February 20

Well, the inquirer's class is going well. I am learning tons. We spent the class 2 weeks ago discussing how the scriptures came to us and what version the Orthodox Church uses as its authorized version.

Last week, we started an in depth look at the Nicene Creed. Here is a quick copy and paste of the notes I took concerning the history of the first ecumenical council. I hope they make sense:

First council was in Nicea around 325. Nicea was just outside of Constantinople. This was the new seat of the Roman Empire. Rome wasn’t so safe, so the seat of Roman power was transferred east to Constantinople as the capital of the Roman Empire.

Bishops are summoned to Nicea by Emperor Constantine. Edict of Milan (313 after his conversion) said Christianity is no longer an illegal religion. Sort of called because of political unrest. Constantine wanted to make sure the Pax Romana was continued.

Many of these bishops come to Nicea maimed. Many were persecuted under Diocletian, so you can imagine their reluctance. Constantine's assignment to the bishops was to have them state what has been believed from the beginning. So, for the first time in Christian history the church was able to get together and state what had been taught from the beginning. Also, the faith needed to be stated in a way that all could understand and there needed to be clarity concerning the heresy of Arius.

In 381, second ecumenical council, held in Constantinople. The final touches were then put on the creed. This has been the church’s basic statement of faith since. Also referred to sometimes as the symbol of faith.

Anyway, after we looked at the history, we took about and hour and dissected the first 5 words of the creed: I believe in one God...here are my notes about that. If you need clarity on anything, let me know:

I Believe In One God
• This is an initiation statement (I)

• Believe has many connotations in our modern world. I believe in you. Do you believe in the easter bunny? Even the demons believe, and tremble (James). This really doesn’t make them any better than a demon. This must mean more than mere intellectual acknowledgement of a fact. It’s meaning is to entrust oneself or to hold dear. Or I give my heart to you. I make a commitment to you. I am staking my life on one God. This makes us different from the demons.

• One God. This is the God who revealed Himself to Abram. The one God of Judaism. We know this one God is made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ. What the jews gave to the world was Monotheism. No other people of note were making such a claim. For most people, the more gods the better. Deut. 6:4.

o Atributes: Good, Merciful, Holy, Eternal, True, Beautiful. These are grossly inadequate. I think about God with a horribly perverted tool, my brain. It’s a mess! Am I just praying to a big version of myself?

o Eternal: always existent. Dwelling outside of time. Time is a creation. The eternal is outside the created. The eternal now. That is God’s place. There is no past, no future… kairos time as opposed to chronos time. When he reveals Himself to Moses, he is I AM WHO I AM. John 8:52 Abraham rejoiced to see His day! In Icons of our LORD, in his halo, or nimbus, letter are omocron, omega and new. Translated they say, I AM…ha own (pronunciation)

o Holy: Agios, transliterated greek. A/GIOS. “Gios” means of the earth or of the world. “A” is a negation. So literally it is not of this world. Set Apart.

• Response of the Orthodox to Holiness?
Isaiah 6. Fell on his face before the LORD. Spoon used for the mysteries is a very similar word.
Luke 5. Fell on his face before Christ.
Revelation 1:17. Fell at his feet as dead.
The labor of prostration. Falling on your face. It’s not only good towards Him, but it is good for us to know who we are.


Until next time...
Lord have mercy

Saturday Morning

Well, I learned about something completely new. The miracle of the Holy Fire. This is really quite incredible. I can't believe that I have been a Christian for 8 years and was raised in a Christian home/environment and never heard of this in my entire life until last night. Check these links out:

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/holyfire.aspx

http://www.holyfire.org/eng/

The Journey

"Faith, without knowledge, is superstition and knowledge, without faith, is empty philosophy." That is quite a statement. This statement is at the core of my spiritual journey. After a nasty divorce and having the foundations of my faith shaken, I needed a deeper look at what the roots of my faith are. I am searching for the deepest expression of Christ that exists. Some may say this is a fruitless journey because everyone has a different interpretation of what that may be. However, I believe that Christ will not (and has not) let the gates of hell prevail against His Church and I intend to find a rooted Faith that is not only historical, but alive and filled with wonder, awe and above all, Christ Himself.

Presently, I attend a non-denominational charismatic church that is full of very loving people and has a good sense of community. However, over the last 4-5 years, I have been becoming more acquainted with the Orthodox Church. I am drawn to its reverence, holiness, tradition, historicity and rhythm. I have attended many Vespers services and one Pascha service. I have lots of questions, and lots of people on both sides (protestant and orthodox) that are willing to give me their answers. I believe that the Holy Spirit will lead me into all truth and am excited about the journey and the destination. I am trying to be full of expectancy and not expectations as I travel this road as a man full of sin and needing mercy.

I am about to begin going to inquirer classes at St. John's Orthodox Church in Memphis and will be sharing questions and answers and welcome input!

My first general observation will be this:
So many Protestant Christians will openly admit that they have brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Orthodox Church. Why is it then that if someone investigates these other traditions, they are almost always seen as falling away from the faith? This doesn't make sense.

Question: What is the essence and nature of worship as a Christian? What should it include? What should our musical worship be like?

That's all for now.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Lord have mercy