I am a new convert to Orthodoxy. I was raised Lutheran and had many Catholic family members. It was a long road that led me to the Orthodox church but I have never been happier. I love listening to your teaching father and find it so helpful. I understand that Protestants come at pretty much anything spiritual from a place of head knowledge and not just heart. It was explained to me once that Orthodoxy is caught not taught and that I should be comfortable with mystery not everything will be explained it is an experience and a daily living out. So I just accept that and I am learning many new things but it's all a blessing.
The Hubris of Certainty was one of the big red flags for me when I was in the Evangelical Paradigm. I thank God everyday for leading me back to my Catholic Faith. Mary and her Saints make Catholicism super enjoyable for me🤩
I love that phrase “ orthodoxy is caught, not taught”. It speaks volumes. Understanding this allows one to delve into the colourful and dynamic depths that we were created to seek (and find). Protestantism by not getting this precludes it’s adherents to so much which is such a loss to so many.
@@nmoriss oh so you all think you are better than me. It is sad seeing different churches bickering and acting as if this or that is something that it isn't. Praying to mary and saints is pathetic. Now who is better than who? Jesus never prayed to mary or Moses or anyone other than his Father who is in heaven. Additionally, do not call each other father because you have one Father and he is in heaven. But yeah go on call each other father and pray to demons... great plan.
@@voidremoved Christianity is a journey. As one saint said, it’s like a bottomless well- wherever we are we are always at the beginning. I recommend James Bernstein’s “Surprised by Christ”.
Imagine yourself living 70 years ago for example. In order to call someone over the phone, you had to go through the operator first right? Well, in that same way, the saint prayer works. Your prayer to one particular saint is just a call for help in your own prayer because remember what Jesus said: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Now imagine youself praying to our Father and God with someone so blessed by Him like a saint is.
It’s like asking your follow Protestants to pray for you , you see we orthodox believe that the saints are not dead, so we are asking them to pray on our behalf.
Dear Mark, just be honest with the saints (or just one saint, especially the Theotokos). Tell them your doubts, your apprehensions about talking to them. Ask for their help in your struggle. They are more than willing to listen and pray for you. Give it time, and may God bless you.
Don't listen to these people. Mark. You are correct and they are wrong. Pray to God the Father who is in Heaven. Do not pray to "saints" who humans presume have gone to Heaven. Do not bow to men or women. Jesus never prayed to his mother, Jesus never prayed to Abraham or Moses or anyone. These catholic orthodox people are fooled. Like, Dear Thetokos please be a middle man and pray to mary to pray to John to pray to Paul... I mean... Just no. Do not go to hell with them
i mean it. These religions are left over from the old days when not everyone had access to scripture. Anyone who reads the Bible should see how mixed up this idolatry is. God is a jealous God he wants all your love. In heaven, everyone is surrounding God saying "holy, holy, holy"! They are NOT hanging around Mary or Theo saying "tell God he is Holy for me, mkay thanks" The Bible is full of "do not worship me, stand up i am a man like you" yet in these cults it becomes "I am a man, i am mother of God bow down and pray to me" Look what a "middle man" does for you in real life. They get in the way, complicate deals, take a cut, you pay more, get less.. for something you could have done better in a direct transaction with the provider.
As a protestant, I am very attracted to the practical side of Orthodoxy. But when they talk about practice without any explanation, it's hard for me to swallow such teachings. I won't go as far as to say everything needs a complete and unshakeable explanation, since Christianity relies on faith, which is niether tangible nor necessarily rational. But this thought: "It might be terrible, but it works for me"- how could this not lead to a multitude of error? In that case, I will deny the trinity because, it might be terrible, but it works for me. I will forsake tradition because, it might be terrible, but it works for me. I will maintain realism and humility in acknowledging that there are some things I will not apprehend in this lifetime (Psalm 131). But Paul writes: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?". The verse continues though- "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). May His Spirit lead us into all truth. (John 16:13).
It "works" through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has no error, It is pure heavenly Light. When the Holy Spirit is in your heart you know God is here, you don't need any explanation, God just entered your heart. When the saints help you, their grace can be felt, and you don't need an explanation either. Try praying to a duity instead of the Holy Trinity and let's see if grace comes in your heart. You will probably experience either nothing or something demoniac, because it's just some man-made concept and it was not given to you by the Church. Everything that we have in the Orthodox Church was given to us by the Holy Fathers who inherited everything from the Apostles who inherited everything from God Himself.
@@guitarvass7 sometimes when I pray to the Holy Trinity, I don’t feel anything. Am I to assume this means Christianity is false? Before I was fully persuaded to become a Christian, I took great interest in Islam, and “felt” that it was the truth. We humans (at least for myself) are very weak in discernment. It is so easy to go with what “feels” right but be led astray by Satan’s deceptions. I think we need to have a foundation for truth that is more secure than our evil hearts.
@@benryangarcia Yes you are right, it is not about feeling, and feelings can be very dangerous and lead us to very bad things. For example we may feel in love with a woman and think that it is true love, and I think that because of this feeling of "love" many persons fall into infidelity, whereas I think that this "love" is in a large proportion only love of the body and not of the soul. Now the Holy Spirit entering your heart is not a human feeling. If your father talked to you personally would you say : is it really my father who is talking to me, or is it someone else disguised as my father ? You wouldn't even think about this because you would know your father's voice. When the Father talks to his child through the Holy Spirit, the child knows it is Him and not the Enemy. Only when the child leaves the Father can the Enemy pretend to be the Father. Or... when the child has actually never known his Father in his whole life (which is the case of most people probably). Saint Silouan constantly asked God that every man on earth comes to know his Maker through the Holy Spirit
@@joehouston2833 I agree, the Church isn't 500 years old. But it's also not as young as the council of Constantinople, or of Chalcedon, or of Nicaea. No, it's even older. The Church has its foundation as Jesus Christ and the apostles, and we all must strive to build upon that foundation. The reason Protestants often disagree with the Orthodox and Catholics. is because they see your traditions as something added to the original Church. The Protestants seek a Church even older than Orthodoxy. Whether or not the Catholic and Orthodox traditions are "additions" as the Protestants claim, is a rabbit hole I dare not enter on this youtube comment thread
This is appeal to the personal asceticism that Orthodoxy insists on... it is required in both - layman and monastics although layman's asceticism is in kindergarten comparing to the monastics' one. But hey are essential part of our goal - salvation. Orthodoxy is in our hearts and not in our minds. Therefore, we need to push all of our reasoning down to the heart in order to truly become Orthodox Christians.
I whole heartily disagree with your comments. I was trapped in a cult because I was fascinated with the ‘mysteries’ and found out later they were nothing but bull crap. I got trapped because I ‘pushed all the reasoning down to the heart’ , only later to read that the heart is ‘wicked above all things’ and because I didn’t get a straight answer, I accepted whatever I was told. Not cool at all. There isn’t anything wrong with demanding an answer for why things are. Otherwise, anything goes and you’ll be a mess in the end. Been there and done that and NEVER again. Does this make sense to anyone?
I am a new convert to Orthodoxy. I was raised Lutheran and had many Catholic family members. It was a long road that led me to the Orthodox church but I have never been happier. I love listening to your teaching father and find it so helpful. I understand that Protestants come at pretty much anything spiritual from a place of head knowledge and not just heart. It was explained to me once that Orthodoxy is caught not taught and that I should be comfortable with mystery not everything will be explained it is an experience and a daily living out. So I just accept that and I am learning many new things but it's all a blessing.
This is very helpful for me as a protestant who deeply connects with the whole concept of mystery...thanks for sharing
The Hubris of Certainty was one of the big red flags for me when I was in the Evangelical Paradigm.
I thank God everyday for leading me back to my Catholic Faith.
Mary and her Saints make Catholicism super enjoyable for me🤩
I love that phrase “ orthodoxy is caught, not taught”. It speaks volumes. Understanding this allows one to delve into the colourful and dynamic depths that we were created to seek (and find). Protestantism by not getting this precludes it’s adherents to so much which is such a loss to so many.
@@nmoriss oh so you all think you are better than me. It is sad seeing different churches bickering and acting as if this or that is something that it isn't.
Praying to mary and saints is pathetic. Now who is better than who? Jesus never prayed to mary or Moses or anyone other than his Father who is in heaven. Additionally, do not call each other father because you have one Father and he is in heaven. But yeah go on call each other father and pray to demons... great plan.
@@voidremoved Christianity is a journey. As one saint said, it’s like a bottomless well- wherever we are we are always at the beginning. I recommend James Bernstein’s “Surprised by Christ”.
Pray like a Monk❤
God is wonderous in His Saints!
He surely is!😘
I too am from an evangelical background as an Orthodox Catechumen. I still cannot wrap my head around praying to anyone but the Lord.
Imagine yourself living 70 years ago for example. In order to call someone over the phone, you had to go through the operator first right? Well, in that same way, the saint prayer works. Your prayer to one particular saint is just a call for help in your own prayer because remember what Jesus said: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Now imagine youself praying to our Father and God with someone so blessed by Him like a saint is.
It’s like asking your follow Protestants to pray for you , you see we orthodox believe that the saints are not dead, so we are asking them to pray on our behalf.
Dear Mark, just be honest with the saints (or just one saint, especially the Theotokos). Tell them your doubts, your apprehensions about talking to them. Ask for their help in your struggle. They are more than willing to listen and pray for you. Give it time, and may God bless you.
Don't listen to these people. Mark. You are correct and they are wrong. Pray to God the Father who is in Heaven. Do not pray to "saints" who humans presume have gone to Heaven. Do not bow to men or women.
Jesus never prayed to his mother, Jesus never prayed to Abraham or Moses or anyone. These catholic orthodox people are fooled.
Like, Dear Thetokos please be a middle man and pray to mary to pray to John to pray to Paul... I mean... Just no. Do not go to hell with them
i mean it. These religions are left over from the old days when not everyone had access to scripture. Anyone who reads the Bible should see how mixed up this idolatry is.
God is a jealous God he wants all your love.
In heaven, everyone is surrounding God saying "holy, holy, holy"! They are NOT hanging around Mary or Theo saying "tell God he is Holy for me, mkay thanks" The Bible is full of "do not worship me, stand up i am a man like you" yet in these cults it becomes "I am a man, i am mother of God bow down and pray to me"
Look what a "middle man" does for you in real life. They get in the way, complicate deals, take a cut, you pay more, get less.. for something you could have done better in a direct transaction with the provider.
Father, this is a great talk!
The Saints make my Catholicism sooooo much fun!!😘😍🤩
And I thank The Blessed Mother 'cause they are her Saints❤️💚💛💜
Great video and commentary
As a protestant, I am very attracted to the practical side of Orthodoxy. But when they talk about practice without any explanation, it's hard for me to swallow such teachings. I won't go as far as to say everything needs a complete and unshakeable explanation, since Christianity relies on faith, which is niether tangible nor necessarily rational. But this thought: "It might be terrible, but it works for me"- how could this not lead to a multitude of error? In that case, I will deny the trinity because, it might be terrible, but it works for me. I will forsake tradition because, it might be terrible, but it works for me.
I will maintain realism and humility in acknowledging that there are some things I will not apprehend in this lifetime (Psalm 131). But Paul writes: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?". The verse continues though- "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). May His Spirit lead us into all truth. (John 16:13).
It "works" through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit has no error, It is pure heavenly Light. When the Holy Spirit is in your heart you know God is here, you don't need any explanation, God just entered your heart. When the saints help you, their grace can be felt, and you don't need an explanation either. Try praying to a duity instead of the Holy Trinity and let's see if grace comes in your heart. You will probably experience either nothing or something demoniac, because it's just some man-made concept and it was not given to you by the Church. Everything that we have in the Orthodox Church was given to us by the Holy Fathers who inherited everything from the Apostles who inherited everything from God Himself.
@@guitarvass7 sometimes when I pray to the Holy Trinity, I don’t feel anything. Am I to assume this means Christianity is false? Before I was fully persuaded to become a Christian, I took great interest in Islam, and “felt” that it was the truth.
We humans (at least for myself) are very weak in discernment. It is so easy to go with what “feels” right but be led astray by Satan’s deceptions. I think we need to have a foundation for truth that is more secure than our evil hearts.
@@benryangarcia Yes you are right, it is not about feeling, and feelings can be very dangerous and lead us to very bad things. For example we may feel in love with a woman and think that it is true love, and I think that because of this feeling of "love" many persons fall into infidelity, whereas I think that this "love" is in a large proportion only love of the body and not of the soul.
Now the Holy Spirit entering your heart is not a human feeling. If your father talked to you personally would you say : is it really my father who is talking to me, or is it someone else disguised as my father ? You wouldn't even think about this because you would know your father's voice. When the Father talks to his child through the Holy Spirit, the child knows it is Him and not the Enemy. Only when the child leaves the Father can the Enemy pretend to be the Father. Or... when the child has actually never known his Father in his whole life (which is the case of most people probably). Saint Silouan constantly asked God that every man on earth comes to know his Maker through the Holy Spirit
@@benryangarcia
Christianity wasn't born 500 years ago.. Protestantism is Heresy.
@@joehouston2833 I agree, the Church isn't 500 years old. But it's also not as young as the council of Constantinople, or of Chalcedon, or of Nicaea. No, it's even older. The Church has its foundation as Jesus Christ and the apostles, and we all must strive to build upon that foundation. The reason Protestants often disagree with the Orthodox and Catholics. is because they see your traditions as something added to the original Church. The Protestants seek a Church even older than Orthodoxy.
Whether or not the Catholic and Orthodox traditions are "additions" as the Protestants claim, is a rabbit hole I dare not enter on this youtube comment thread
I had no idea he has long hair , on his channel he always wears a toque ! Very nazirite abba 🙏🏻
This is appeal to the personal asceticism that Orthodoxy insists on... it is required in both - layman and monastics although layman's asceticism is in kindergarten comparing to the monastics' one. But hey are essential part of our goal - salvation. Orthodoxy is in our hearts and not in our minds. Therefore, we need to push all of our reasoning down to the heart in order to truly become Orthodox Christians.
I whole heartily disagree with your comments. I was trapped in a cult because I was fascinated with the ‘mysteries’ and found out later they were nothing but bull crap. I got trapped because I ‘pushed all the reasoning down to the heart’ , only later to read that the heart is ‘wicked above all things’ and because I didn’t get a straight answer, I accepted whatever I was told. Not cool at all. There isn’t anything wrong with demanding an answer for why things are. Otherwise, anything goes and you’ll be a mess in the end. Been there and done that and NEVER again. Does this make sense to anyone?
@@Mark-yb1sp I hear you... perhaps more clarifications are needed. Here is some reading material: stanthonylc.org/2013/05/heart-orthodox-spirtuality/