Quote: (03-21-2019 10:48 AM)debeguiled Wrote:
Okay. We'll try it from another angle.
Take this girl.
She had a powerful direct experience of Jesus. You can see it in how she talks about him.
I don't know what denominations she is, but it isn't Orthodox.
I am certain you would destroy her in a theological argument.
But her faith just jumps off the screen. This girl gets it in a direct, spiritual sense.
She is a Christian because she has experienced Jesus, and she is all in.
She will keep pushing and growing and learning to strengthen that relationship.
Next to faith and love like that, arguments about specific denominations and practices come across like pointy elbow talk.
But you would see her just as a bad thinker.
You're sort of confirming my suspicions about how emotionally, and not clearly, you are seeing this issue and our discussion. That's why I liked Mage's answer, because I think on average, his analysis is accurate.
You need to get a few things straight, debeguiled, and I am being direct and firm because you are unfairly, and I hope not purposefully, claiming that I am saying things that I am not saying.
When did I ever talk about "destroying her in a theological argument" or anyone else? You are putting that baggage on, and it's got nothing to do with me or any of my comments here. Let me restate my purpose on this thread, and my posts which support the fact that:
The Orthodox Church has the fullness of the truth.
I think that is appropriate for a thread that is called "What is Orthodox Christianity"? Don't you?
Did I ever say that "ONLY the Orthodox Church has any element of the truth"? NO.
Your statements, taken to a logical end, as I've shown and Mage even hints at above, render the point of there being a Church (which is mentioned importantly in the gospels beyond being required to make critical sense of christianity) null and void.
So, the question is then, what is the point of the church? Or, what is the church? Or, why do we need the church? God could have just randomly instilled some magic ethereal nothingness that you keep referring to, in order to show us who those "true christians" were without anything historically --- but then we'd have to believe them by their words, it would be impossible to verify truly, and basically ... we'd have protestantism as now is --- grab a bible, and tell me, one of you 30,000 different whatevers, what you think is going on here. You can go on believing that if you want, but not admitting it is a huge problem makes you look undisciplined in your thinking and not honest to the points I'm bringing up.
Mostly I'm responding so that you'll stop putting words into my mouth, ad-libbing things I have never stated nor made points about.
Jesus Christ is the Truth; of course, he is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The Orthodox Church has the fullness of the truth about the Son of Man, the Wisdom, Word and Power of God. I say that because it is a true statement. I say it also because you cannot just pick up a "Bible" and figure that out by yourself.
And again, NO, I do not know who will be saved. But I do know what must be done to be saved, with God's mercy. This is yet another difference, and again why, the Orthodox Church has the fullness of the truth. It teaches this properly.