Hi Laura,
My sincere apologies if my thread caused confusion to you or anyone else. It is certainly not geared to who would \"make it\" and who would not on Judgement Day, and I\'m surprised that this was even inferred. As we know from our own schooling, someone can score a 90%, a 70%, or a 60% and possibly still pass, and on some human-made tests there are some mandatory questions that you have to get right in order to pass, and even if you score a 99%, you might fail if you miss a \"mandatory\" question. I don\'t know what God considered a \"passing grade\", nor will I dare to try to guess, and that has nothing to do with this thread.
My thread has to do with defending the \"answer key\", only. If the Orthodox side has the 100% correct answer key (if we are Orthodox, by default we have to believe and defend this), as handed down by the Church Fathers and the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils, then I personally don\'t want to see any modification to it. Certainly, the percentage application of our lives against the answer key is what we will end up accounting for on Judgement Day, even if we claim to be Orthodox.
Therefore, what I am protesting is the idea that we are \"negotiating\" and \"discussing\" things that are already decided and clear in our existing \"answer key\". Historic lessons have proved to me that every time the Orthodox side makes concessions and sits at a \"discussion\" table to discuss issues like the Creed, the results are either not positive (such as in Florence in 1439). What triggered the thread was the recent hostile Papal decree, just a few months after the same Pope played \"friend\" in Constantinople. Now history shows that we made another set of concessions and received nothing but this \"decree\" in return.
At no time did I claim that only the Orthodox would be saved, etc. because that\'s up to God to determine. Hope this clears the confusion, but you are correct, this is definitely not a topic that would help someone who is in the newer stages of the faith, because as father Athanasios points out, Orthodox \"Theologians\" are themselves divided into conservative vs. liberal camps on some of these matters.
Basic Orthodoxy 101 has nothing to do with the internal Theological Debates, but rather it has to do with building a relationship with God through prayer, study, application of the Commandments / Church Apostolic Tradition, control of the senses(askesis), self-reflection, and defeating your passions one by one. I\'m struggling with the basics, too, I admit. By all means, this is what each individual has to be focused on. On the other hand, we are asked by the Lord to be vigilant. I grew up in Greece at a time when it was still a very homogeneous and practicing Orthodox society, and I still carry within me first-hand experiences that make me react strongly to any \"winds of change\" that I detect, especially in this modern environment where there is huge pressure for a premature (and perhaps even sloppy) reunification of churches.
my apologies again for any confusion,
Giannis
Be the first person to like this.