ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND WHO IS A THEOLOGIAN

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY AND
WHO IS A THEOLOGIAN?

"Theology is NOT primarily a matter of argument with the Divinely revealed teaching of Orthodoxy. Therefore, its first purpose and intent is always to inspire, to warm the heart, to lift one above the petty preoccupation of earth in order to glimpse the Divine beginning and end of all things and so to give one the energy and encouragement to struggle towards God and our Heavenly homeland…"

"In general, the view of theological thought is this: The Church’s consciousness from the Holy Apostles down to the end of the Church’s life, BEING GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, IN ITS ESSENCE IS ONE AND THE SAME. Christian teaching and the scope of Divine Revelation ARE UNCHANGING. The Church’s teaching of faith DOES NOT DEVELOP, and the Church’s AWARENESS OF ITSELF, WITH THE COURSE OF THE CENTURIES, DOES NOT BECOME HIGHER, DEEPER, AND BROADER THAN IT WAS AMONG THE HOLY APOSTLES. Although the Church is always guided by the Holy Spirit, still we do NOT see in the history of the Church, and we do NOT expect new dogmatic revelation… Theological learning is not called to guide the Church in its entirety; it is proper for it to seek out and to keep strictly to the guidance of the Church’s consciousness.

It is given to us to know what is necessary for the good of our souls. The knowledge of God, of Divine life and Divine Providence, is given to men in the degree to which it has an immediate application in life. The Holy Apostle teaches us this when he writes: "According as His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness…giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance, patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity" [2 Peter 1:3-7].

Theology and philosophy are distinguished first of all by their CONTENT. The preaching of the Savior on earth declared to men not abstract ideas, but A NEW LIFE FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD; the preaching of the Holy Apostles was the preaching of SALVATION IN CHRIST. Therefore, Christian dogmatic theology has as its chief object the thorough EXAMINATION OF THE TEACHING OF SALVATION, ITS NECESSITY, AND THE WAY TO IT. In its basic content, theology is SOTERIOLOGICAL (from the Greek soteria "salvation")

Philosophy goes on a different path, it is chiefly interested precisely in questions of ONTOLOGY: the essence of existence, the oneness of existence, the relation between the absolute principle and the world in us, concrete manifestations, and so forth. Philosophy by its nature comes from SKEPSIS (THOUGHT), from doubt over what our conceptions tell us; and even when coming to faith in God (in idealistic philosophy), IT REASONS about God "objectively"," as of an object of cold knowledge, an object which is subject TO RATIONAL EXAMINATION AND DEFINITION…"

The source of theologizing IS DIVINE REVELATION, which is CONTAINED IN HOLY SCRIPTURE AND SACRED TRADITION. The fundamental character of Sacred Scripture and Tradition depends ON OUR FAITH IN THEIR TRUTH. Theology gathers and studies the material which is to be found in these sources, systematizes this material, and divides it into appropriate categories, using in this work the same means which the experimental sciences use." [Orthodox Dogmatic Theology]

Orthodox Christianity has preserved the authentic theology of the Church pure and unadulterated for over 2,000 years. Over the centuries there has been a concerted effort to pollute the Faith through heretical teaching but the truth triumphed every time for by the grace of God and the Holy Fathers of the Church has remained authentic and true.

Recently, I came across an excellent article written by Andrew Nova, "The Authenticity of Orthodoxy in a postModern World" which I wish to share with all of you. In it he writes, "With the saturation of various religions, sects, and forms of "Christianity," America has become a sort of "anything goes" Nation, religiously speaking. However, despite the proliferation of the vast amount of "spiritual beliefs." many Americans are searching for truth and are asking the same question, knowing when an idea is from God (i.e. authentic)? What is authentic Christianity?

In 987 A.D. pagan Russian Prince Vladimir sent envoys out in search of a noble religion worthy of his adoption. These Russian envoys recorded their impressions of the Christian worship at Constantinople’s Orthodox Cathedral, the Hagia Sophia. The envoys stated "WE NEW NOT WHETHER WE WERE IN HEAVEN OR EARTH — WE ONLY KNOW THAT GOD DWELLS THERE AMONG MEN, AND THEIR SERVICE IS FAIRER THAN THE CEREMONIES OF OTHER NATIONS." What these envoys experienced was THE AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, and its precisely this authentic element which is drawing the attention of inquirers from all walks of life. While many converts have come to the Orthodox Church through EXPERIENCING TRUE WORSHIP., IT MUST BE NOTED THAN MANY ARE DISCOVERING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE CHURCH BY WAY OF VIGOROUS STUDY. The secularization and "watering down" of Christianity in America has forced many TO SEEK A DEEPER AND MORE ROBUST FAITH IN CHRIST AND ARE SEEKING AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO EXPRESS THEIR FAITH IN. In this postmodern culture, Americans are inundated with secular thought and anti-Christian ways of living everyday. With literally thousands of sects, cults and various denominations to choose from, how can anyone know which of these ideas are from God, and how can they know which Church is God’s legitimate representative? The authenticity of the Orthodox Church is the key. The beauty of our faith is a precious gift from our Lord, evidence of the seal of the Holy Spirit given to the Church, and is visible fulfillment of Christ’s promise to the Body of Christ found in Matthew 16:17-18."

(To be continued)
_______________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George?