your works here warrant your place next to that light. I knew it would be impossible to even come close to that. Shortly after this experience, I found Jay dyer and fr spyridon talking about prelest. Which then led to orthodoxy and the answers to all my questions regarding church and faith. Converting from pentecostal and knowing there’s a church who’s teaching I can submit to was easy tbh. I’ve learned more in two years than my entire life (granted the Lord gave me desire to know truth), but the hard part is my gf/family do not see what I see. But I get why all the kids I grew up with in Protestant churches are atheists now. Apostolic teaching, traditions, reverence, everything is lost.
Imo, To claim grape juice and crackers being just a symbol has had consequences that can’t even be quantified bc nothing has actual significance
Wow, that’s an incredible and wild story. Thank you for sharing! Continue to pray for your girlfriend and family and show forth fruits of repentance. Perhaps they will come and see in time.
Former Baptist, now Anglican and heavily influenced by Eastern Orthodox theology.
I look forward to listening to this.
Great video man, my journey was very similar to yours. I am now a catechumen in hopes of being baptized sometime next year ☦️☦️☦️
Glory to God!
Glory to God!
Just the concept of a “catechumen” is unbiblical.
{Acts 8:26-40}
Heard gospel > believed > got dunked . . .
I just finished „Arise, O God“ - what a wonferfull book!
I seem to be on a similar journey as yourself and I want to thank you for this video and especially your recommendations at the end. Half of the books I read already so I just knew I would love the ones I did not yet! Thank you!
Glory to God!
thank you for putting the fear of God back into my life
This is an awesome compliment, thank you! The goal is to point to Christ & His Church with everything on this channel ☦️
Scripture verses refuting Solafide
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
2 Corinthians 7:10
Matthew 7:21
Matthew 24:9-14
Matthew 25:31-43
Philippians 2:12-13
2 Corinthians 6:1
James 2:14-24
Matthew 7:13-14
1 Peter 5:11
Former Baptist to Orthodox. Loving Christ and His glory
I was an unbeliever a decade ago and gradually found my faith in Christ. Wanting a connection and path Christ didnt seem clear until I discovered orthodoxy, it's beautiful and ornate, ancient and rich in tradition. I love its history and I really think if more people knew of orthodoxy in the west it would take over and look forward to its future
Returned home in 2021
So much of this was my own experience and journey to Orthodoxy. Thank you for producing this. It will be shared widely. Glory to God!
Thank you so much, I forwarded this to my sister and Brother who are protestants and prideful. And I can'ttalk to them because they really intimidate me.. thank you
Of course! I hope this will foster better discussions between you guys. God bless!
As I've looked into Roman Catholicism more, I've found a soft "fangirl" type of Christianity that is obsessed with never breaking Jesus's "Sacred Heart" and has many prayers about bringing Him comfort as if He's a melancholic husband home from a hard day at work instead of the King of kings. Even Padre Pio allegedly had revelation that Jesus is constantly ready to strike the earth with calamities, but the nice angels always soothe Him with songs and harps, like He's an unstable dictator that constantly needs calming, and only Catholics can do it properly. This seems to be the driving cause of the fanatic side of Catholicism, such as burning people at the stake, the Inquisitions, certain atrocities during the Crusades that you mentioned, and a general harsh coldness towards those who need guidance to Christ the King. Orthodoxy has avoided all of these while also never bending to the current culture, which is likely why it has stood strong for so long.
What a beautiful story. Very familiar to my own, but it wasn't until around 30 where God literally caused miraculous occurrences, on top of my historical and biblical searching, that finally brought me to Holy Orthodoxy.
I cant wait to watch the rest of this. But it's awesome to hear others go through such a similar walk as I.
God bless you! Welcome home, my brother in Christ Jesus! I'd love to ask you some questions about your situation with your family or friends, as this was/is a very difficult issue for me.
Thank you! Most of my family has been accepting of my conversion (thankfully). I’ve even sent this series to them and it has led to fruitful conversations. In part, that’s why I made it. Same with friends - some may ask questions, but none have been particularly antagonistic about my conversion. But I understand it can be difficult in certain situations - I’ve heard the horror stories from some of my other Orthodox convert friends.
@@untoages well I am sure glad they have been open to you! Keep it up, man.
Excellent presentation of the main differences between Orthodoxy and the rest
Glory to God! 🙏🏿☦️
Welcome home, brother
This is an amazing video, well done! I was born and raised as an Coptic orthodox Christian and I've been trying to help my friends get a better understanding of everything, I am definitely going to send them your video. Cheers..
Thank you so much for this explanation, I can’t wait to go deeper learning about these things.
Glory to God!
Very similar to my experience. I love your channel it's been a big part of my journey.
Thank you, this was an excellent synthesis of all of your videos
Thank YOU for tuning in!
Fantastic, I was hoping you'd put all these together in one video.
You mentioned around the 30 minute mark that what you believe affects how you live.
I think that that is actually backwards and part if the problem that protestants have. I truly think action comes first then belief. The Protestant that believes they can do what they want and not lose their salvation believes so because they already do what they want.
Glory to God!
Glory to God ❤
I’d also like to add; yes, we know Christ is the only way to the Father. No, we don’t have to ask for Intercession. We know this. We do it because we each have our favourite Saints whom we have a connection with and it feels nice to pray with them. We know we don’t have to do that, but it feels good to pray with someone who is a flawed sinner just like us and reminds us that even the biggest sinners can repent and it’s part of our tradition going back thousands of years
I am a catechumen and really feel zero connection to the saints. I want to fit in but for example, kissing the icons. I kiss them, but it just feels odd to me. I hope I'm able to conform because I do appreciate orthodoxy.
@@clbaird40 Beloved, first thing I’d say to you is you’re trying too hard. These things come naturally with time. Nobody expects you to have a Patron Saint except yourself. Christianity is lifelong commitment, so sit tight and avoid burning yourself out.
Second: Relax, breathe. It’s ok, you don’t have to “fit in” in the way that it sounds like you want to.
Third: read about the lives of the Saints. There are so many resources available for you to look into. Eventually, you’ll come across one that is a spitting image of you and that is likely to be the Saint you most connect with.
Start with the Beloved Theotokos. She’s my favourite. Ask her to bring your prayers to her Son and our God.
Welcome, beloved. It’s a journey, and be patient with yourself. Christ walks with you always. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
@@clbaird40
The Saints are with us at every Divine Liturgy.
The empty spaces in the Nave are filled with them.
Read the life of St. Spirydon of Trimethus.
Thank 😢you. Would you please do a podcast on the Orthodox books that helped you glow in Christ and personal walk with Him. Thank you 🙏 blessings 🙏
Sure, that’s something I can do in the future! I did list a few books I read during my conversion process towards the end, though as far as growing in the faith, I’d recommend Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives and reading the Prologue daily. In reality though, I’ve experienced more growth through prayer and the sacraments of the Church over reading books.
th-cam.com/video/BfDLsizmhKg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=UPkbEB7mxF4tHX79
This is a link to a good video explaining a few good books to read as a new inquirer. It's also another good channel to watch called The Transfigured Life. 😊
@@milleslong6549 TH-cam doesn’t like links in the comments section 🙃 I would recommend just mentioning the title of the video & the channel that posted it. And yes, The Transfigured Life is a solid channel 👌🏻
Excellent video. Keep up the good work brother.! ☦☦☦
Beautifuly Done Brother ☦️☦️❤️🙏
Glory to God for all things!
God bless brother ☦️🙏🏼
Christos Anesti! Greetings from Greece!
Great video, this helped a lot.
Great work here! It's a pleasure listening to your videos since they are thoughtful and organized. It would be cool to see an overview of the autocephalous churches within the Eastern Orthodox Church. God bless! 🙏🏻
Thank you! I’ll definitely keep in mind that suggestion.
This is very well written - excellent work.
So many turned away from the faith, yet now, so many come to the faith too. Isn’t it like it was prophesied by Jesus?
im glad to hear for you!!! im still on my journey☦️
Thank you for your time on this.
Excellent video! Audio quality is also great. What microphone do you use?
I use a Shure SM7B!
I would love to have more information about the protestants and orthodox who were at vatican 2 if you have some links.
The specific point I brought up about Protestants being at Vatican II was pulled from Kyle’s very first video. However, he goes through a lot very quickly in that video and only briefly addresses the fact that non-Catholics were invited to Vatican II. That’s all I have off the top of my head unfortunately, but perhaps others will have some suggestions as well.
The objection to sola fide presupposes that it means faith without works justifies a person.
I would say faith alone justifies because the faith that St Paul talks about is an active or obedient faith.
Faith is always the instrument by which righteousness comes. Even St James when he discusses works, is talking about the works of faith.
Will you make more episodes?
Yes! I have plans for two other series, some one-offs, and potential collaborations this year. I’ll be announcing more details soon via the community tab soon.
Is this on any other platform, say Spotify or AFR?
@@CashFreedman Not yet. I plan to expand it to streaming platforms soon (like Spotify, Apple, etc.) but this will not be on AFR.
Great show! Did you consider the non chalcedonian churches at all?
Not really. I was aware of them, but I didn’t really look much into the oriental church.
happy for you brother ❤❤❤
Welcome to The Orthodox faith. Just guard the church from being co-opted by evil , self serving men with political aspirations. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Render unto God that which is God's.
Thank you for this, your channel is very useful.
Though something about Josiah Trenham rubs me as too westernized since he said "We have alot to learn from Protestants" in one of his vids I was watching and the way he praises people of all kinds of varying beliefs when referencing a book or some important person or academic or writer he spoke to.
Thank you! There is a sense in which one can appreciate others even though they are “wrong” about certain things. I’d be more wary of having an overly-critical spirit. Fr. Josiah, in my opinion, is an invaluable resource for Orthodoxy in America. He’s certainly no ecumenist. In my experience, he seems to be very clear when he is being charitable and praising non-orthodox believers for their virtues, while at the same time being honest and vocal in his criticisms.
Father Josiah has flaws but overall he is a good Priest in Good Standing with not only his Metropolitan but several other Bishops across Jurisdictions.
His perspective is necessary for the American Converts.
🕊️♥️🔥
This is a valuable resource to refer people to.
Thank you! I pray it has been and will continue to be edifying for people 🙏🏻
☦️👑
Abraham was a friend of God.
Please help! What is the music in the outro?
Pavel G. Chesnokov - To Thee We Sing. Look up 1 Hour of Chad Orthodox Chants to Redeem Your Soul & it’s the first track in that compilation.
☦️☦️☦️
You missed something in your studies ( like all the Christians orthodox do usually). The Church of Alexandria was the first Church which left the Pentarchy after the 4th Ecumenical Council . A little part of the Church of Alexandria kept the link with Constantinople ro become the Greek orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Priests, Monks and Laymen did, as much of the support for the Monophysite Christology was among Laity first.
The Monophysites in Alexandria spent much of the History between the Council and the Islamic Conquests with no Bishops, and they were called "Ancephelites" or "Headless ones" Because of it.
Read: "Christianity Unmasqued" by Dan Israel and/or "Come Out of Her: My People by C. J. Koster then read your BIBLE. I was raised Roman Catholic and my wife was raised Greek Orthodox.
What is that music at the end?
Pavel G. Chesnokov - To Thee We Sing. Look up 1 Hour of Chad Orthodox Chants to Redeem Your Soul & it’s the first track in that compilation.
Please make t-shirts with your channel logo
Ha! I appreciate that. Merch isn’t out of the question, but I’d need to grow the channel a bit more and increase demand to justify that investment. Maybe one day!
1:22:33 - faith as faithfulness- I need help understanding how this works. I don't see any reason to systematically import faithfulness into faith, instead of using faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" as an internal definition from Hebrews 11, and faith as "shown by what I do" from James.
Why not see faith as an exercise of the will, distinct from law-works, but known by faith-fruits to others, even while internally a convinced hopeful assurance of unseen things, particularly the righteousness of Christ in our place?
CRISTO RESUCITO
W
Do you have a good critique of atheism could you make a video about that?
Existence.
Atheisms asks you to believe in so much nonsense...it`s full of plot holes. That is what I found. It explains nothing, it solves nothing and it requires a lot of exceptions from it`s own rules.
I have plans to make a video and/or series addressing atheism (sort of…it’s a work in progress at the moment). While I don’t have anything to present of my own right now, I do hope to do that sometime this year.
Bishop Emmanuel mari lead me to Orthodox Church 🙏🏿☦️
Mari Mari is not a bishop in the Orthodox Church. He is a Nestorian. There is a channel called Living Orthodox; I’d recommend you’d watch his videos about Mari Mari to understand more about Nestorianism.
@@untoagesunfortunately people gain this misconception from Mari, because he’s a big Ecumenist as well and calls himself a Bishop and Orthodox when he is neither 😢
Well done! I was going to make a video like this and now I don't have to.
Ha! Well thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
What are the orthodox opinions on the Byzantine Catholics ?
I address them briefly when I discuss Catholicism in this video (I referred to them as Uniates), though to be blunt, the opinion is that they’re not Orthodox. They can look, sound, smell, and talk like Orthodox, but if they submit to the pope, they are Catholics. It seems contradictory to me for Rome to have a Byzantine rite when their entire theological paradigm differs from the Roman rite. My personal opinion is that eastern-rite parishes are the last place of refuge for more traditionally-minded Catholics to go before fully making the leap to Orthodoxy.
What if two bishops disagree on something?
What you found in orthodoxy was not cohesion or even the most logical interpretation . . . You just found your first exposure to a system that is internally consistent and provides a ladder of “wisdom” that is throttled by complexity and tradition.
Isn’t this a re-upload
It’s the full series as one video. Before I broke them up so it would be more digestible, this is the entire thing all at once so people can hear the full case in context. Basically, the idea is people can watch however they prefer - short-form content, or long.
I love how you said "you're not greek, why are you here?" With a russian accent 😂😂
This is how bad my Greek impression is 😅
@@untoages it was cute 😉
The only problem I have with Orthodox which I would like to join, is the Second council of Nicaea where they anathema those who do not venerate icons. This seems absurd to me, my mother and grandmother have such an immense faith in Christ that I could never hope to achieve and yet they are Baptist I know them by their fruits as they have always given to those less fortunate even when we did not have enough for ourselves.
How can women as good as this be anathema to hell. This seems a completely arbitrary rule. I could accept all other tenets of orthodoxy except this one.
Your mother and grandmother are not Orthodox so nobody condemns them to hell.Talk to a Orthodox priest and he will clarify this and your other concerns better than anyone on the internet.
Nobody condemns your mother or grandmother to hell. Please find an Orthodox priest and he will explain this and other concerns better than anyone on the internet.
@@Catkat-xz8tx I need to do that. perhaps I misunderstood the last eccumenical council 2nd Nicaea. It just seemed very upfront about this
I'm happy to hear you are open to finding the truth! I came from a very traditional Catholic background and have never looked back for the last 13 years since converting to Orthodoxy. I was pleasantly surprised on many levels. I went to a Greek Orthodox monastery for vespers while Catholic and I was apologizing to a monk that I wasn't Orthodox. He said, don't worry, you have an even better chance of making it to heaven . He was very sincere and humble . I didn't believe what he said because I could see it came from his humility but it did soften me. 3 years later, I was Orthodox.
Sola scriptura means that scripture alone is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
Tradition has its place in Protestant churches like Anglicanism.
The canon is established by God himself. For he limited his act of inspiration and authenticaion of the scriptures to seventy six books. Those books were recognised by the church around 550 AD under the decree of Pope Gelasius.
Orthodoxy must establish not simply that tradition or canonisation is essential for the recognition of the canon of scripture. But it must also establish that it is infallible.
Are you the same guy from What I Have Learned?
Is that a channel or episode title?
Salvation does not come through an assent to doctrine but through a conversion experience. Faith is not enough it must be followed by επίγνωσις μετανοίας.
The ecumenical councils were authoritative for the church, and rejecting them could result in a split in the church. Such is what happened in church history between the Assyrian Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Orthodoxy.
So how do we know which councils are truly ecumenical or universally binding for the church? We may consult Holy Scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers and the use of reason or logic. That is the Anglican answer to the issue of ecumenical councils.
I would not accept the idea that the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches lost the true faith once delivered to the saints. I would say that it was preserved by both churches to varying degrees, and that not one church has a monopoly on the whole faith.
Finally, there is one body of Christ. But there are schisms within the body, and they need to be repaired. The three apostolic churches are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Anglicanism based on the apostolic succession.
Anglicanism is not of the Apostolic Tradition.
Even disregarding the modern issues in Anglicanism, there is open denial of the 3rd Ecumenical Council which bans the Church from holding Secular Powers, and if the Royal Head is the Temporal Archbishop of England then it has already lost the plot.
@@acekoala457 I read about the third council, and I did not see any mention of bishops being unable to hold secular office.
That being said, we accept tradition as being important to our faith. I would say the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion are adequate to articulate the faith of Christ.
It's the skulls isn't it? They've got skulls on their capes. Hans, are we the goodies?
"Unlike other Christians, we are the bestestest Christians"
Always impressed by how much orthodox / Catholics sound like the Jews talking about their religious system.
“We are the ones”
“We are the original”
“The home of the patriarchs”
Seems to me you’ve forgotten that all of Israel was not Israel.
It also seems to me that much of your religious system became tradition to protect the religion from the very things the Lord said not to . . .
🙏🏾☦️
Baptism while certainly symbolic is more if only in the sense that it is a step of faith driven obedience . . . To say that it is salvific is denigrating to the finished work of Christ
Never intended for division amongst the body? Have you read your NT!? There’s division between the apostles themselves recorded right there in the canon!
The Eucharist is certainly more than symbolism but there’s nothing in the scriptures that affirm transubstantiation . . .
Ortodox Church does worship Holy Mary Mother of God!❤O Holy Teotokos!#Unto Ages#
If only there were no denominations 😔
Orthodoxy teaches you are saved through faith PLUS works. This of course in unscriptural.
Perhaps you didn’t listen to all of the scripture I quoted throughout this episode? Orthodoxy is the most “Biblical” form of Christianity. Just go to a liturgy and count how many scriptural references there are.
@@untoages Read Galatians. Paul condemns believing faith plus works theology. Its faith alone, in Christ alone. (Eph 2:8&9). That's not what Orthodoxy teaches I'm afraid.
@@timothyhaugan2903 "Faith alone" is nowhere in the Bible. Here's a list of other scripture passages that you should also consider.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
2 Corinthians 7:10
Matthew 7:21
Matthew 24:9-14
Matthew 25:31-43
Philippians 2:12-13
2 Corinthians 6:1
James 2:14-24
Matthew 7:13-14
1 Peter 5:11
The bottom line is this - the scripture can't contradict itself, but in your view, it does. You have to pit Paul against Jesus, or Paul against Paul even to make it work. Therefore, your view is less coherent. No one believed in sola fide before the reformation. I gave a litany of other reasons why this doctrine is wrong in the video as well.
@@untoages Salvation is through faith, believing in Jesus:
Eph 2:8 - 9: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 20:30 - 31: Therefore, many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Eph 1: 13-14 - In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
1 Cor 1:21 - For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Col 2:12 - having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Acts 16:31 - They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Romans 10:9 - that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Romans 10:4 - For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
If the Bible clearly defines what makes a Christian a Christian and how we are to call one another to accountability, how in the world can we not define who is in the church and who is not? Lol
Great video! The only thing I say is to ve careful of Fr. Andrew Stephan Damick. He is an Ecumenist, and holds some heretical views.
Thanks! I know Fr. Andrew is more ecumenist-minded (which I do keep in mind and I’m not sure he fully understands what’s animating that movement today), but I’m not aware of anything he believes that is considered “heretical.” To be fair though, I don’t listen to him as much these days as I did when I was first converting.
@@untoages I'm sorry, my previous message was slightly misleading. His only view that I see as heretical is ecumenism. He also does not approve of people like Fr. Peter Heers and Jay Dyer. The book you are referring to on Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy is still a good resource.
@@badbda4 Right, I’m aware of the factions within online Orthodoxy. That’s why I find it difficult to recommend things to everyone broadly - everyone has a different temperament and finds different things edifying. Personally, I’ve found content from all of these individuals helpful at different times in my journey.
@@untoages yes, I have a similar experience as you. Although I choose not to follow Ancient Faith ministries anymore, i benefited from it when I was looking into orthodoxy, and even after my conversion.
@@badbda4out of curiosity, why don't you follow Ancient Faith Ministries? I'm new to Orthodoxy, was baptised into the Russian Orthodox church on Pascha and had my first Holy Communion yesterday. Khristos Voskrese!
Eusebius of Caesarea (Eastern Church) “letters from many others who expressed the same opinion and judgement and cast the same vote. And the view [Roman tradition] which has been described above was accepted by them all” (Historia Ecclesiastica, V, 23-25).
Pope Clement (sometime before 97AD) responding to the greek church at Corinth which the author of this video at 1:15:50 says Popes never had jurisdiction over other bishops Churches. If thats the case then why did the Corinthians believe they could go to the Holy See, over the Bishop of Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem or even the then still living Apostle John? Who would have taught them the Bishop of Rome had authority over them?: "Owing, dear brethren, to the sudden and successive calamitous events which have happened to ourselves, we feel that we have been somewhat tardy in turning our attention to the points respecting which you consulted us;"
Here's an Eastern Bishop, Polycrates of Ephesus referring to obeying Pope Victor as obeying God, before the 3rd century: “I, therefore, brethren, who have lived sixty-five years in the Lord and have communed with brethren from all the world have examined every sacred scripture, am not daunted by terrifying words. For those greater than I have said : ‘We ought to obey God rather than man'”.
Its the orthodox church who has stopped keeping the tradition of the papacy.
The lack of critical thinking here regarding sola scripture is unbelievable
"Dont read the last third of Thinking Orthodox, its unnecessary"
Do you mean the section where she talks about how unqualified people spend too much time professing their beliefs on the internet?
Thou protest too much
I mean the nearly 100 pages of explaining who can speak and when. I value people’s time and that portion of the book was less edifying compared to the rest of it. I’m not saying that it’s completely irrelevant, it’s just unnecessarily bloated and should have been condensed. I’m not the only one who has made this criticism of the book, either. Dn. Michael Hyatt’s book study podcast completely skips over this portion. If people want to read it, go for it - I just think it belabors the point.
Sounds like stones in Glass Houses.
Wow I am also protestant searching for truth I listen to a lot of Orthodox content
Good job butchering “sola fide” . . . Genuine, saving, God given, faith WILL produce “works” or obedience rather. But God is clear that it is NOT the works themselves that justify a man before God.
I've finished reading The Pope and The Church. I'm RC and am left flabbergasted with the evidence I've been confronted with. The Pope is not infallible and can't be..
No doubt that’s a lot to digest. To me, the papacy is the defining feature of Catholicism. It also, incidentally, seems to be the root of all its problems. Visit an Orthodox parish sometime! Be sure to meet people at coffee hour and ask questions.
@untoages I'm going to speak to a Priest this Saturday funny you mention. Thanks for the insight and God bless you.
@@QSD22 Absolutely. God bless you on your journey!
Can you write down what "evidence" you are talking about? I will try to respond to it.
Would love to refute what you believe to be evidence brother
There’s always room for contradiction in practice when your interpretation is crooked
The bible cant be it for one reason: new chants and gospels have to be written
Or was it some thing else? I mean you need to refresh some things. I heard that getting rid of old gospels is satanic and i agree but we need more!
@@KaintoeterWhy would we need more?
If God is a jealous God why would he want us to pray to mere human servants of his
The “God is a jealous God” passage refers to other deities who are in opposition to Him. In context, that passage is explaining that Israel should have no other gods before the true God. The reason why, as St. Paul and the Psalms say, is because the gods of the nations are demons. The saints are not demons, nor are they in opposition to God; they work together with Him. They wouldn’t be saints WITHOUT Him. So this is why God is not jealous of His saints - because He’s the one who made them saints in the first place and they work synergistically together, so there is no opposition.
@@untoages what about when Paul consistently teaches justification by faith, James is saying a faith that doesn’t have works is dead aka fake faith, therefore to say Saint James is saying we are salvation speaking justified by works too he makes Paul a liar, Jesus said repent and believe the gospel which Paul outlines is his incarnation, death for our sins, that he is Lord and God raised him from the dead, our works before the Lord are as filthy rags so as Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9 it’s not of ourselves, it’s not of our own merit, but i am not advocating a gospel where works aren’t evident, James teaches they are a result of real faith not a requirement but rather a product of salvation.
@@JohnBeck-uh4ni There are a lot of assumptions to break down here, which is difficult to do in a TH-cam comment. I would recommend you listen specifically to the portion of this video where I discuss sola-fide, because that will answer some of those questions. If you listen to the entire video, that will give you more broadly the fullest context of why I believe what I believe. God bless.
@@untoages can you summarize to me in your words what is “the gospel” meaning good news if we can’t be justified by faith as the Bible teaches then how is it good news that you can’t know your saved and how do we have peace with God if we can’t know till judgement like the Muslims, it’s not up stuck to say I’m saved because it’s not of my own doing it’s Christs on the cross.
@@JohnBeck-uh4ni I never said that we are not justified by faith. I said we are not justified by faith ALONE. That “alone” part is unbiblical and a historical innovation on the part of Protestants. No one believed in it until Martin Luther.
You ask “what is the gospel?” It is difficult to be concise, but I would say it is that Christ, the God-man, came down from heaven to save mankind. In His condescension, He deified human nature and saved it from incorruptibility. He destroyed death by death. He arose victorious in His war against sin, the demons, and the power of Hades. In His resurrected body, we see a type of what He intends for humanity. In His ascension, He brings humanity to the right hand of God the Father. Ultimately, the gospel is a victorious thing. But the victory is for those who align themselves with Christ in this war against sin. If we are still lovers of sin, we separate ourselves from Christ - even joining forces with the evil one. Repentance is a lifelong journey. But if we truly love Christ, we do it. And in so doing, we partake in His victory over death. The synergy is necessary - God is willing to save, but we must be willing to cooperate with His grace in order for that to take place. Hope this helps.
An hour and a half of the worst interpretational skills / hermeneutics I’ve ever had to listen to . . .